what is our defense in small claims court against a former landlord?

Question

Hello, I live in the state of TN. A former landlord has served us with papers referencing back rent and damages, as well as lawyer fees. I have a few questions because I am not at all familiar with the court procedure or what to do.

1. Is it legal for him to include his lawyer fees in the amount he is seeking in the state of TN? I had read something that stated it wasn't, but that may have been inaccurate or referring to another state.

2. If we owed him appx $100.00 dollars when we moved out, but he kept our entire deposit which was $650.00, how can he be suing us for "back rent"?

3. The house was incredibly damaged when we moved in, including light fixtures being torn from the ceiling and an incredible roach infestation that we had to deal with until we moved once the lease was up. Unfortunately we did not take pictures due to our inexperience in these matters. The point being that any damage done to the house was far before we moved in, and I don't think he can have "proof" that we caused any of it. We had asked him multiple times to fix certain things, such as our back door coming completely away from the frame of the house and having to be pushed back in every time we used that door, which he never did fix. Can we be charged for these "damages" with no proof?

4. The papers filed against us gave no specific dollar amount or damages he is claiming. I thought that any papers served had to have the specific amount and damages that he is seeking. Is that correct? The total just says "less than $25,000.00", which I am assuming is the small claims limit.

5. I also read in several documents that he is required to mail us notification of any damages he asseses as well as the amount he estimates will be necessary to fix them before taking us to court, which he never did. These papers are the first we have heard of him since we moved out over a month ago. He also never sent us any documentation about what our deposit was specifically used for, since we did not receive any of it back. He also never provided the location of his seperate deposit account in which he keeps tenant's deposit money (as I read he is supposed to in the Landlord/Tenant act). Can I bring this information up in defense?

6. Despite having our phone numbers as well as the last known mailing address, we never heard from this man. I also read that he is supposed to make an effort to collect anything he feels he is owed, a "demand", before pursuing legal action. As I said before, this is the first we have heard from him. Is this also something I can bring up in defense?

I know this was an incredibly long post, but in short this guy is basically a slum lord. With the papers being so vague, I almost get the impression he tries this with most of his tenants when they leave. I really hate to give this guy anything whatsoever after living in complete misery for over a year. Is it not enough that he kept our whole deposit? I don't understand what damages and fees he could have assessed that would have amounted to more than $650.00 that he could find us responsible for. Any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated!

in reference to Bill's answer, here is some info from the Landlord Tenant act I was concerned about:

(c) No landlord shall be entitled to retain any portion of a security deposit if the security deposit was not deposited in a separate account as required by subsection (a) and if the final damage listing required by subsection (b) is not provided.

e) Should a tenant vacate the premises with unpaid rent or other amounts due and owing, the landlord may remove the deposit from the account and apply the moneys to the unpaid debt.

Answer 1

You will not win! You still lived there and failed to act upon the problems when you decided to movie in. When you move into a place...you accept responsibility of the appearance. Good luck on coming up with the money ; because you seem to be leaving out alot of details in my opinion.

Answer 2

First are you sure it is small claims and not general civil court? the only reason I ask is because 25K limit is usually civil court, small claims in general at the most will be 7K

If the case is civil, you will need to get a lawyer asp, sound like the landlord is going to claim you did all the damage in the unit, even though you claim it was that way when you moved in, thus explaining why he is going after you for the max 25K

This is the problem he is going to say that when you moved in the unit, it was clean and no damage, and that when you move out all this damage to the place was because of you and here of the pictures to prove the condition of the place when you left

now how do you prove that condition of the place was the same as you first rented it? this is going to be your major sticking point, how to prove in court the condition of the place when you first moved in? do you have anything in witting from the landlord about how bad the place was when yo moved in? etc

good luck but if he is suing for 25K better get a lawyer

yes he can sue for legal fees if that was in the lease you signed, now it goes both ways because it will say legal fees award to winning party, so if you get a lawyer and win he pays your legal fees in this matter if you can win

now you may have a good issue with the failure to send a written accounting of the SD within the time frame required by statute but do not beleive that will allow you to dismiss the damage claim by the landlord to the property

Answer 3

Sorry to hear of this. I have been in the same situation with a slum lord that I rented from while in college.

Basically, this is just a shake-down type of lawsuit. The amount of money is so small that he thinks you will send a check rather than fight.

You have two choices. You can go to court. You better have evidence like photos of how trashed the place is, and how unjustified the case is.

Your second option would be to just ignore it. Slumlord stole your deposit. He can't collect easily if you don't write a check to him.

If you want to fight back, file a complaint with a housing authority or health department. Have them inspect the building for defects, health hazards, etc. That will screw him!

I am not a lawyer. But I have been in your situation. Good luck.

Answer 4

Unfortunately, yes...he can add his lawyers fee to the lawsuit. 'Yes' he needs to specify a dollar amount he is suing for in the documents you received. 'Yes', he was supposed to have made every effort to contact you directly via phone, mail and in person BEFORE filing suit. 'Yes' you should have not only taken pictures (I know it's considered 'anal' but I do, even thruout my tenancy "just for this reason") but should have kept a log of every date, time, conversation and what needed fixed and conversations that transpired. If your apartment/home was in need of 'major' repairs and you had previously contacted the owner/landlord and he did nothing, and if the repairs were needed for basic living conditions, you should have contacted 'Code Enforcement" at your local city hall in the town in which you live to file a complaint. They would have gone out and inspected the property and taken pictures themselves at that time and then they would have cited the owner/landlord if basic sanitary living conditions were not met (they have a long 'checklist' they go by).

If your owner/landlord kept your entire 'deposit', that $100.00 should have been deducted from there and he should have just called it a day. I still say you should contact Code Enforcement and file a complaint. Even though you no longer live there, they can go out and inspect the property. If the same conditions exist for the new tenant, you may be able to go into a combined lawsuit with the current tenant against the owner/landlord if they're willing.

Answer 5

If you fail to respond in writing, you will lose this case by default.

See an attorney familiar with this kind of thing. You need to know what you're getting into. I know this area of the law in two states, but TN isn't one of them, so I can't tell you the details.

Find a legal clinic, or even a law school near you. What you're about to go through isn't really difficult, but it is complex, with lots of little traps for those who don't know the procedures. You could get the information you need in about an hour or so.

Do not try this alone, or based on answers you get here. The laws matter, the lease matters, whether or not you put your new address in writing when you left matters, and exactly what his complaint says matters. No good advice will be found here except this: Get competent legal advice.

Answer 6

1. What does your lease say about attorney fees? 2. You don't have the right, in many states, to consider your "deposit" a last month's rent...it's security for your landlord. 3. Probably depends on your credibility versus his if you get before a judge. 4. Yes, he's just stating that the court has jurisdiction. 5. File his failures to comply with the L/T law in your Answer to the complaint. 6. Ditto.

Answer 7

PROOF!! You have to have proof of everything. Did you take pictures before and after? Security and rent are not the same thing. Security is for damages and rent is monthly living.
I would consult an attorney.

Answer 8

My best advice would be to see an attorney so that you have the knowledge about how to proceed. Second contact the friends or family that helped you move into that house and get them to go to court with you. They can testify about the condition of the house on move-in. This is going to be your biggest defense.

Answer 9

Here's a link to small claims in TN, their claim limit is $10,000, and there is a lot of information here for you.

Document everything and hope the judge will listen.

Answer 10

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