Posted: 6/26/2012 8:45:21 AM EDT
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Long post, bear with me if you think you can help out.
So, we moved into our rental house in December, we had numerous issues, but we were able to resolve most of them. However, there is one that has not been resolved, and I am thinking we may need to take some sort of legal action if we can't get it resolved directly with the property manager. About a month after moving in the garbage disposal stopped working. We tried standard fixes but could not get it to unclog. We had never put anything but vegetable waste (bits of cabbage, carrot stems, that sort of thing) and eggshells down there, so clearly we did not abuse the disposal. We put in a maintenance request, and the plumber comes out and fixes the problem (sort of, more on that later). Two more months down the line, we get a charge for $300 on our statement. We contact the office, thinking there is some sort of mistake. No, in fact they charged us for the plumber. I called the representative we were assigned and attempted to get to the bottom of the matter. At first, he told us that we had been charged for the plumber because, "there was no issue and we had caused them to waste money." I explained to him that that was not the case, the disposal didn't work, and the plumber did have to fix it. He told me to hold, and in five minutes came back with a different story. This time, he acknowledged that the disposal had been broken, but that we were being charged because it had been broken due to our own negligence. As calmly as I could, I explained to him that using a disposal to dispose of vegetable matter and eggshells could hardly be called negligence. He then told me that we could pay him in installments if that would make things easier. I informed him that we would not be paying at all, since the terms of our lease explicitly state that maintenance issues must be reported, and that in the case of pipes, unless an "improper object" is the cause of the stoppage, the managers are responsible for prompt repair. He told me he would get back with me later that day. I did not hear back from him that day, but the next day his manager did send us a bill via mail for the plumber visit, and reiterated that we could pay in installments. My roommate contacted the manager and reiterated the issue, stating that we would not be paying for the damages, citing the lease agreement. The manager then said that she would get back to us the next week. She also said that, if we did not pay the charges, they would be taken out of our security deposit if they decide that the charges were valid. During this time the disposal broke again, and as the case was under investigation my roommate and his father worked together to fix the issue themselves. Finally, they got it working. We reported that issue to the manager in an email. Her response? "you are not allowed to perform maintenance on the home yourselves, as it is a liability. Please report all maintenance requests to us directly." I was red hot. They want to charge us for an issue, and we are reprimanded when we take care of it ourselves. talk about a fucking catch 22. We did not hear back from the manager the next week, or the week after, and now it has been a few months and we still haven't heard anything. The charges are still on our statement, but we have not received any more payment notices. Obviously, I want to get this taken care of, but I am sure that these assholes will try to play games and shit as long as they can. So my question is, how can I get this resolved? Do I have any legal feet to stand on, or are we at the mercy of this joke of a property management agency? TL; DR: my property manager is trying to screw me out of money, and I need to know what recourse I have to fight the charge. |
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I have been a renter and a property manager/owner. IMHO they are treating it exactly how they said they would and you probably only have one recourse, court. The bonus is, most judges will side on the renters side in something as petty as this. The Prop Man will get away with as much as they can and most times do not expect to be taken to court over 300 bucks.
The thing you are setting yourself up for is a VERY strict move-out inspection that every tiny little thing will be found, justified or not. I hope you filled out your paperwork VERY well and took move-in pics to back up everything. You should take move-in pics and mail them to yourself for a legal date/time stamp any time you rent. Take very good move out pics also. |
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I've been in property management for 23-years. I'd have to see your lease to give you proper advise.
If you took them to small claims court, the magistrate would chew your landlord's ass unless they could document that you caused the maintenance issue. this might help http://www.texastenant.org/repairs.html I'll look around a bit and see if I can find anything else. I would say your GD breaking is normal wear and tear and your Property Manager is nuts to try and charge you for it. egg shells are not good for disposals by the way. ETA, scroll down to the bottom of my link. This is what I would recommend http://texastenant.org/pdf_files/1034_JP_Petition_Repair.pdf And for what it's worth. Last member that I advised to do this got $4K from the magistrate.  Different issue, but it does work.
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You put eggshells in the disposal? Sorry, but you are the one who clogged it up. I don't think it could have been more than two or three eggshells. Also, those sorts of clogs can usually be death with by hand. This was a near total failure. In any case, we use the thing extremely sparingly now. |
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You put eggshells in the disposal? Sorry, but you are the one who clogged it up. I don't think it could have been more than two or three eggshells. Also, those sorts of clogs can usually be death with by hand. This was a near total failure. In any case, we use the thing extremely sparingly now. I do it all the time. I don't think it like "certain death"or anything. |
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You put eggshells in the disposal? Sorry, but you are the one who clogged it up. I don't think it could have been more than two or three eggshells. Also, those sorts of clogs can usually be death with by hand. This was a near total failure. In any case, we use the thing extremely sparingly now. I do it all the time. I don't think it like "certain death"or anything. Sorry, meant "dealt" with. |
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You put eggshells in the disposal? Sorry, but you are the one who clogged it up. I don't think it could have been more than two or three eggshells. Also, those sorts of clogs can usually be death with by hand. This was a near total failure. In any case, we use the thing extremely sparingly now. I do it all the time. I don't think it like "certain death"or anything. Sorry, meant "dealt" with. 
I didn't even catch it till you pointed it out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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Pro tip: Garbage disposals are not for garbage. Don't put shit down the sink. Empty your plate into the "garbage" before rinsing it off in the sink. Yeh, we weren't trying to use it in place of the trash can or anything, but I've never encountered a working garbage disposal that couldn't handle some vegetable matter. Hell, I've seen em demonstrated by grinding up entire glass bottles. |
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You put eggshells in the disposal? Sorry, but you are the one who clogged it up. I don't think it could have been more than two or three eggshells. Also, those sorts of clogs can usually be death with by hand. This was a near total failure. In any case, we use the thing extremely sparingly now. I do it all the time. I don't think it like "certain death"or anything. Sorry, meant "dealt" with.
I didn't even catch it till you pointed it out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Haha death by disposal. Now that would be a fun one. |
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If you do have to pay:
Step 1: get 300 dollars together Step 2: Go to the bank Step 3: get $300 dollars worth of pennies Step 4: pay them in full Should be around 165 pounds worth, if you get that many from the bank they will most likely have to order them, they will probably come in a container of some type, bags or boxes. Every couple of months go down after hours take about 100 pennies and spread them around where the front door is, just loose on the ground. They will most likely never talk to you again. |
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I see the GD dogpile is already here finding any excuse and angle to tell the OP his feet smell, his dog is ugly, and he's twice as dumb as they are.
OP, having dealt with a shitwhistle landlord, send them a polite but unyielding ultimatum by registered mail, and then file in small claims court. When they ignore the letter, have your ducks in a row and fuck them in court. |
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The thing you are setting yourself up for is a VERY strict move-out inspection that every tiny little thing will be found, justified or not. I hope you filled out your paperwork VERY well and took move-in pics to back up everything. You should take move-in pics and mail them to yourself for a legal date/time stamp any time you rent. Take very good move out pics also. Good point. I wouldn't just do pics, I would take a video now of what the place looks like, and another during your move-out inspection. |
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I see the GD dogpile is already here finding any excuse and angle to tell the OP his feet smell, his dog is ugly, and he's twice as dumb as they are. OP, having dealt with a shitwhistle landlord, send them a polite but unyielding ultimatum by registered mail, and then file in small claims court. When they ignore the letter, have your ducks in a row and fuck them in court. Thanks, I realized I would get a number of people saying that a few pieces of lettuce and a some eggshells would totally cause a disposal to fail. It's a necessary evil for seeking advice in GD. In any case I do need to figure out the best way to document the current state of the house and such. I think I will keep the ball in their court until they actually attempt to withhold funds from the security deposit. At that point I will involve the legal system. By the way, for everyone saying we fucked up and needed to fix it: we did fix it, and got in trouble for it. It's not like we weren't following the rules. Also, I definitely know how to fix a disposal clog by hand. That wasn't the issue. |