Guides that end in something you can do.
Each guide quotes its sources, says when they were checked, and links to the tool that does the maths.
Normal wear and tear vs damage: a room-by-room guide
What deposit statutes mean by normal wear and tear, how to tell it from damage room by room, and how to argue a charge with the law and the item’s age.
Read Move out · Security depositsHow to get your full security deposit back: 6 steps
A six-step playbook from notice to refund: the dates that start your landlord’s clock, the evidence that matters, and the letters that cite your state’s law.
Read Move out · Security depositsMy landlord missed the deposit deadline: what now?
What a missed deposit deadline means under your state’s statute, how to check the date was really missed, and the written steps to take next.
Read Move out · Security depositsTaking your landlord to small claims for a deposit
How small claims works for a security deposit: verified limits in four states, what to file, the evidence to bring, and what the deposit statute adds.
Read Move out · Security depositsHow to dispute itemized deposit deductions in writing
How to read an itemized deposit statement, which deductions your state’s statute allows, the deadlines that apply to your reply, and how to write the dispute.
Read Move out · Security deposits"Full repaint after one year": what the law and age say
Charged for a full repaint after a year? How wear-and-tear rules, documentation requirements and the paint’s age bear on the charge, with the statutes quoted.
Read Live together · Roommates · DepositsSplitting a deposit between roommates: one cheque
The landlord sends one refund cheque for several tenants. How to divide it fairly by contribution, charge damage to the right person, and handle the gaps.
Read Live together · Couples · RentShould couples split rent 50/50? Worked examples
Fifty-fifty, by income, or by income with a cap: three ways couples split rent, with the numbers worked out and the trade-offs of each, so you can choose on purpose.
Read Live together · Roommates · RentHow to split rent fairly when rooms aren’t equal
Bigger rooms, private baths, no window, a parking spot. A practical method to weight rooms, the formula behind it, and when bidding for rooms works better.
Read Live together · Roommates · AgreementsRoommate agreement: what to include
What a roommate agreement should cover: the rent split, bills, the deposit, guests, quiet hours, cleaning, and what happens when someone wants to leave.
Read Live together · Roommates · RentWhen a roommate stops paying rent
A roommate stops paying their share. What to do in the first days, how to keep records, what the lease means for the rest of you, and where to get official help.
Read Live together · Roommates · Moving outMoving out when your roommates are staying
Leaving a shared rental early while the others stay: notice, finding a replacement, prorating the last month, your share of the deposit, and the final bills.
Read Stay safe · Guide · Before you payHow to verify a landlord owns the property
Check who owns a rental on the county’s official property site before you pay, what a match does and doesn’t prove, and what to ask when the names differ.
Read Stay safe · Guide · Before you payI toured it and it was still a scam: why
You saw the apartment in person, so how was it a scam? Why tours, lockbox codes and even keys don’t prove someone can rent you a home, and what does.
Read Stay safe · Guide · If it already happenedI paid a rental scammer: the first 24 hours
Step-by-step for the first day after paying a rental scammer: contact your bank or app, report to the FTC and FBI, protect your identity, and keep the evidence.
Read Stay safe · Guide · Before you payShould I pay a deposit before seeing an apartment?
Paying a deposit or holding fee before a viewing is the most common rental scam setup. When it is risky, when it can be fine, and how to pay safely if you must.
Read Stay safe · Guide · DataRental scam statistics: FTC and IC3 figures
Rental scam figures quoted exactly from the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Data Spotlight and the FBI’s IC3 Internet Crime Report, with each year and what it counts.
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