***hole landlords

I lived in one apartment that was one thing after another.
One morning at about 8:30 (remember our profession, so I haven't been asleep that long), I'm awakened by a guy coming into my house. He claims to be here to fix the things I requested. I told him I didn't request anything and I grab the phone to call the landlord to see what's going on while I try to decide if the guy is actually here to kill me. He leaves quickly.
About a month later, I get a bill from them claiming I owe $50 for sending the guy away, because he'll have to be sent back.
When I called them about it again, they figured out it was a requested repair from the tenants BEFORE the tenants BEFORE I moved in two years prior to the day he broke into my place. This was a repair order that was ignored through two tenant changes and about five years, and then suddenly it's acted upon.
A few months later, I decide to move out. They start showing the place but remind me I'm still under lease for three more months. I remind them they are full of shit because I signed a one-year lease like two years prior to that and never renewed.
They show my place once with no warning at all (you have to give a day's notice in Oklahoma). I let the people they showed it to know about how they did business. Funny, they chose not to rent the place.
They leave a note on my door another time, WHEN I'M HOME, informing me they'll be showing it later that day.
They claim not to have my phone number so they couldn't call me, though they did have it and I was listed in the book.
They told me they were keeping my deposit when I moved out, but I had never paid one, so I guess that was fair.

 

Wow. Never had a bad landlord and I'm really glad I own a house now.

 

I've usually had great landlords, but the woman who owned my last apartment was the worst. She never answered her home phone and didn't have an answering machine. She also never gave me her work number. So if there was any problem, I'd have to write her notes and leave them at her apartment building (which was down the street). She'd always leave messages for me when she knew that I was at work, claiming that she couldn't fix any problem without speaking to her brother, who co-owned the apartment. Finally, I just started deducting repairs from the rent check and attaching receipts.

When I moved out to a bigger apartment in the same building, she claimed that she was keeping the whole security deposit because the oven was dirty. The super of the builidng actually cleaned the oven himself and told her that he wouldn't allow her to show the apartment until I got my check.

 

I've similar problems with mine right now. He's told me multiple times that he prefers to have messages left at the office on the machine, but no one ever picks up the phone and he never gets back to me. Then, when I call him on his cell phone, he usually gets upset that I'm either bothering him during something or leaving voicemails. A quality gentleman, indeed.

 

The oven was dirty so she was keeping the whole thing?
What a bitch

 

I dug out this old thread to get some advice on my current situation.

Moved out of an apartment I'd lived in for 2 1/2 years when I bought my house at the end of June. Later got a letter from the landlord detailing $800+ in charges. This included $350 for painting the entire apartment and $300 for cleaning the entire apartment.

Now I'm not going to argue that I performed a professional cleaning job on the place. However, I vacuumed all the carpeted rooms and swept and mopped the kitchen and bathrooms. I emptied the fridge and freezer and wiped them down inside and out, wiped down all of the counters, scrubbed the toilets, etc. Basic stuff. (Also, I would have had more time for cleaning, but my closing kept getting pushed back, partially because the landlord gave incorrect information to the credit company checking my references.)

I e-mailed the landlord three times before getting a more detailed response to their complaints. He said I also left behind several items, including an espresso maker (never owned one, had to google it to see what it looked like), a coffee grinder (also never owned), and an electric blender (only one I owned is on the counter at my current house). He said all of those things were left in a specific cabinet that only contained food the entire time I lived there.

I told them I'm not paying anything beyond them keeping my security deposit. He says they're "turning the matter over to collections." Any suggestions on what my options are from here?

 

Pretty sure painting and cleaning an apartment is standard after someone moves in and before someone else moves in. Don't quote me on it though. There might be some real estate law books available at the library you could look things like that up in. Obviously, make them prove that you left those things there since it won't be possible. If I were you I would wait and see what happens. More often than not these people are all talk.

 

Now that I'm a home owner, it won't happen to me again... but I insisted on attending the final walkthrough and being given a chance to make major corrections.

When I managed apartments, I told people they would be charged for major damage to the carpet or if I had to repaint and it had been less than 3 years (it was a college student complex)... I'm not talking touchup, i'm talking stains or holes on the wall. I was going to have to clean the carpets and do touchups no matter what.

Also, our property owner was a stickler. We took photos on the day of moveout, along with detailed notes. We had a lot of students try to deny damages to mommy and daddy. mommy and daddy would refuse to pay damages. We'd show pictures and threaten court, we'd win. Every time.

I know it's too late for you now, but my general advice would be to take pictures yourself upon moving in and upon moving out.

 

Read your lease. If it is a security deposit, they can't charge you for cleaning carpets and normal wear and tear. It has to explicitly state that it is a cleaning deposit for them to charge you for it.

 

Matt has the right idea, though obviously it is too late for Human_Paruqua. Be there for the final walk-through and get a copy of it, signed by the landlord. Otherwise, you are definitely opening yourself up to get screwed.

 

Of course it depends on the state, but painting is supposed to be considered normal wear and tear, unless, as mentioned earlier, there was major damage. You shouldn't have to pay it unless it is in the lease.

As for the cleanup charges, make them show you timestamped documentation that the mess was yours, and don't let them show you a picture or video without a date on it. They could make their own mess, and try to claim its yours.

Don't fear collections. If they call, tell them to sue you. Then they need to show their proof. If anything, you should also be demanding your security deposit back, unless they have documented damages that you caused.

It's like on those court shows like Judge Judy and People's Court. It all comes down to proof.

I have two landlord stories, one good and one bad. The good one: For my first apartment, I had a 6-month lease, since the paper I was at was a steppingstone, and no reporter was expected to be there long. At the end of the lease, landlord raised my rent by $25 per month, and suggested I become a month-to-month. I insisted on another 6-month lease, so he couldn't raise the rent on me again. He agreed.

Six more months pass, lease comes up, and we renew a third 6-month lease. But a month later, I got a job offer from another paper and had to move. Landlord said, "I told you you should have been month to month. I can charge you for the full amount." However, he didn't. He let me out of my lease, and gave me back most of my deposit, except for a legitimately damaged carpet.

The bad landlord: Prior to buying my house, my wife, baby and I lived in a small apartment. Midway through our 1-year-lease, owner sells the place to another guy. New guy comes in, looks at the place, and says, "You know, I could get another $200 for this place."

Next month, I hand new landlord the check for the amount on the lease, and he says that he wants $200 more. I pointed out that I had a lease, which he had to follow. We exchange curses, and he tells me he wants me out at the end of the lease.

Around the time he bought the place, our bathroom floor 1-inch tiles kept popping up. The grout was all rotted. We kept telling the old landlord, and the new one to fix it. Neither of them did. One day, our baby crawled into the bathroom, picked up a tile, and tried to put it in his mouth. Luckily, we caught him. Same day, we went out, got some grout, and glued the floor down.

Then, at the end of the lease, our house closing was delayed, so we had to stay an extra month. Landlord made us pay $200 extra, which we did. I gave him a written notice that we were leaving in 30 days. We shot pictures of the crappy floor (before we fixed it), and the rest of the apartment.

Then we try to get our deposit back, and the landlord says not to worry, he'll send it to us. We wait 45 days, no check. I call landlord up, he claims we owe him money from another month, plus damage from the bathroom, and fees for him needing to use a real estate agency to find another tenant.

So, to small claims court we go. My wife and I dress up nicely, landlord looks like he crawled out from under a rock. I show the judge pictures of the apartment, the written notice I gave him to leave, etc. Judge basically lambastes the landlord for holding our deposit. At one point, I bring up a state law that asks for triple damages if the landlord delibrately tries to keep the deposit (this is something everyone should look into as well). Judge patiently explains to me that it is for a state court, not a small claims. We could tell he liked us. End result: I won our deposit back, and the landlord lost his countersuit.

 

In some areas it's a state law that landlords have to repaint between tenants. You should not have to be charged.