I lived at an apartment community in CT for 2 years until 7/2009. Following the landlord policies, I handed over the keys of the apartment to the landlord when my lease expired on 6/30/2009.
At that time, I requested an agent at the leasing office to schedule an appointment for an apartment inspection with the maintenance staff. I got an appointment for 3:30PM on 7/1 for a walkthrough along with the maintenance staff. I reached the building on time only to find that the landlord already did an inspection that morning without notifying me and in my absence.
After listening to my concern about the inspection in my absence they sent another 2 personnel from the maintenance staff to do a walkthrough. As we walked in, I was presented an itemized list of damages that they want to deduct from my security deposit. They had $25 each listed for "dirty washer" and "dirty dryer". I asked the staff to show me what's dirty about those appliances and they removed those charges after taking a look.
I was told that the apartment had many repairs and it will be a while before they give me a final estimate. Please note that at this walkthrough the staff told me that the carpet was dirty. There was only one small spot (about 1-2cm in diameter in the guest bedroom). I'm not sure if that can be classified as a stain.
After repeated phone calls, the landlord finally gave me an estimate on 7/15 for about $1605. This amount includes $1350 which they claim is for replacing the carpet in the entire house. The lease agreement that I have explicitly mentions that a brand new carpet was installed in the living area and dining room. There was no such note for the bedrooms.
I went to the leasing office the next day morning and received pictures of what they perceive to be carpet stains that cannot be removed. I asked them who concluded that the stains cannot be removed (maintenance staff or outside contractor). They said it was an outside contractor. Please note that these are really small spots and they are not more than 4-5 in number.
I asked them who the contractor was so that I can follow-up and one of the agents responded back saying "we do not have to give that information to you" while another agent said "Professional Carpets". I told them that the carpet replacement idea is debatable.
I walked out of the office with a tenancy clearance sheet that has $1605 as the total charges amount. Around noon, I received a phone call from one of the agents. She told me that property manager would like to speak with me and that they will get back to me with an appointment for the afternoon.
However, I did not receive any phone call from them and came to know later on that the manager did another inspection (again without me) and added another $250 in new charges.
In my opinion, this kind of business practice where the landlord repeatedly does an inspection without my presence and adding/removing charges at will is unfair. I don't even know if the so called carpet stains are stains or just dirt that can be cleaned up by a professional cleaner. The landlord is not giving me access to the information about their "outside contractor".
Today I received a bill in the mail and they are asking me to dish out $561 on top of the $1225 that I paid as a security deposit. Over the past few days, I networked with many families who recently vacated the same community and they all have the same issue of getting charged for replacing the entire carpet.
At this time I have 3 options - File a complaint with the Security Deposit Investigator of Connecticut, Go to the Small Claims Court or File a complaint with BBB.
Can you please throw your opinions on this situation and advise me on the path I need to pursue to recoup my security deposit?
Thanks in Advance.
At that time, I requested an agent at the leasing office to schedule an appointment for an apartment inspection with the maintenance staff. I got an appointment for 3:30PM on 7/1 for a walkthrough along with the maintenance staff. I reached the building on time only to find that the landlord already did an inspection that morning without notifying me and in my absence.
After listening to my concern about the inspection in my absence they sent another 2 personnel from the maintenance staff to do a walkthrough. As we walked in, I was presented an itemized list of damages that they want to deduct from my security deposit. They had $25 each listed for "dirty washer" and "dirty dryer". I asked the staff to show me what's dirty about those appliances and they removed those charges after taking a look.
I was told that the apartment had many repairs and it will be a while before they give me a final estimate. Please note that at this walkthrough the staff told me that the carpet was dirty. There was only one small spot (about 1-2cm in diameter in the guest bedroom). I'm not sure if that can be classified as a stain.
After repeated phone calls, the landlord finally gave me an estimate on 7/15 for about $1605. This amount includes $1350 which they claim is for replacing the carpet in the entire house. The lease agreement that I have explicitly mentions that a brand new carpet was installed in the living area and dining room. There was no such note for the bedrooms.
I went to the leasing office the next day morning and received pictures of what they perceive to be carpet stains that cannot be removed. I asked them who concluded that the stains cannot be removed (maintenance staff or outside contractor). They said it was an outside contractor. Please note that these are really small spots and they are not more than 4-5 in number.
I asked them who the contractor was so that I can follow-up and one of the agents responded back saying "we do not have to give that information to you" while another agent said "Professional Carpets". I told them that the carpet replacement idea is debatable.
I walked out of the office with a tenancy clearance sheet that has $1605 as the total charges amount. Around noon, I received a phone call from one of the agents. She told me that property manager would like to speak with me and that they will get back to me with an appointment for the afternoon.
However, I did not receive any phone call from them and came to know later on that the manager did another inspection (again without me) and added another $250 in new charges.
In my opinion, this kind of business practice where the landlord repeatedly does an inspection without my presence and adding/removing charges at will is unfair. I don't even know if the so called carpet stains are stains or just dirt that can be cleaned up by a professional cleaner. The landlord is not giving me access to the information about their "outside contractor".
Today I received a bill in the mail and they are asking me to dish out $561 on top of the $1225 that I paid as a security deposit. Over the past few days, I networked with many families who recently vacated the same community and they all have the same issue of getting charged for replacing the entire carpet.
At this time I have 3 options - File a complaint with the Security Deposit Investigator of Connecticut, Go to the Small Claims Court or File a complaint with BBB.
Can you please throw your opinions on this situation and advise me on the path I need to pursue to recoup my security deposit?
Thanks in Advance.
