Landlord Charging Excessive Amount for "Repairs"

[ashm88]

Jurisdiction

Texas

My roommate and I just recently moved from Texas. Just to establish some background, we each had to pay one months rent as part of our security deposit which was $1350 each. We also had to pay a full months rent since we were vacating at the beginning of the month - we left on the 7th and the house was rerented on the 17th and our prorated rent was refunded. Our major issue is with the itemized deduction list they sent us:

1. $75.00 Only one garage door remote turned in

2. $475.00 Bush trimming around house

3. $20.00 Four light bulbs out on front porch

4. $5.00 Formal dining room light bulb out

5. $5.00 Master bedroom light bulb out

6. $350.00 Broken window in living room

7. $1500.00
Yard decline. Yard was St Augustine grass at move in. At move out it is 98% weeds
0

8. $59.00 Service call for garbage disposal. Removed plastic from inside

9. $5.00 Garage door opener light bulb out

10. $81.19 Cost to mow yard during vacancy
Total Repairs
$2575.1

Our issue is with items 2, 7, and 10 (we have issue with number 6 as well). For item 2, the landlord had sent someone to come trim the hedges approximately 4 days before I had moved out. I think I should have been afforded the opportunity to cut them prior to moving - the charge is also extremely excessive. On the same token, I hired someone to mow the lawn one day before moveout as stipulated in the moveout document they had sent me yet they still charged me for mowing the lawn. I think they are charging me for mowing the lawn after I had surrendered possession of the keys which I feel is unreasonable since there is no way I could mow the lawn without having access to the full property.

The most significant problem we have is with item 7. We have pictures from when we moved in and from when we moved out. There is relatively no discernible difference between the two pictures. Additionally, it had been mentioned to my roommate when we moved in that the previous tenants had a dog who damaged the yard somewhat. An inspection of the lawn was not conducted at move in and move out so there is no baseline. Lawn upkeep is part of the rental agreeement, but as far as I am concerned we maintained the lawn at move in condition.

I've also done some research and discovered that the landlord cannot charge more than one month's rent for repairs. I'm not sure if that is for individual items or as a whole, but number 7 certainly falls into that category.

Do we have a case or are we wasting our time?

 

[army judge]

You must decide what course of action works best for you.
No one has a crystal ball that assures another of legal success.
Any court challenge is simply a roll of the dice.
Landlords and tenants disagree daily.
All such disputes can be forgotten, or litigated.
If you choose to go to court, you must prove your allegations.
That is much harder than merely listing them.

 

[adjusterjack]

I've also done some research and discovered that the landlord cannot charge more than one month's rent for repairs.

That's certainly not true. He can charge you for whatever the repairs cost for damage you left behind. There is no limit.

There is a limit on the amount of the security deposit but if repairs exceed the amount of the deposit you pay the additional.

If you can show, with photographs, that the landscaping was left in the same condition as when you moved in then you have the option of suing in small claims court for the return of an appropriate amount of money.

As for the broken window pane, depends on the size of the pane, the type of window, and what needs to be done to repair it. A double paned insulated window could easily take that much to repair whereas a 12 x 15 single pane in a casement window maybe $50 to have a glazier out to fix it.

As for the other stuff, light bulbs are cheap but there's a certain amount of labor and time involved in going there to replace them, so those prices are OK and my friend in the garage door business will charge at least $75 to bring out and set a garage door remote.