Jurisdiction: USA
State: Georgia
I have a few questions regarding my ex-landlord and his witholding of my security deposit as well as damages caused by bed bugs.
My roommate and I lived in a three bedroom townhouse for 3 years with a different roommate each year renting the third room. The building contained 6 identical units, all 3 bedrooms, all owned by the same landlord. We paid 1 months rent as a security deposit ($500 each).
A few months after our third year at this place our apartment/townhouse became infested with bed bugs. We live on the third floor of a 3 story building. The bed bugs first infested the bottom floor. Those tennants called an exterminator after a few months. The exterminators only sprayed a repelent which cause the bed bugs to move up to the second floor. The same thing happened there and the bed bugs then moved into our residence. It took me a little while to realize what had happened before I called the exterminators. They informed me that the entire building needed a detailed treatment to remove the infestation and would not do this treatment untill the landlord had paid them for previous services as well as the current services needed in advance. I called and the exterminators every other day to check on when we could expect them to come and do the treatment. It took roughly 3 weeks for the landlord to agree and pay the exterminators.
Our apartment/townhouse was infested for roughly 6 months, and during that time I was forced to find alternate sleeping arrangments. I slept in my car or at a friends house. Due to the infestation we moved out 3 months before our lease was up and were forced to discard all oursoft furniture and beddings. We had verbal agreement with the landlord to do this. He filled the apartment soon after we moved out.
I sent numerous letters, some certified and some not, stating our new address and gave him my email and phone number, and asking for our security deposit. When we moved out he did not do a walkthrough with us and he never gave us an itemized list of damages and the estimated cost for repairs. He never made any attempts to contact any of us.
Do I have a case?
Should I get a lawyer for small claims court?
I have the paper work for small claims court, but am not sure how to file it. It asks for type of lawsuit: contract, tort, etc.
Is the landlord liable for the damages caused by the infestation because he failed to take the proper action to fix the issue?
Can I sue for pain and suffering/mental distress from the bed bug infestation?
They actually drove my roommate and myself to severe paranoia. We had trouble sleeping for months after we moved out because we felt like we were being bit by bugs.
Sorry for the long post and thank you in advance.
State: Georgia
I have a few questions regarding my ex-landlord and his witholding of my security deposit as well as damages caused by bed bugs.
My roommate and I lived in a three bedroom townhouse for 3 years with a different roommate each year renting the third room. The building contained 6 identical units, all 3 bedrooms, all owned by the same landlord. We paid 1 months rent as a security deposit ($500 each).
A few months after our third year at this place our apartment/townhouse became infested with bed bugs. We live on the third floor of a 3 story building. The bed bugs first infested the bottom floor. Those tennants called an exterminator after a few months. The exterminators only sprayed a repelent which cause the bed bugs to move up to the second floor. The same thing happened there and the bed bugs then moved into our residence. It took me a little while to realize what had happened before I called the exterminators. They informed me that the entire building needed a detailed treatment to remove the infestation and would not do this treatment untill the landlord had paid them for previous services as well as the current services needed in advance. I called and the exterminators every other day to check on when we could expect them to come and do the treatment. It took roughly 3 weeks for the landlord to agree and pay the exterminators.
Our apartment/townhouse was infested for roughly 6 months, and during that time I was forced to find alternate sleeping arrangments. I slept in my car or at a friends house. Due to the infestation we moved out 3 months before our lease was up and were forced to discard all oursoft furniture and beddings. We had verbal agreement with the landlord to do this. He filled the apartment soon after we moved out.
I sent numerous letters, some certified and some not, stating our new address and gave him my email and phone number, and asking for our security deposit. When we moved out he did not do a walkthrough with us and he never gave us an itemized list of damages and the estimated cost for repairs. He never made any attempts to contact any of us.
Do I have a case?
Should I get a lawyer for small claims court?
I have the paper work for small claims court, but am not sure how to file it. It asks for type of lawsuit: contract, tort, etc.
Is the landlord liable for the damages caused by the infestation because he failed to take the proper action to fix the issue?
Can I sue for pain and suffering/mental distress from the bed bug infestation?
They actually drove my roommate and myself to severe paranoia. We had trouble sleeping for months after we moved out because we felt like we were being bit by bugs.
Sorry for the long post and thank you in advance.
