Posted: 3/22/2013 10:54:04 AM EDT
| I recently moved out of an apartment. Got a letter in the mail yesterday stating I owed them almost $2000 in damages to include carpet replacement, even though when I moved in they told me the carpets needed to be replaced. Is there anyway I can argue this to where I don't have to pay them? I did not destroy this apartment like they claim and the itemized list is full of dumb stuff. Please help I'm a soldier and expectant father who can't afford to toss $2000 at an apartment complex over bulls*** charges. Thanks |
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Did you get documentation of the unit's condition and do an inspection walkthrough with the landlord before you signed the lease? Did you do the same thing before you handed over the keys? Pictures of documented issues and existing damage, before and after?
Get everything you can in writing and check your state's renter's rights laws. Here in Washington, there are some pretty strict limitations on what and how you can be charged for costs beyond rent with a rental dwelling. $2000 is pretty ridiculous. I went after a scumbag rental company for $750 worth of deposits they didn't give back. $2000 would have me on the warpath. Talk to your JAG, this probably isn't the first time they've had to deal with this and they probably know how to handle it real quick. If their hands are tied for some reason, look up small claims courts in your state. It's a good tool for little folk like us to fight back against crap like this. Good luck! |
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On move in, you should have filled out a move in list. Every apartment I've lived in has required a walkthrough right at move in to document problems existing at the apartment prior to me moving there. Chipped tiles, frayed carpets, etc. Did your apartment not do this with you?
The fact that they didn't can help you and hurt you. You can fight it and claim that the apartments carpet was terrible before you moved in but they can also use it and claim that the apartment's carpet was in terrible condition. My last apartment, however, screwed me over by having a clause in the rental agreement that if you break your lease you have to pay $2500. It didn't matter how long you lived there, $2500 was what they wanted. Well I lived there two months and got a job as an LEO and had to relocate to Texas. So now I'm paying it off in payments without interest but it still sucks. |
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I tried to get screwed by an apartment complex as well. Tried to charge me for carpet cleaning, paint. I scoured our tenent laws, saw they couldn't do that, and sued them in small claims. They had to pay me what they withheld, court costs, + what I spent on photo developing of the pictures I took of the place whn leaving. Always have a mindset that people are going to screw you and have your bases covered beforehand. If they don't, your not out anything, but if they do (and it usually leans that way) then you got everything to nail their balls. |
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Quoted:
I recently moved out of an apartment. Got a letter in the mail yesterday stating I owed them almost $2000 in damages to include carpet replacement, even though when I moved in they told me the carpets needed to be replaced. Is there anyway I can argue this to where I don't have to pay them? I did not destroy this apartment like they claim and the itemized list is full of dumb stuff. Please help I'm a soldier and expectant father who can't afford to toss $2000 at an apartment complex over bulls*** charges. Thanks I went through this BS with ON POST HOUSING before I deployed to AFG. I left my quarters in a state of "move in" condition. Basically, they could have shampooed the carpets (no stains, just some dog hair) and maybe painted a scuffed wall where my office desk rubbed, and someone could have moved right in. They charged me a clean fee that included stripping the non carpeted floors (standard), full painting, and replacement of all the window blinds.They even docked me 15 bucks for each patch of dirt in my yard that I wasn't even allowed to maintain. The last apartment I lived in already had a policy to replace carpet and paint walls regardless of condition after a tenant moves out. Hopefully, you took pictures of everything at move-out. Hopefully, you had them go through the house at move-out and you aren't getting an after the fact charge. Get ready for small claims. It's the only chance you got because your old landlord doesn't seem to be a reasonable person. |