Landlord is withholding deposit for damage to antique furniture

[gocard]

I recently moved out a Cambridge, MA apartment. I rented an unfurnished apartment for one year and had a written lease with normal wear and tear provisions. Upon requesting the return of my security deposit, my landlord informed me that he would withhold 50% of the deposit $1,500 to pay for the restoration of a dining room table.

Let me add a few unconventional additional circumstances.

1. I asked that all "expensive" furniture be removed before I moved in so that I wouldn't be responsible for this type of situation. I have a witness to this conversation but no documentation

2. I agreed to leave 3 "expensive" items that would not get regular use in the apartment as a gesture of good will to the landlord (who happens to be a friend of a friend)

3. This dining room table was not identified as an expensive item

4. While I'm not exactly certain how the damage happened, it's to the expansion leaf of the table and I hypothesize happened when sunlight from a skylight channeled through a glass candelstick onto the wood table. It's about a 4 square inch area of discoloration.

5. No other damage to the house has been identified or itemized and it's been more than 30 days since I moved out.

6. The landlord now claims that the table is an antique and restoration will be around $1,500 for the damage I caused.

7. I believe that I took extremely good care of the entire apartment while I lived there.

My question are:
Can the landlord claim that this is not ordinary wear and tear ?
How does proximate cause play into this ?
Can he deduct this amount for the damage ?
Is there a cap on such items ?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Originally posted by gocard:
I recently moved out a Cambridge, MA apartment. I rented an unfurnished apartment for one year and had a written lease with normal wear and tear provisions. Upon requesting the return of my security deposit, my landlord informed me that he would withhold 50% of the deposit $1,500 to pay for the restoration of a dining room table.

Let me add a few unconventional additional circumstances.

1. I asked that all "expensive" furniture be removed before I moved in so that I wouldn't be responsible for this type of situation. I have a witness to this conversation but no documentation

2. I agreed to leave 3 "expensive" items that would not get regular use in the apartment as a gesture of good will to the landlord (who happens to be a friend of a friend)

3. This dining room table was not identified as an expensive item

4. While I'm not exactly certain how the damage happened, it's to the expansion leaf of the table and I hypothesize happened when sunlight from a skylight channeled through a glass candelstick onto the wood table. It's about a 4 square inch area of discoloration.

5. No other damage to the house has been identified or itemized and it's been more than 30 days since I moved out.

6. The landlord now claims that the table is an antique and restoration will be around $1,500 for the damage I caused.

7. I believe that I took extremely good care of the entire apartment while I lived there.

My question are:
Can the landlord claim that this is not ordinary wear and tear ?
How does proximate cause play into this ?
Can he deduct this amount for the damage ?
Is there a cap on such items ?

You might not like this answer but here it is: "What does your lease say with regard to the use of the security deposit?" That is the most important question to answer and will likely answer the above. Additionally, does your lease even mention the table or furnishings? Without the words, all would be speculation. I doubt there are issues of proximate cause here and don't know of a cap that might apply or for what reason.