What are my rights against the collection agency and the apartment complex that thinks I own them money?

Question

I moved out of my apartment complex at the end of my lease. About a month later I get a letter in the mail saying I own them over $3,000 for not notifying them that I was moving out. I verbally told the office I was moving out of the apartment complex when I made my last monthly rent payment. Now I have the collection agency calling for the payment. It seems very injustice because the payment is so high and unfair. What are my options? Should I get a lawyer or is it a no win situation?

Answer 1

The first thing you need to do is to find out from the apartment people if they have a signed agreement from you that states that you must pay a penalty if your notice is not in writing. In otherwords, was that a condition of the lease? Also, was 30 days the amount of notice that you were supposed to give?

If they do not have this clause in the lease that you signed when you rented the apartment, they can not hold you to it. If however you signed it (and perhaps didnt bother reading it) and it does make that statement...you are probably stuck but I would ask for a copy of the lease and spend a half hour with an attorney to make sure.

As to the collection agency...they actually have no rights to do anything other than to bug you by phone, mail etc. They get paid when they are able to convince someone to pay up.

Answer 2

Read your lease! Most apartment rentals require a notice in writing 30-days prior to moving. If your lease requires that, then you have a fight on your hands.

If you have the name of the person you verbalized to - and the date and time, you may get some slack but if your lease says it has to be in writing, your pretty much sunk.

If I were in your shoes, I would find out when the apartment was re-rented. Was it empty for a month or more - or did someone move right in. If someone moved right in and the owner didn't lose any revenue, then you probably can fight it. However, if he had an empty apartment and lost money, you are in trouble. Did you leave the place clean?

Answer 3

I would get a lawyer-I think the initial visit is free (to most law offices) and see exactly what your rights are in that situation. I would say you wouldn't have to pay it but it depends on the law in the state that you live in....maybe try googling it by putting in your state + tenants rights. Hopefully it helps!