My roomates and I moved out of a 3 bedroom townhouse last month. We cleaned it for 3 days, baseboards, steamed and shampoo the carpets everything. We have had problems with the property manager in the past. Entering the unit without notice, picked the lock to my room with a coat hanger when I wasn't there etc. Most of the charges we are fine with. What bothers us is that they won't provide documentation of how much everything cost. I don't understand how a ceiling fan light shade( like 8 bucks at Home Depot) but they are charging 45 dollars for one. It was 45 dollars also to replace the blinds which I can see but not for one shade. The biggest charge was 1500 dollars to replace the engineered hardwood floor in the living room. We took pictures of the floor and they did not. Also the unit is owned by somone else and they refused to let us speak to them. I later found that its a matter of public record and I called the city tax assessor office and they gave me the owners information.
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management overcharging with move out fees
- Thread Starter ddrach
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Gail_in_Georgia
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What state did this take place in? Some states require actual copies of receipts be included in the billing.
Gail
Gail
Gail_in_Georgia
Moderator
I've attached information on Tennessee Landlord/Tenant Laws. Please review section 66-28-301 which covers security deposit returns:
http://www.thelpa.com/lpa/landlord-tenant-law/tennessee-landlord-tenant-law.html
I could find nothing in Tennessee laws that require a landlord to send receipts, labor costs, etc. for repairing damages above normal wear and tear. The real issue might be was the living room floor damaged enough that it needed to be replaced. If you have pictures of the floor that clearly show it was not damaged at move out then your argument should be replacement was not needed at all.
Gail
P.S. Floating floors are easy to put down but that does not mean purchasing products or hiring labor to do this is inexpensive. We've put down laminate (not hardwood) floating floors in our living room and even on sale, the cost of the flooring was about $500. While we did this ourselves we were told that labor costs to hire someone to put down the floor would cost more per foot than the cost of the actual laminate. One also needs to purchase some type of underlayment which typically adds a couple of hundred bucks to the entire business. So $1500 may not be an unreasonable amount for hardwood.
http://www.thelpa.com/lpa/landlord-tenant-law/tennessee-landlord-tenant-law.html
I could find nothing in Tennessee laws that require a landlord to send receipts, labor costs, etc. for repairing damages above normal wear and tear. The real issue might be was the living room floor damaged enough that it needed to be replaced. If you have pictures of the floor that clearly show it was not damaged at move out then your argument should be replacement was not needed at all.
Gail
P.S. Floating floors are easy to put down but that does not mean purchasing products or hiring labor to do this is inexpensive. We've put down laminate (not hardwood) floating floors in our living room and even on sale, the cost of the flooring was about $500. While we did this ourselves we were told that labor costs to hire someone to put down the floor would cost more per foot than the cost of the actual laminate. One also needs to purchase some type of underlayment which typically adds a couple of hundred bucks to the entire business. So $1500 may not be an unreasonable amount for hardwood.
thank you very much for getting back to me. I looked it over and this is all coming out of pocket we didn't have to pay a deposit. I also forgot to mention, but when she broke into my room several months ago ( Dec ). She saw an empty dog cage, I didn't bring my dog to campus I had let my friend borrow it ( the cage ) . She asked me about it and I thought that was the end of it. Well included in those charges is a 300 dollar "illegal pet fee". I called and said if you think I had a dog why didn't u call animal control, why did you never charge an extra 25 a month to my rent, and why did I not receive a bill saying I had to pay the pet fee...BECAUSE I NEVER HAD ONE and she said she wouldnt answer that. I'm interested in 66-28-513 as well as 29-18-102 dealing with abuse of access and forcible entry as well as this phantom pet?
Gail_in_Georgia
Moderator
Your options...
Send a written letter (so you have documentation this was done) back disputing those charges you believe are unfair and state what you are willing to provide to them. Tell them to get back to you within a certain time period if they agree with this. If they agree with this, send them the amount.
If they do not agree, their next option is typically to file a lawsuit against you (although, in many places, the issue is simply turned over to a collection agency). If you are served, answer the notice and prepare to go to the hearing.
At the hearing they will need to present evidence that you did do this damage. To your benefit you do have pictures of the floor (I'm assuming at move out)....hopefully they will dispute the damage claim.
You can bring up the forced entry and pet claim but frankly, most judges are not likely to dismiss requests for damages because a landlord/management illegally entered a place. Management might claim this was for an emergency (in which case notice need not be given and, in fact, you may be cited for not providing them with a key for emergencies).
As in many of these cases, the judge will make the final determination.
Many of these cases are heard in Small Claims court (or your states version of such); these do not require that either parties hire a lawyer as the cases heard do not involve very large amounts of money being disputed.
Gail
Send a written letter (so you have documentation this was done) back disputing those charges you believe are unfair and state what you are willing to provide to them. Tell them to get back to you within a certain time period if they agree with this. If they agree with this, send them the amount.
If they do not agree, their next option is typically to file a lawsuit against you (although, in many places, the issue is simply turned over to a collection agency). If you are served, answer the notice and prepare to go to the hearing.
At the hearing they will need to present evidence that you did do this damage. To your benefit you do have pictures of the floor (I'm assuming at move out)....hopefully they will dispute the damage claim.
You can bring up the forced entry and pet claim but frankly, most judges are not likely to dismiss requests for damages because a landlord/management illegally entered a place. Management might claim this was for an emergency (in which case notice need not be given and, in fact, you may be cited for not providing them with a key for emergencies).
As in many of these cases, the judge will make the final determination.
Many of these cases are heard in Small Claims court (or your states version of such); these do not require that either parties hire a lawyer as the cases heard do not involve very large amounts of money being disputed.
Gail
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