never did a walk thru when we moved in, but she wanted one when we left her daugghter did it bc landlady lives in another state. told me today they found things wrong that were wrong b4 we moved in but never got mentioned and since no walk thru in beginning she didnt know about but still not my fault. she said shed refund 600 out of 1200 so i said let me check w/my husband and ill call u back. called her back not even 10 min later and now she is not answering phone. dont know what to do. anybody have a similar experience? how did it turn out?
2007-12-19 03:37:54 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
no i do not have pics of the house. but neither does she! its on her that she did not know the condition of the house when i moved in or if she was misinformed. i think i will win in small claims court. but i loe how she offered 600 and now wont answer. its almost funny coming from a 60 something year old school teacher. people can really be skumbags
2007-12-19 03:54:59 · update #1
she does not have proof either of the condition b4 we moved in only upon move out. and I can swear to the judge just as well as she can so basically just bc she is the landlord her word wins over mine? how is that justice? we didnt need to go to court for that, that is basically happnin now and i need togo another route. the judge has to listen to my explanation and he cannot be biased. just bc nobody has proof as to whatthe house looked like upon move in does not mean that i am lying. again, how is that justice?
2007-12-19 04:20:04 · update #2
there was never a walk thru done b4 i moved in. EVER. just trut me on that one. so i guess basically it comes down to her word against mine in court. i understand. no justice once again.
2007-12-19 05:06:52 · update #3
I am amazed you think you would win this. I would certainly win this if I were the landlord, which I am not.
The fact that you moved in and did not request anything fixed will show in the landlords favor that everything was in order, according to YOU when you moved in.
600 is not very much damage, I seriously doubt anyone would have trouble justifying it.
If you are going to try and win this you need a much better argument then "no walk thru". I am sure they did a walk thru before you rented it, you may not have been there, but the landlord or a rep was in the house.
2007-12-19 04:55:21 · answer #1 · answered by Landlord 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I have no idea where you live. Call a reference librarian and find out what governmental agency handles tenants rights in your area. Then contact that agency. As a rule, but there can always be exceptions, landlords MUST return security deposits within 2 months or less and itemize any deductions they make. If they fail to do so, you can sue in small claims and sometimes get additional damages beyond what was owed.
YOU are at a disadvantage because you did NOT leave with pictures of your place.
Also you state there was no walk-through when you first rented. That is ALWAYS a mistake. Typically you would sign off that everything was in acceptable condition in the apartment/house and THAT is why the landlord's contention that any damages occurred while you were there is assumed to be accurate: your chance to note damages came BEFORE moving in.
Normal wear and tear, such as the cleaning of carpets, is normally the expense of the landlord. If you have left behind a broken door, window, blinds, stains in the carpeting, deep knicks in counters, etc. that is NOT normal wear and tear and you are responsible for that damage.
2007-12-19 13:49:40 · answer #2 · answered by heyteach 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you do not have proof that things were already wrong with the place, it would be hard to sue your landlord. It is your responsibility to document these things. I rented an apartment and did a walk thru with the landlord but basically all he said was don't worry about anything, this place is old and it is going to get completely gutted out when you move out. When we moved out, he charged us 1200 in fines. Some of which were caused by the old tenant (that was evicted) still having a key and breaking in (we were told that the locks were changed) When he broke in, he put a hole through the bedroom door and broke the closet door(which we reported) we were in the apartment at the time and the police were even called. Sorry to get off subject....our landlord charged us for ruining his old oven(which he tried passing off as new, saying he had receipts) they don't sell puke yellow appliances new anymore. He charged us for flooring which was already ruined, etc. He even charged us for painting claiming that we smoked(which we do not!!) And he said that the cleaning bill was 300. They didn't even clean it when we moved in and when I moved out, I cleaned the apartment. I ended up paying the bill, minus the doors, because I did not have any proof. Since then when I have rented, I have kept track of everything, and have gotten my full deposit back. Luckily I just bought my first home so I will no longer have to worry about landlords!!
2007-12-19 12:47:58 · answer #3 · answered by athomas4224 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Unfortunately, I don't think you can win in court. You have no proof that the house was in need to repair when you moved in. Count this as a lesson on l) getting the landlord to sign off on the shape of the house and 2) taking pictures of any damage with a newspaper in the picture to prove date.
You are fortunate that the landlady is willing to give you back part of your deposit.
2007-12-19 11:48:24 · answer #4 · answered by kny390 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You can go to a rent arbitration board if such a thing exists in your jurisdiction. Otherwise you can file a claim in Small Claims Court. Most courts have a small claims adviser to help get you through the paper work. You will have the burden of proving your case. If you win in small claims then you can record a lien against the property. It might take a while to get paid, but you will be paid off when the house sells or gets refinanced. Check the Nolo Press site for other possible suggestions for tenants in your situation.
2007-12-19 11:47:44 · answer #5 · answered by artwhiterealtor 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can't win in court unless you have proof that the damages were there when you moved in. Since you didn't take photo's...what would you offer the judge as proof. Your landlord on the other hand will have photo's of the damages as they exists now...and will swear to the judge that you cause them.
2007-12-19 12:07:28 · answer #6 · answered by LILL 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sad to say, you will probably LOSE in small claims court, since you have zero evidence that you did not cause the damages being claimed. It is always prudent to document the condition of the unit being rented right at the moment of taking occupancy. That way you will have evidence of any pre-existing conditions.
2007-12-19 12:19:38 · answer #7 · answered by acermill 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The landlord is correct. Sorry, she will have to clean the entire house professionally, clean the carpets and make any minor repairs or change curtains. That is what a security deposit is for. She gave you back half. I thinks she is being very generious.
2007-12-19 11:42:30 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
All you can do is go to small claims court and sue for the entire deposit, and see what the judge says.
It was just as detrimental to the landlord as it was to you, not to do an initial walkthrough...because that landlord can't prove the damage wasn't there when you moved in.
You will most likely win...especially since the daughter did the final walk through and the owner did the initial.
2007-12-19 12:22:32 · answer #9 · answered by Expert8675309 7 · 0⤊ 4⤋
Get a lawyer on that one, he is low life! Maybe he spent the money and cannot pay it back to you.
2007-12-19 11:43:41 · answer #10 · answered by Latin Techie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋