can my landlord demand payment for damages if ....?

Question

the landlord's only been back from florida for 3wks. he lives down there from october thru may i only was told i had to leave on june first. i have to be out by july 1st or sooner. shouldn't i be allowed some time to fix the place up, which i was already in the process of. i just bought a hardwood floor to put down. i've started to rip up carpet, to put it down. i took down some wall paper with his permission and i still have to sand, prime and paint the walls. he put ceramic tiles on an unlevel floor and i have to replace the cracked ones. i had the roof fixed when it leaked but have water damage to the inside of the walls because of it that has to be fixed. how much of this am i really responsible for. he gave no indication when i asked if icould make these changes that he would be asking me to leave. and on top of it, i work two jobs and now i have to find another apartment.

i guess i thought i was being a good tenant. looks like i'm going to get screwed in the end.

Answer 1

You were given the statutory notice. You have to have it cleaned and repaired by the date you turn the property back. He gave you a month. If you've trashed it that badly and can't fix it in the time available there's not much anyone here can do to help you.

If the landlord put down tiles over an improperly prepared surface, that is NOT your problem. Leave it alone! If you mess with it he may be able to say it's your fault.

Nor do you have to fix water damage due to a roof leak. (And the roof wasn't your responsibility anyway though that's probably history now.)

Yanking up carpet and putting down a hardwood floor isn't your responsiblity either. The landlord could charge you to have it removed and the carpet replaced if he wanted to.

Answer 2

Ok, obvious question. Why are you making all these inprovements if this isn't even your place and you now have to be out in under a month.

Yes he can charge you for damages, so I'd suggest you just fix anything you messed up the cheapest and easiest way. Take pictures or a video of the place before you leave, and you may even want to walk through the place with the landlord.

Don't fix or even touch anything that was already broken and rather than sand / prime / painting the walls - just sand out major bumps, fill in major bumps and repaint them the exact same color they currently are (use the exact same color and you should only need 1 coat) - or even better just re-hang the most similiar wallpaper to what was there before.

I mean its his place, you are being way to nice trying to improve it, and may have ended up hurting yourself (if the work isn't finished and he therefore charges you to finish it himself). Also, you probably paid a security deposit before miving in, he may keep some or all of this for any work he needs to do, but probably won't take you to court for additional costs unless there is really alot more cost in it.

Also, don't worry about the water damage - thats his problem, and you can even try to get him to pay for the roof repairs (though he probably won't since it doesn't sound like you gave him a chance to make the repair himself). As to the carpet - can you put it back. Don't put down the hardwood floor, try to return it to the store if you can - if the floor looks bad due to normal wear and tear, again thats his problem (if it looks worse since you pulled up the carpet that could be your problem).

Best luck.

Answer 3

It all depends on the state you live in and the laws in that state. Most states laws say that fixing all those things is the responsibility of the landlord and you could pay your rent into escrow at the court if you follow the proper procedures. Generally it is the Department of Consumer Affairs. You can usually look up the number in the blue pages of your phone book or find their website and they usually have any tenant/landlord laws applicable in that state, sometimes even in layman's terms. Best of luck to you the site below may offer some help but not much as you can only choose your state and then have to do a search for your Consumer affairs Department/Division

Answer 4

What is in your lease agreement? When the roof leaked, he should have had it fixed, not you. As far as damage goes to the walls from the water damage, did you cause the roof to leak? No, then its not your fault.
The carpets, I can see replacing them. The tile floor, that would have been something I would have reported to him too. If the tiles broke due to normal wear and tear, its his responsibility to replace, not yours, unless it says different in the lease.

Answer 5

Unless you were throwing parties left and right and damaged his property by your fault and not just because of normal wear and tear, there is no way under the sun, that this man could or should get away with any of this... How old are you anyway? How can you be conned into doing all of that, just to be thrown out is preposterous (absurd) to say the least and you must look out for your interest in this matter, even if it means that you take him to small claims court! or just the Rental Board! which should be in your Yellow Pages! This is too much! to ask, period!

Answer 6

earth to David... you're in charge for ALL damages you probably did to the valuables. And had there been a deposit and you probably did extra harm then the quantity of the deposit, you may have been in charge the adaptation. A deposit isn't the shrink of damages that a landlord can fee. it fairly is in easy terms a deposit. Pay the money. you already know you probably did the wear.

Answer 7

I guess I don't understand why you were doing so many improvements. You had been busy working at this home to improve it, to his benefit.
He may demand payment, but your best option, before you move out, is tell him of the extensive work you have done, what needs to be finished and be honest. He just may say forget about it, and if he does have a gripe, offer to finish the project, but you'll need time to do so.

I wish you luck.
S

Answer 8

why would you invest so much into another person's property? Pretty stupid to do that, it's the same as paying the rent, which is paying someone else's bill.....are you that naive?

Buy your own home before you invest like that again...

Answer 9

Seems you screwed yourself. He's your landlord he can do what he wants.