security deposit not enough?

[itsthechad]

My wife and I just moved from a rental property that we lived at for 4 1/2 years. We paid a security deposit of $600. There was some things that needed repaired, sliding glass door, closet door, 2 bedroom doors. I have no problem being held responsible for these things. the problem is, the sliding glass door was an old wooden frame door, but she is replacing it with a brand new vinal door worth about $900, am i responsible for the upgrade? Also the stove worked fine while we lived there but she said she had to replace it, am i responsible for that just because she says its broken? It was an old stove but worked fine. There was also an alarm system in the home that we never used, I didn't even no the code, but she said it is also broken. Whats the limit? I'm trying to be fair but i don't want to remodel her whole home. I called her and told her that I never used the alarm system and the stove worked fine, to witch she replied they worked when you moved in and now they don't. As far as I know the alarm system never worked ,who knows? PLZ HELP . thank you

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Your landlord has kept your security deposit and charged you additional fees, correct?

Gail

 

[itsthechad]

she sent us a letter stating that she will be keeping our security deposit to put toward the damages done to the home, and when the repairs are completed, she will send us the cost of the repairs and she expects to be reimbursed for them.

so we have not gotten the "repair costs" yet, but we are questioning, is'nt the security deposit enough?

she replaced on old wooden framed sliding glass door with a brand new $900 vinal paned sliding glass door, see the glass door is double paned glass on both sides, one of the panes got broken by us, we found the replacement glass which is a double pane and all she had to do is have a contractor put the glass into the old frame, but instead she bought a whole new door system and expects us to reimbuse her for it??

also the stove in the apartment never worked properly the whole time we lived there, the burners would take like 10 minutes to warm up, and then it only cooked on high heat, you couldnt really adjust it. the oven however worked fine. now she is saying something was wrong with the oven and she had to replace the whole range?? are we responsible for that? if we still lived there and it was broken, would the landlord be responsible to fix it and or supply us with a new one?

and the alarm system she is saying doesnt work, we NEVER once used it, didnt know how to? we feel that she is trying to get us to pay to remodle the entire apartment!

what all are we responsible for? the carpets, paint, and things broken? we did not destroy this house, just normal wear and tear. we loved it there, we just finally had the help we needed to become home owners.

please help us with any information you can supply. we would greatly appreciate it.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

The answer to much of this is...it depends....

Replacement items (i.e., the door, for example) must be at least the equivalent of the original product. However, if local requirements for things such as safety glass in sliding glass doors have changed a higher end product might need to be used to meet current code.

Did you notify your landlord of the repair issues needed with the stove/oven?

Carpets (which often end up being a real bone of contention!) are prorated, having generally a 10 year "lifetime". Cost of replacement of these is prorated depending on their age. Cost of painting is another delicate area. If, for example, holes were left in the walls (from pictures being hung) that needed patching such patching would need to be painted over.

The bottom line is this....when you get her bill for these repair costs, you decide what is a fair amount to be charged. If it is less than what she wishes, you write back (keeping a copy for your records) listing what you dispute.

If you two cannot come to some sort of agreement, the landlord is likely to file a lawsuit against you. These type of lawsuits are usually handled in Small Claims court. You will get a notice of the hearing which you need to attend (if you do not the landlord will automatically win her judgement). At that time she will need to provide documentation that what she is trying to collect are actually damages and not simply wear and tear. You will need to provide evidence that you don't owe what she claims. It would be useful if you have pictures of the unit taken at move out. The judge will make the final decision on the matter.

Good luck!

Gail

 

[itsthechad]

the stove wasn't damaged on the outside nor was the security system. we used the stove / oven almost daily up untill we moved out so there is no exterior damage to either, and i dont have any pictures of the stove/ security system while it was on, lol . Once a year she would ask us if anything was leaking ,dripping etc. if i had noticed the burn mark inside the top of the oven i would have told her but the oven worked and i didn't stick my head inside to look because it always worked, she however inspected it with a fine tooth comb. If i had noticed the stove and the security system weren't working i would have told her and she would have been responsible to fix them right?after all she is the landlord. as far as the door goes its an old wood sliding door worth about $300 brand new. the piece of glass that was broken was worth $150 . I got a new piece of glass but it apparently isn't good enough. If there was a code change why wasn't the door repaced while we still lived there? Bottom line is this, if i break your bronze door you don't get a gold one from me hopefully the judge will see it that way too. thank you for all your help

 

[sfitz]

You should check with your state's laws regarding what is acceptable. For example, in some states the tenant is not required to pay for normal wear and tear. This would include carpet replacement and painting, unless you have actually damaged something. There is generally a consumer protection agency that can answer many of these questions, including what legal actions you may take to get your money back.

 

[emorgan0831]

You should make sure you ahve all your evidence together and maybe go to small claims court to get the money back. Sometimes court appointed mediation will help as well. It is better to clear it up outside of court if you can.