text
stringlengths 0
41.8k
| label
stringlengths 5
23
| dataType
stringclasses 2
values | communityName
stringlengths 5
23
| datetime
stringclasses 32
values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
This was after a credit check (I paid for) + references filled out the day prior
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
The only thing maybe illegal here is if the original apartment was never really available and all of this was a bait-and-switch to get you to agree to one of the more expensive ones.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Did he say that it needed to be signed by a certain time or anything. Sounds sketchy.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
It makes sense that the cheaper rent would go first/faster.
You snooze you lose.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
I rent an apartment that is owned by people out of state; all my interactions about the unit have been with a local property manager. My front door lock does not work from the outside. We are able to use a (shared, cramped, far from where we park) back staircase to enter/exit and leave the house locked when we leave, and we are no longer able to use our (lovely, private, straight shot to the car) front stairs and door. The front door can be locked from the inside, but takes some work to unlock, and cannot lock or unlock from the outside. I went through our property management portal, got no response for several weeks, and finally emailed the property manager directly. She sent a locksmith out today.
When he arrived, he quoted for the lock replacement, and I said I was sure that was fine but to discuss it with the property manager. He said that *she* said that we'd be paying for the lock replacement! I told the locksmith I wouldn't be, called the property manager and went to voicemail, and sent the locksmith away with an apology. I also emailed once he left to say that we hadn't broken the lock and would not be paying for a very normal repair to a building we rent.
This is crazy, right? I'm not about to spend hundreds of dollars installing a lock on a door that I don't own. The lease says that management is responsible for "all necessary repairs to satisfy and implied warranty of habitability." Ohio law states all exit doors must have fully functioning locks. I know I'm right in terms of like, logic and reason, but this property manager is a nightmare and doesn't really subscribe to those things. She also has been extremely unresponsive about issues in the past, so I'm concerned about her blanking me. How do I make sure that I get a new lock AND am not somehow footed with the bill?
The unit itself is amazing when I don't have to talk to this woman (which is most of the time!), so I'm really trying to preserve the relationship and not risk a major rent hike or other issue when it comes time to renew the lease in a few months. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
If you're renting, the property management should be replacing the lock if it is failed/failing. I don't know the specific rulings for OH, but as a locksmith I have never heard of a tenant being responsible for lock replacement except in the scenario of the tenant breaking it or it having to be broken in a lockout situation. If you have to replace it then they won't have a key, so that's also something they should consider as well.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
You renting? If you have to pay for yourself, then the owner does not get a copy. It's now your own personal property. Save the broke lock for when you leave and exchange it back.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
I would replace the lock with one I bought at Home Depot. I would remove the lock that I purchased at Home Depot when I terminate the lease.
If she requires a key for the door, then she is required to replace the lock with one that works. But, I’m not going to go out of my way to convenience her of that. I’ll just use my own lock for the duration of my tenancy for my own convenience, until she decides to do the right thing.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
https://www.managecentralfloridaproperty.com/blog-breaking-lease-florida-21.html
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Thank you!
It says there that the land lord must provide the liquidated or present damages fees verbiage at the time of signing which he did not. In that case does that imply that we should I be able to break with zero fees?
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Without an early termination clause you’re responsible for the entirety of the lease barring specific circumstances. From what you’ve described, none of those circumstances give you an out here. Many issues being unaddressed and/or the unit being uninhabitable would give you an out. Frequent but promptly repaired issues does not.
In Florida landlords have no duty to mitigate damages, meaning the landlord is under no obligation to try and find a new renter between Nov and May. If they find a new renter you’re not liable for rent once their lease begins (in effect it terminates your lease early), but the landlord can choose to sit on an empty unit and charge you the full rent to the end of your lease.
Does your lease mention anything about assumption or subletting?
If not, you sort your timeline and discuss with your landlord to try and agree to a mutual termination, but know that legally they can hold you accountable for rent through May and the only legal reason not to do so is how much of a PITA it could be to collect that rent. Of course a decent human may want to find a mutual solution regardless of their legal obligation (or lack thereof) to do so.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
No. The obligation to include the fee options in the lease only applies IF the landlord wants to offer this early termination option in the lease AT ALL. They don’t have to offer (yours did not). It’s kinda weird but this explains some of why a landlord or tenant would want or reject the options. https://www.nolo.com/sites/default/files/FL_EarlyTermination_LiquidatedDamagesLeaseAdden.pdf
TLDR in a hot rental market, in theory the renter can accept that option, terminate, and pay 2 months rent. The landlord could then turn the unit over and line up a new renter within the following month, basically netting a month of rent in pure profit.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Context: our windows do not open and the a/c units are similar to what you'd find in a hotel. My a/c has been leaking water and its seeping up through our floorboards. The only contact I have been able to make is through the emergency maintenance number and all they do is clear out the condensation tray and apologize. They say all of the apartment's units don't have proper drainage and leak into the apartment rather than out. Otherwise the office is completely unresponsive (phone, email, via maintenance request site, and in-person) They clearly state office hours but are never present.
What should I do?
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
I'm sorry OP, but I just have to ask ... How hard is it to clear out the condensation tray?
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Tools that I don't have and a shopvac that I don't have. The question isn't why don't I have the tools, its why does the tray overflow into the apartment and why hasn't management done anything even though they've known about the issue for weeks. This isn't an isolated issue, every single unit is having the same problem
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
So my probation officer, has offered me rental assistance but my apartment is in someone else’s name so I made a fake lease in my desperation. Now my probation officer wants to mail it to my leasing office. I’m afraid she’ll mention my real name in the letter. Do you think I can just tell the apartment it’s my son’s name or something being that anyone under 18 doesn’t have to be on the lease? Help! I’m freaking out and I really need the help but I don’t want to get kicked out for lying.
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Well, you can either continue to lie and dig the hole deeper and commit even more fraud. Or you can go have a conversation with your probation officer, be honest, and hope for some forgiveness.
I think the smart move would be to not commit any further fraud and come clean before any money changes hands.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
O m g. I’m sorry you decided to go down the deceptive path first. Good luck. Being honest should always be the choice no matter what.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Whose name is the apartment in, and why did you lie?
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Yoooo don’t lie to your PO. Big mistake. I 1000% recommend backtracking, let the PO know it’s in someone else’s name and hope for the best.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Oof. Okay this path your on, you really need to change it’s course and quite quickly.
What you’ve done, is a federal felony fraud. Several issues will arise from this.
You need to absolutely stop the trajectory of this path immediately, to stop the damage. There isn’t a way out of this.
1. You tell your PO about the deception and explain why you did it. At best, he/she may give you lapse of judgement and help you correct your path. In this path, the PO can make some calls to stop what’s been done and find a correction course.
2. You do not immediately come out with it, and not only will you (and whoever is on the lease) lose your housing, due to breach of lease. Having someone living in the apartment, who is not on the lease is a violation. And we haven’t even discussed how the violation has escalated due to your background. Not only this, but now you’ve committed fraud to the housing department, a government agency.
You will get caught in any path forward, so best thing to do is immediately call your PO to set the record straight.
Not only have you committed fraud on the living situation, the lease, but I’m gonna take a stab in the dark and say that you haven’t reported the income of others living in the apartment with you.
There is ALWAYS a way to find help, in the honest legal way. The county can decide whether or not information you provide is relevant.
The fact that the application and paperwork for the property manager will need to be completed, is something we haven’t even discussed yet. The PM will not lie, they will give the information they have on file for this apartment.
Make it right and change your course. This is not the way to live your life. I know what it’s like to just live day by day, trying to survive. But you have to nip this in the butt immediately or you’ll be behind bars and not see those beautiful children grow up.
I mean this in the most respectful way, I am empathetic to you. I know how things can just be carried on just to survive, but it only hurts you in the end. Don’t continue this path.
Good luck, honesty is always the best path. A lie, no matter how small, always finds the truth in the end. I hope you take this advice and move the path you are on, you’re currently at the fork in the road. The choice is yours.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Empathy for a person who is caught lying?
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
I have empathy for a person who feels they have to lie to survive. There is a difference.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
No, a lie is a lie. Plenty of people survive by telling the truth. OP made his bed. But thanks for showing your morals.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
You made this into something it’s not. But thanks for your comment, it shows me who you are.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
Yes, someone with morals.
Bye Felicia!
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
I live in a 4-plex. My direct neighbor got two puppies about a year. I have two dogs as well so no issues there. As long as they’ve been there, I’ve never seen them outside to potty (which I thought was weird), but whatever. I had one of my dogs outside about 6 months ago, on a leash as per our lease, and seen their dogs for the first time. They were on a walk and one dog slipped it’s collar and ran up to me. I interacted with the dog after getting the owners permission. The dogs were beautiful!! One was a husky and the other was a husky/pit mix! The owner said they had recently gotten them. I have never seen them since that date but often hear them barking, not loud enough to be annoying, just loud enough to hear.
Fast forward to yesterday. I get home from work and these dogs are outside, no collar or leash, laying under a tree in my yard to shelter from the rain. I knocked on the neighbors door to let them know they were outside. I did not feel comfortable taking my dogs out with those dogs loose. Neighbor would not answer door. I text the landlord. She asks the neighbor who proceeds to say they are not his. I informed the landlord that I previously interacted with the dogs and owner as they were going into their apartment. Neighbor still claims they are not his and he has called the shelter on them before. Miraculously there has been no barking from the dogs next door over the last few days. The dogs are lying in front of his door at night. Not to mention, he has a broken down kennel on his back porch. I know for a fact these dogs have been staying in his house.
I’ve called the local shelter and rescues hoping someone can pick them up before they are injured. They are COVERED in fleas and ticks and I feel terrible for them. I’m frustrated that my landlord seems disinterested in helping in anyway. It’s affecting the other neighborhood animals because the dogs are not overly friendly towards other animals. I’m really lost at what to do next.
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Long time lurker, first time poster.
I moved into a house in June. When we first looked at the house it had full carpet and a old appliances. The realtors doing the showing told us that the carpet would be replaced with laminate and all of the appliances would be replaced with new stainless steel appliances. The kitchen had this twin microwave/electric oven stack from 1988 and a rusty countertop gas stove.
We only liked the house \*because\* of the changes. Their move-in date was 3 weeks later, so they could get all of the work done. We got the house and had to put all of our stuff in storage for 2 weeks while we lived in a nearby hotel. (Me, wife, 2 kids, a dog)
On closing day we were surprised to see all of the carpet replaced with vinyl wood flooring, and every room is a different wood. It's atrocious, but whatever. The appliances hadn't been replaced because the in-wall oven was a non-standard size and they couldn't find any replacements. The landlord assured us that he's going to get it done, but it's taking longer.
We're now almost 2 months in. he's cut out the old countertop range and replaced it with the most basic oven and stove possible. Not even a clock or a timer.
When the new stove/oven was installed, he stated that he would just leave the microwave and old electric oven because , "Now you have both a gas and electric oven!!"
I have been pushing for him to keep his word and update the kitchen, but he's fighting me on it because "it still works".
It works, but it's gross and they smell bad. They're ugly and old.
I feel powerless - is there anything I can do?
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Were any of these "promises" put into writing in the lease? What does the appliances section actually say?
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
I don't see much in there. Nothing about the promised changes. Only the standard "Tenant shall maintain" type of language
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Unfortunately if it’s not listed in your lease, he’s not obligated.
He isn’t going to update the kitchen, it’s an income property for him, he isn’t improving the house for value. He’s making it livable, and somewhat esthetically pleasing.
Probably didn’t realize the built in, are going to require a more expensive/special order model to replace or a complete rebuild of that space.
Always get promises locked into a lease, especially if they were make it or break it type of deal.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Unfortunately, what the realtor had to say in their verbal marketing versus what the landlord had in mind appear to be different things, and if it is not locked down in writing in the lease then there's not much legally that can be done.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
If you're a renter, what you see is what you get.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
(Mods, I hope this is allowed. If not, please delete.) Do you have any advice to give to someone starting out on their renting journey? Are there any recommended or pinned posts, etc? What should I watch out for? What can I do to make things easier for all involved? Any laws I should be aware of? Policies I should be cautious of?
Explain to me like I'm 5 what I should be doing as I move in. Ex: Everything looks clean. Do I still need to scrub everything?
(I sign and get keys today for the apt., 2 cats, AZ)
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
In California, the landlord has to inform you of your right to a pre inspection. They are supposed to give you an itemized list of what you need to repair before your move out date.
I opted to have a pre inspection but the landlord has not given me the list of repairs. Our move out date is coming up.
What happens if he doesn’t give me the list of repairs or gives it to me like a day before my move out date?
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
|
So I have a lease that was technically supposed to end May 30th. I ended up talking with my landlord and we agreed on extending until July 1st. Except this was never put in writing or emailed about, never updated the lease, or anything. We just discussed on the phone and came to an agreement. Now here we are on July 24th and my landlord is being a scumbag about returning the security deposit. Claiming all these damages, and he’ll send me the itemized list and the refund once the repairs are done. There’s ONE legitimate damage that I caused but anything else is just the guy trying to make me pay for the maintenance of his property.
I understand you can sue a landlord for double the security deposit amount if they do not return it within 30 days of the lease ending. Soooo do I have grounds? Honestly just trying to get ahead of this scumbag landlord. I haven’t been out of the place for 30 days yet, but the official lease says May 30th. And would I even have a chance to be successful given that I do expect to be charged for at least one legit damage?
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
If you both agreed to to extend the lease to July 1st, are you really willing to commit perjury to try to claim the lease ended May 30th?
File in small claims if he doesn't get you the deposit and itemized damages before August 1st or if he does and you disagree with the damages.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
My landlord claims I signed a lease that she gave me a copy of. I have no evidence of the copy but a photo of the front and back of the lease. She claims hers is different than mine and that I signed it. I only ever signed one and that is the one I have the picture of. Will my picture of the lease hold up on court? TX
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
She'd need to produce the signed lease in court to refute your assertion that you never received it
What's the difference in the leases?
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
1. Lesson learned that you should always keep copies of important and legal docs.
2. What dispute are you having with your landlord that this has come up?
3. Will your photo hold up in court? It all depends. Is the front and back photo you have representative of the entire lease or only two pages of a larger document?
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
My lease says “this agreement can be cancelled at anytime by either myself or the landlord. If I chose to no longer work at location I will not receive any refunds on any remaining time paid” and she claims hers says that I need to give 2 weeks notice. However, I rent by the day, not week, or month. Out of courtesy I would pay a month in advance with my days but it was not required until the day of. Entire lease is shown in 2 pictures.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
30 days notice is pretty typical, 2 weeks even seems short. That line may refer to it being a month to month lease rather a 1 or 2 year lease. I think expecting to just move out on a random day w/o notice and stop paying rent is unreasonable for any renter agreement. But I guess if you just pay them every day instead of once a month then its basically a hotel lol
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
I did give 2 weeks from the planned move out date. I told her July 20th and paid through August 4th.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Does this look like someone broke in???
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Broke in? No. A weak attempt? Maybe.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
I rent a apartment in Savannah GA at a really nice and well maintained complex and I am currently in the move out process. August 31st is my last day. I had a preliminary move-out walkthrough scheduled for last Friday at 1pm. I never left the place until a little after 6pm since the office closes at 6. I was home all day and up before 1pm and no one showed up. I figured I would have to be there and there would be something I would have to sign agreeing with whatever damages were found and what not. This all feels a little sketchy to me.
I sent an email later that day and the manager of the complex responded yesterday stating:
“[Name] did go to your apartment last Friday at 1pm. He said no one was there, but performed the pre-move out inspection anyway. He is out sick today, so I am unable to ask him if there was anything notable. I will ask him when he returns and follow up with you.”
I have not heard from [Name] yet about the follow up. I have an email written out about how I was there and no one came by and that maybe the wrong apartment was looked at.
Should I wait and see what so and so has to say during the follow up is if that he gets back to me at all or should I just let the manager know that I was there and no one came by ? Y
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
I've already had service techs from the company come out here 4 times to all say the same thing. There is no thermostat, AC, Heat in the upstairs of the house (half of the residence that we can't even use). It gets as hot as 90F everyday now.
They have already said they're not paying to put any unit upstairs, and they are not offering a portable AC Unit. I've checked the lease and this is a violation. Who do I reach out to to escalate this problem? I've talked to all the managers responsible for this and they told us to buy our own window AC Units...
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
If it's a lease based violation you go to civil court if you can't get the landlord to act. Municipal or some government code violation would normally go though a local Housing agency to start. It is really unusual to have AC listed as any kind of requirement, even in the hottest of regions. If there is an existing unit that requires repair, they are probably on the hook to maintain that. Otherwise, they may be correct -- solve the problem yourselves if you require additional units. If there is a local code that lists minimum and maximum temps over a sample period of time, that may give you another avenue to work with the local housing agency. Good luck.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
I'm really curious about the verbiage in your contract. Usually AC is not a protected right. Just because AC is mentioned in the contract doesn't mean it's for the whole house. That would generally be just relating to the existing system, regardless of coverage. Heat is an iffy thing here because heat rises and it's not unheard of to not have heat in an upstairs that is getting the rising heat from the downstairs. I assume you knew what you were signing up for when you agreed to live there. When we haven't had AC we got ourselves a portable unit and when heat hasn't been evenly distributed we got a room heater for the room that needed it. I'm little confused why you had 4 separate people come out to tell you there isn't a system upstairs when that's pretty obvious after the first person told you that.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
North Carolina attorney here, but I'm not your attorney and you should never take legal advice from a rando on Reddit... Ever.
Unless there is something in your lease that guarantees A/C throughout the premises, I doubt you have much recourse. Nothing in state law requires your landlord to provide A/C and I don't know any local housing choices that require it either. State law does require landlords to make repairs promptly, but I don't think anything is broken here.
Heat is a bit different. Many local housing codes require the living space to be heated. Here is the ordinance for Charlotte. https://library.municode.com/nc/charlotte/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH11HO_ARTIIIMISTFIPLHA_S11-81HEFAVEAICO. You should call your local government's code enforcement office to see if that is the case in your town. Requirements can vary widely.
If there is a housing code issue, then your landlord has to remedy it.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
**TLDR:** She fucked around and found out. Due to her own greed Landlord costs herself $$$.
So apologies first and foremost for the novel that will unfold, but I figured this might be a fun read for folks and despite the stress the past 2 months I'm pretty freaking ok with the result. If you want to skip to the Juicy part go down to **The Battle Begins** and start from there.
**Background**
2 people renting a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom condo. We have 2 dogs in the lease as well. Condo was owned by a independent landlord with no additional property management support, we dealt with her chosen handyman and her directly.
Been renting for 2.5 years or so. No major issues with the landlord. She is an immigrant, ex-beauty pageant queen who owns a local beauty salon and another rental property, so was a somewhat savvy businesswoman with a ton of hustle. Only real sketch thing she did, while we were there, was try to pressure us into buying from the ~~MLM scam~~ supplemental life insurance she was repping for. Rental rate was honestly slightly below market. We were never late on rent, gave holiday cards/presents. Were basically model tenants.
Unit wasn't brand new by any means. Definitely showing signs of needing some TLC when we moved in. Handyman was a nice dude, but definitely one of those that priotized cheap and quick over "the right way." So I ended up actually doing a lot of repairs and maitanence where I could myself.
Because we had 2 dogs on the lease, we payed quite a bit on the security deposit. About 1.5X rent.
**The No Fault Eviction**
Got a text about 2.5 years into our tenancy from the landlord.
>
>"Hello u/dontfeedthenerd
I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to inform you that your lease has now expired and month to month, I appreciate having had you as a tenant, and I wanted to discuss the next steps. I would like to move back into the property soon.
Let's arrange a convenient time to discuss transitioning out of the property smoothly. Please let me know your availability.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Best regards,
The Landlord
Yes the opening quote was there. So pretty obvious they had copied and pasted it from some other message.
I honestly was sad as all heck. Sure the property wasn't perfect, but it had become home. I had a solid routine going. It was comfortable, you know? Because we were a bit under market I wondered if it had to with that and immediately offered to increase our rent if that was the case. Hopped on a phone call with her next day to clarify things and get a timeline.
The reason offered for her move back into the property was that the house that she currently lived in was next to where they had just built some new [section 8 housing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_8_(housing)). She no longer felt safe in that neighborhood. Ok... well I mean kinda a shitty reason, but who am I to challenge someone else's feeling right?
**Next steps**
So, off to the races I went to find a new place. Even though the landlord had said to take our time, there was a bit of an edge in how she had communicated things over the phone. I was reading between the lines but I wanted to act quickly.
Found a new spot. Signed a lease. Got all set to move in basically 30 days after we received that message. Our tenant rights stated that we actually had a minimum of 60 days, but I just wanted to rip off the band aid get it done.
Notified landlord, about 4 days after getting the text about timeline. She was surprised how quickly we were able to do it, we exchanged pleasantries, set a move out date and inspection date.
**The Cracks Begin to Form**
So even though our interactions had always been relatively pleasant, I had always had this feeling that I was just dealing with a thin candy coating of kindness that wrapped a shitty nougat center. Call it a vibe.
Sure enough 2 days after we agreed on the move out date, some cracks in that veneer began to show themselves.
Landlord texted us, asking us if it would be possible to move out faster. How much faster? Well how about next week.
Uhhh, well that's a no from me Chief. Sorry, we already signed the lease at the new place with a specific start date. We had already reserved movers and started the machinations of starting utilities and everything else.
Politely said that we had **already** agreed on a move out date and that our tenant rights actually gave us 60 days, and we had already moved to expedite beyond that.
Got a bit of a pouty response. But hey, chalked it up to her being anxious.
**Cracks? Naw, Chasms.**
So 5 days after the attempt to get us to move out earlier get a text from The Landlord asking if we could send her measurements for 3 different rooms, so that she could begin getting quotes for new carpets and blinds and such. We were still about 3 weeks away from move out at this point. But hey, alright, let's be nice to try to stay on her good side right?
Get all the measurements she's asking for. Send them over. No reponse. Not even a thank you.
2 days later get a request for us to let in her contractors so they could get their own measurements, that day. Like literally got a text at 8am expecting us to be able to let in her contractors at 1pm that day. Not like I have an actual job or anything like that you know? Tell her we are not available during that time frame, if she would like to show them around herself she's free to do so, just let her know so we can properly make arrangements for our pups.
Get a hissy message back about how she's busy. (And we're not?) Try to calm her a bit and suggest alternative time blocks. Agree on a date 1 week in the future (so T-2 weeks from moving). To accomodate I have to WFH that day, not ideal but once again trying to stay on her good side, yeah?
Stay home on the agreed upon date. There are 3 different contractors I gotta let in. Carpet, Blinds, Windows. Blinds guy is up first. Shows up on time, super nice dude, in and out in less than 30 minutes. Efficiency. Love it.
So I'm sitting around now waiting for Mr. Carpet to show up. We're 30 minutes past the 2 hour window I was given by The Landlord, so I'm a bit miffed. Texts to The Landlord get left on read. Phone calls go straight to voicemail. My God, is this a Tenant/Landlord relationship, or am I getting rejected by my High School crush all over again? 2 hours go by, we are now in the window for Mr. Windows (heh) and neither contractor has showed up. The Landlord is still doing her best impression of my HS crush in terms of communication.
Now it's waaaay past the windows of time I've been given, and finally Landlord texts back. She was busy and didn't pick up when the contractors called her to be let in, so they basically left. Great. Worked from home for an entire day and got shafted because she couldn't be fucked to do her end of the job.
The Landlord asks to reschedule the contractors, I very politely tell her we're moving out in 2 weeks and she can wait until then. Polite but firm push back.
**Move Out Time**
All quiet on the Western Front for the most part for the next 2 weeks except for a couple of texts to ask to be able to drop off items and furniture in preparation for her move in. Inconvenient but I accomodate.
My plan was basically move out 2 days before the inspection, hire cleaners that come through morning of inspection for a deep move out clean, do a walkthrough myself day of inspection and do any spot cleaning and repairs I can.
Movers come through, everything gets cleared out. Things go well. I love the new place.
**The Battle Begins**
Day before the walk through (**which was scheduled to be 5pm**) Landlord asks if we can had over the keys in the AM instead of the agreed upon 5pm. I tell her we have cleaners scheduled, and we had agreed on 5pm. So.... no, sorry.
She comes at me hard, tells me she has to have a religious ceremony to cleanse the condo. (I mean, I know I'm not the neatest guy in the world, but my messes typically don't require a priest, ya'know?)
At this point, I'm just tired. I want to get this all over with. I let her know a time frame **before** the cleaners and tell her in no uncertain terms that the cleaners will come through after, so our security deposit deductions should not take into account what she is seeing now.
I vacate the premises for her ceremony (in case my heathen self interferes with her juju somehow), come back in the moment they're done.
Cleaners come through, they do a decent job. While they're cleaning, I do some dry wall patches where we had pictures hung, do some quick fixes of where say a transition strip was peeling up or I had scraped the wall with my mountain bike.
Things are **not** perfect. I expect to get a few hundred deducted from our security deposit for things like dirt stains in the carpet or scratches on the wood trim where I didn't have the right paint to match. A grand at most.
5pm hits. No Landlord in sight. I'm aching to just get this done with.
Text, call. Once again get left on read and pushed to voice mail.
5:30
Nada
5:45
Nada
6:00
Nada
6:07
Get a text back, saying she lost track of time. We could either wait 30 minutes for her to get to the condo or she could do the inspection herself and send us the photos of deductions. I'll be honest, at this point, just based on the fact that she had tried to push MLM bullshit on us, and overall vibe since we began the process of moving out, I trusted her about as far as I could throw my Corgi. So not that far, he's a hefty boi.
6:37
30 minutes huh? Nada
**The Inspection**
7:12
She finally shows up. Immediately tells us this has to be quick because her friends are coming to meet her. (Ok how is that my problem?)
Immediately points the dirt stains out on the carpet. Starts saying how she'll have to replace the carpet. Now the carpet was old when we started our lease, it was by no means perfect. I get that we left stains, I'll own that, but these were little patches of dirt that could be shampoo'd out. Unfortunately the deep cleaning we had purchased did not include carpet shampooing, but I had gotten a quote for the entire unit to be shampoo'd which was under $350. I just held off, considering The Landlord was gonna be replacing the carpet anyways (you know the carpet contractor that was suppose to show up before). Figured worse comes to worse that would be $400-$500 from my deposit.
She's going on and on about how she's gonna have to replace the carpet. Luckily I had a feeling she was basically going to make us pay for her carpet upgrade, based on the previous interactions, so very firmly pointed out that California law made us only liable for the pro-rated price of carpet based on the expected lifespan of the existing carpet. So let's say she had carpet installed before that was expected to last 10 years and the carpet was currently 9 years old. We'd only be liable for around 10% of the cost of replacing the carpet with an equivalent carpet. I had that shit bookmarked and ready for her.
Whipping out the tenant rights documentation made her pause on that rant and move on to pointing out some scratches on the stove and the fading on the wood balcony. I pointed out that the wood balcony was owned and managed by her HOA and wasn't really our responsibility to maintain in that manner. I'm sorry but I'm not staining your balcony for you.
She cuts things short and kicks as out when her friends show up. I ask for an itemized deduction list, she promises to send it over.
**The first Skirmish**
3 days pass by, after our moveout. She finally texts us photos of damages. Some of them are definitely legit. I didn't have the paint to match on some of her wood trim, and left some scratches.
She follows this up by texting a photo a quote for her carpet replacement for over $2500. This included carpet for areas in the condo that did not have carpet previously and let me tell you this was *primo* carpet, not the shit that was on there before.
I laugh my ass off. Take a moment to collect myself.
Fire back a response basically saying, "nice try, but no." Ask to get the original documentation of the carpet that was on there before, so that we can figure out the pro-rated amount we actually owe. Point out that we are NOT paying for her to carpet areas of the condo that were not carpetted before.
Try to negotiate by offering a $500 deduction on the security deposit to cover the shampoo + other repairs.
**The Calm Before the Storm**
Radio fucking silence. I leave it. I know that in my county landlords have 21 days to return the security deposit along with an itemized list of deductions.
I also do some research. **Because this is a no-fault eviction, technically she actually not only owed us a security deposit but up to 2 months rent + moving costs as relocation assistance.** Oh snap.
21 days pass by after move out. I send her a letter through certified mail, outlining my tenant rights + the fact that she actually owed us relocation assistance. I actually send her 2 letters, 1 to the salon she owned and 1 to our old address, just to make sure she got it.
**Hurricane Landlord hits**
She gets the the letter. Waits a day, and sends us a clearly copy and pasted response that she will be sending us an itemized deduction ASAP. How do I know it was a copy and pasted response? Well let's just say her English was not the best (she is an immigrant and English is a terrible fucking language to learn, so no shade there) but it was clear that writing style, grammer and tone all shifted.
Message sounded pretty lawyery actually and made references to how she had consulted an attorney as sort of a vague threat.
2 days later, I get a massive envelope containing a check, a list of deductions and a very very fake invoice.
Check is tiny (like not in size, it was normally sized but in amount).
Looked at the fake invoice and she charged us over $2500 for CARPET CLEANING and to clean off the stove top. **Yeah 8 hours at $250 an hour for just the carpet cleaning.** Keeping in mind that the only carpet on the premises was currently in our loft (less than 100 square feet) and 2 flights of stairs at a total of <20 steps.
I sat there stunned for a second, then remembered that I had the original quote from her for carpet replacement, and that the total dedcution # looked pretty fucking familiar.
Oh yeah. I was right. That fucker had basically taken the original quote amount and worked backwards with her handyman to dummy up a fake invoice for the **exact same amount**. Coincidence?
**The Prep for the counterpunch**
Well at this point I'm just angry. She was clearly trying to take advantage of us.
Before I fire back anything though I want to be prepped. I knew she was a business woman. She clearly had access to a lawyer of some sort.
So, I do my research. I reach out to the local tenant rights advocacy group. I hit up a lawyer friend for some advice. I get a Unicourt account. And holy shit balls do I get some dirt from Unicourt.
**The Dirt**
So turns out **The Landlord was currently getting sued for elder abuse and fraud.** She had (I know I know innocent before proven guilty, but fuck her) scammed an 80 year old man (an immigrant in her own fucking community) for over half a million dollars and was currently trying to cut him out of a joint rental property they owned.
My theory is that the reason she's moving back to the crappy old condo is because she's settling the lawsuit and needs cash, so has to sell her nicer place that was her current residence.
It actually kind of lined up with my view with her at this point, I'm already pissed, but now I want fucking vengeance.
I also call the handyman that issued the invoice for "carpet cleaning" and ask him what his hourly rate was. Spoiler it was not $250 an hour.
**The counterpunch**
I send her a polite, facts only text. Linking to the various supporting documents which outline our tenant rights. No name calling, a subtle jab to let her know that I know about her current law suit and joint rental property, but beyond that pure fact dropping.
Premise was: Hey this is what you owe us based on tenant rights, I know what your handyman's hourly rate is, this is bullshit. We can either work this out like adults or involve small claims court, propose a figure that is above our security deposit but below the total amount she would owe if she were to pay us the relocation assistance she does owe us + security deposit. The intent is to show a small claims court judge (if we got to that point) that we were negotiating in good faith.
Just pure facts, documentation and data.
**The disappointing caving in**
At this point, I'm just hoping she gives us the finger so I can go toe to toe with her in small claims court. I was praying I'd get to throw down my very polished HS level speech and debate skills.
24 hours go by. I'm pretty sure she's shown my text to her attorney.
Bitch caves. Deprives me of my Law and Order cosplay opportunity.
Drags her feet a bit, but finally cuts us a check for the amount we had proposed. So we "win" in the sense that we got back more money than the security deposit and don't have to waste time with court, but at the same time we "lose" because technically we were legally owed more.
**The wrap up**
Because of her greed The Landlord had to pay over $4k more than she would have if she simply took our offer of a $500 deduction on the security deposit.
Lesson I learned? Know your fucking rights. Have a backbone. Do your research.
I'm planning on donating some of that excess cash to the tenant advocacy group that I oonsulted with. This was never about getting me money as much as it was about showing her that I wasn't gonna roll over, unless there were some belly rubs being promised.
**The Fun Epilogue**
So I'm actually on pretty darn good terms with the building manager at the old Condo. We texted back and forth occasionally. He's a good dude who cares about his job.
2 months after we had moved out, I get a text from him with the following message and a photo:
>Hi The Landlord. Thank you for removing the AC unit. Also, please remove this vent as well and replace the siding sheet. We can provide paint for touch up.
I had a feeling my building manager had "accidentally" sent me the text because he knew we were in a bit of a tussle with The Landlord. So I sent him a polite text reminding him that I was no longer in the unit, along with some other bro-talk, just to get some tea.
Turns out this entitled woman had cut a hole in the side of the wall of the unit to install an AC unit to deal with the California heatwave.
So not only was she an entitled idiot, she was an entitled idiot who had paid $$$ to get her handyman to install a unit but now had to pay to uninstall and fix the damage she caused on top of the HOA fine.
I also found out through the person who cuts my hair, who belongs to the same immigrant community as The Landlord that The Landlord had a bit of a reputation in the community. A reputation for taking advantage of folks who were new to the country or who were undocumented, both in terms of her tenants and in terms of her employees in her salon. My hair person basically implored me to go after The Landlord hard as Karma clearly wasn't doing its job and needed an assist from a bitter asshole like me. Unfortunately I did manage to stay out of court, but it made me feel better that I was clearly sticking it to a trash human being.
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
I want money too guys
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
"give us money because we're gay"
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
My favorite line is “we require $5,000 to secure a new vehicle” 😂
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
What the fuck
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Hi,
In nyc by the way
I know I may come across as stupid in this post. I’m not stupid (maybe a lil) but I am just wanting to see if there’s any options I have legally to report this behavior if the issue didn’t get solved (and if I will ever see the money again lol)
So I see an apartment listed for $1700
I go through the clearance process and all that and get it.
I go to sign the lease - I’ve already paid $1700 as a “safety deposit” that I have in writing will go to the landlord after I sign
Brokers fee is 15% of the annual rent (20,400) so $3060 plus first months rent $1700
$4760 I bring to the lease signing.
The broker gets there - late and rushed - this should’ve been a red flag
He tells me they’re offering me a lower rent $1375 if I pay the broker half of what I’d pay that year ($1950) and my rent stabilized place will go from that price ($1375)
I didn’t trust it but we were already half an hour late and my silly ass paid it.
I get to the leasing office and weirdly enough without a call or anything the lease has the $1375 price on it.
Another red flag I actually noticed while there.
Later on I asked the management for the building when I’d be getting the $650 back, the difference between the original rent for security deposit and first months rent - the broker had quickly mentioned it going toward the rent or given back to me.
Management had no idea what I was talking about
Broker then calls me and tells me I signed something that said it would go towards the brokers fee (absolutely didn’t !)
So as far as I’m concerned I over paid by:
Brokers fee by $588
1st months rent by $650
And the scammy “lower rent” fee $1950
All I asked for was the $650 and he’s trying to gaslight and fight me in this.
I am moved in - the apartment needs a lot of work - but I’m here and I am willing to work on it. This just seems like they really are trying to get one over on me. Maybe I’m being dramatic but please advise.
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
I do not want to give anyone regular access to my fenced-in yard twice per month. That was not in the original lease and it feels like a violation of privacy.
It also just says "usually on wednesdays" which is not acceptable in terms of detail. I can't deal with any of this on a regular basis but if I must, I absolutely have to have specific days and times in advance. Ideally they would not be coming in at all except for occasional inspections and absolutely necessary maintenance.
Do I have any recourse here to stand my ground as much as possible?
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
LL can access the house or yard anyway with appropriate notice... So not sure why that wording matters.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Like seriously why do they want access so often? Did you ask? I’m just curious.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
No idea. The property manager is always uppity about me not keeping a perfect yard even though it's mostly concrete and destined to be ugly. It makes me nervous because I'm super ADHD and do upkeep in large bursts rather than small consistent efforts, and my work schedule is super chaotic. This is stressing me the hell out.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
It would me too!
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
Hi all,
I moved into a new apartment in NYC about 5 months ago. This is in a building with a building/property manager that I'm supposed to interact with. Before I moved in, they asked for security deposit + first month's rent which I paid. After having moved in, for about the first 3 months, their online payment portal was offline and they told us that I needed to wait for them to fix it before I could start making payments. During that time, they also said that no late fees would be charged so I waited. While I never got confirmation that it was fixed, the original issue seemed to disappear one week and I was able to create my account and see the existing balance.
When I looked at the balance, I noticed that I was being charged for the first month's rent again. Since then, I've been calling and emailing the building/property managers to get some eyes on it but each time they would say something along the lines of "we'll look into it" and eventually they just stopped responding. I haven't paid any rent since moving in besides that initial first month and am worried that I'm going to get evicted or something. But I would also like to not pay an extra month's rent for no reason because their system didn't remember that I paid it already. My (potentially flawed) logic is that if I pay it, it legitimizes the extra rent and I don't think they'd give it back to me.
Is there anything I can do besides continuing to try to make contact with them? Should I pay the extra month's worth of rent anyways so they can't use that to evict me? There are late fees getting added as well but I should be able to cover them since there's a cap on how much the late fee can be per month (though ideally those get removed too). I'm really unsure of what to do next and I've never encountered a building/property manager that ghosts their tenant like this.
Thanks in advance
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
I wouldnt pay anything extra. Log, maybe from your bank account if it was an online payment, that you did indeed pay your security deposit& first months. Put the money you owe for rent after first months aside for when they come asking. If you have emails reaching out about I would log those too.
Then stop stressing about it and go about your business. If they come asking you have the money for the subsequent months rent you owe and if they try to evict you, you have proof youve reached out multiple times.
It would be bizarre if they tried to evict you if you have the money you owe and youve been trying to pay them for months. Its pretty bizarre they arent the ones stressing getting their money.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
It's reassuring to hear that from someone else. I really don't get why they don't want to come get their money. Ideally I could just give it to them and not have to think about this anymore but I'll keep waiting for them to give me a response.
I have a receipt they gave me after I paid the security deposit and first month's rent. I also have all of the emails that we sent back and forth which I will keep a record of. The money is put away and ready for them whenever they come for it.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
I wouldn’t pay that first month again.
But what I would do, is pay any new charges that appear. I’m assuming once month 2 hit, you saw on the portal the charges from the paid first month + the new month.
You should be able to go in and make a payment, edit the payment amount, and pay only your current month’s rent that is due. That way you’re not falling behind on rent. It would probably be legal for your landlord to not collect rent for 6 months due to whatever glitch, then say oops, and expect you to pay the entire 6 months up front or face eviction. NYC does have really good tenant protections, so maybe there’s some law that would prohibit it, but I’m not certain. All I know is you should avoid falling behind on rent.
If they try to assess late fees, you should fight those due to the system glitch. But I’d start paying your current rent asap. If the landlord assesses any late fees, they likely can’t evict you over those fees. At least here in CA, they can’t, and NYC has very similar (sometimes even better) tenant protections.
Pay any past due rent minus the first month that you paid.
Do you have any kind of proof you paid that first month? It could also be some sort of issue in their system, not them intentionally trying to charge you twice. For example, if rent payments typically happen via the rent portal, then when you paid your up front move in fees, they likely created a ledger for your unit, and they have to manually go in and mark that rent as paid with the amount paid. All future months you paid would automatically electronically be marked paid since you paid through the portal.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
>But what I would do, is pay any new charges that appear. I’m assuming once month 2 hit, you saw on the portal the charges from the paid first month + the new month.
So I only got access to the portal about 3 months after my lease started and by then they had just given me an initial charge for those 3 months. I was about to pay it before I realized it seem way higher than I expected.
>You should be able to go in and make a payment, edit the payment amount, and pay only your current month’s rent that is due. That way you’re not falling behind on rent. It would probably be legal for your landlord to not collect rent for 6 months due to whatever glitch, then say oops, and expect you to pay the entire 6 months up front or face eviction. NYC does have really good tenant protections, so maybe there’s some law that would prohibit it, but I’m not certain. All I know is you should avoid falling behind on rent.
I'm considering this as an option. I have all of the money for the rent that I believe I'm supposed to pay in cash somewhere but I'd really like to get things sorted out before I start making payments. You mention that I shouldn't fall behind on rent. If I only pay up to the amount that I believe I owe, would that still qualify as falling behind? Maybe for more context, the portal tracks a balance and so long as there's any balance on the account, I'm charged a late fee.
>Do you have any kind of proof you paid that first month? It could also be some sort of issue in their system, not them intentionally trying to charge you twice. For example, if rent payments typically happen via the rent portal, then when you paid your up front move in fees, they likely created a ledger for your unit, and they have to manually go in and mark that rent as paid with the amount paid. All future months you paid would automatically electronically be marked paid since you paid through the portal.
Yes, I have a receipt from them that explicitly states that I paid one amount for the security deposit and another amount for the first month's rent. I think your theory of it being an issue in their system seems plausible because while I think the same overarching system was used for security deposit + first month's rent and the following rent payments, the actual portals that I log into to make those payments was different.
The main thing that doesn't line up here is why they aren't responding to my messages or calls anymore. I'm asking them to sort all of this out so I can give them their money but it doesn't even seem like they care. Have you or someone you known encountered a similar experience?
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-26-07
|
I'm in Ontario. I was on lease till August, then asked my landlord to move out as soon as possible since I would be travelling and this place was honestly a hygienic mess and way overpriced (I was paying 850 for a tiny room). Landlord said if he could find someone before the lease was up he would not hold me responsible for the rent. He did not end up finding anyone and I paid for everything up until July.
Fast forward to today, in July, I'm back and I've moved to another place (I moved my stuff out two months ago), but I went back to get something I'd left behind in my room. I was surprised to find someone had moved in. I had a conversation with this person and they told me they'd paid for July as well.
I'd like to ask for the rent money back from the landlord, but do I have any legal basis for this, given my lease was technically not up yet? How do I go about this?
EDIT: The thing I'd left behind was also completely gone.
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Need desperate help
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Hello everyone, i had just recently lost my job and have been saving up for my rent that is due next thursday. i’ve currently saved up 700 &’ just need 400 more. i have a job lined up to start next month but my landlord is requesting i pay now or everyday it’s late will be 10 added. please anything on cash app or venmo would be appreciated.
Cash app; xxc3x (with the cash tag)
Venmo; xxc3x
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Pay with a credit card for now if you can.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
Upon notifying my landlord that my roommate and I needed to break our lease, he informed us that we needed to arrange for professional house cleaning and carpet cleaning in order to receive our security deposit back. He offered to arrange the cleaning himself and just take money from our security deposit to pay for it. I told him that it might be best if he arranged it. Me and my roommate are tight on money (we both lost our jobs), we would have to deal with cleaners right after moving out (and I was in the process of moving out of state), and I didn't want to be in a position where the cleaning we paid for was possibly not to the landlord's satisfaction.
I moved out three weeks ago and it took me forever to get a response from the landlord who frequently is off the grid and inaccessible. I asked him when we should expect our security deposit, what the cleaning fees will be, and if he can provide a receipt for those fees. He eventually responded just this past weekend saying he would get the security deposit back this week and that the cleaning ocurred while he was out of town but that he knows the house was generally in good shape other than the refrigerator. Our refrigerator freezer handle broke off about a year ago, so I assumed he was referring to that, but he said the refrigerator was also dirty. I generally kept the house very clean, even upon moveout, and the refrigerator was certainly not in bad shape at all: bright white, no major stains or smells or mold or anything, but just needed some cleaning. He made it sound like it was in terrible shape, which it was not. (Note: I took several pictures of the house, including the refrigerator, before moving out as proof of the condition that it was in).
I asked if the cleaning crew did not clean the refrigerator, which he was supposed to already have arranged. His comment complaining about the refrigerator seemed strange, especially as he was supposed to do a final inspection (June 30) after the cleaning crew came (supposedly June 29). And he kept not answering the question of how much the cleaning fees were. He finally attached an invoice of the cleaning fees and it looks incredibly fake.
First of all, the carpet cleaning itself was $250 (I suppose a reasonable fee, even though the carpets were in excellent condition with no stains). But the house cleaning fee was $500 which seems exorbitant given how well we took care of the house (which is only 1,200 sq ft), a compliment that the landlord had given us many times, even in writing over email. In addition, nothing was itemized: just "Deep Cleaning House $500", "Carpet pest cleaning and shampoo $250". This invoice looked like it could have easily been typed up in Excel. A business name (with no logo) was printed in the top right corner of the invoice along with a phone number. No business address, no website info, and no email address. When I searched for this business online, absolutely nothing came up, not even by including the state we were in (Virginia) to narrow the search. I couldn't find them on Better Business Bureau. I called the phone number several times, and it's a Google Voice number that goes to a random Indian woman's cell. I left her a voicemail yesterday afternoon and she (as of this evening) has still not contacted me back. I believe all of this is fraudulent. I have not yet responded to the landlord.
I am so tight on money and I asbolutely loathe that the landlord would do something like this to me, especially since I've been such a good and kind tenant and am in such a vulnerable situation. and that I may have to go the legal route to get the entirety of my security deposit back, which also means spending even more money. I'm debating whether to let the $750 go (from a $2,450 security deposit), but my parents are encouraging me to fight this.
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Sounds like you will have to take him to court. You put the ball in his court by not having things cleaned yourself even though I understand why you needed to at the time. Check your local municipality to be sure of the process and your rights.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
LL only have to supply you with an itemized invoice of the cleaning. They can do the work themselves.
Appliances are an extra fee and time consuming for move-out cleanings. $500 is about the standard going rate for a house this size on a move out turn.
Just because you kept it relatively clean while living there is not the same a turn over cleaning. Everything must be wiped down, all appliances have to cleaned inside, outside and pulled out from the wall to clean behind and under.
$250 for a carpet cleaning also appears to be pretty standard in my area.
Yes, you CAN file a a petition with small claims court..however IMHO, you may have a difficult time winning the case, as you admittedly, didn’t hire the cleaning service as required by your lease. The LL did that and will deduct that cost from your security deposit, pretty standard.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
Do you have a lease?
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
I'm not a lawyer, but I read a lot of stuff about things like this.
The TL:DR- your LL probably is allowed to do all of what they're doing, please seek mental health help and then legal advice, if you're doing anything illegal in your place, stop doing it, and if you keep giving your LL a hard time they are going to evict you.
Alright, access issues first: your landlord has the right to reasonable entry, which is often defined in the terms of your lease. Email is generally considered valid written notice in CA, your landlord does not have to physically mail you a letter every time they need to get in, and they do not have to comply with your idea of what reasonable notice should be. They MAY be breaking the terms of your lease with prior evening notification; you need to read your lease and then communicate CLEARLY with your landlord to get the required notice if they are.
As for the rest of the issues: put yourself in your landlord's shoes for a moment- to them, you are a problem tenant. You refuse access, you have guests over late (and I imagine they're not quiet), your guests cause problems for neighbors. Some of this may be against your lease and some of it might not be, but there's likely enough based on the refusal of entry alone to evict you. If you continue to do the things you've said you are doing, you are going to receive a 30-day notice, which is the pre-requisite to an eviction.
I'll be blunt, and I want you to know that this is not me judging you, but if you communicate in person or via email in the way you wrote this post, it is NOT helping you when dealing with your landlord. When communicating you need to be brief and direct. This post reads like mental health issues, and I would recommend seeking additional assistance for your anxiety and any other conditions if they are so severe that you cannot deal with your LL and maintenance people.
Edited for minor grammar and clarity.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
You’re wrong and entitled
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
Because you denied entry after receiving a 24 hour notice they have rights to terminate your rental agreement with a 30 day notice in California. It is considered an at fault eviction. Do you have security cameras and video of them entering without consent? If you don't there won't be much you can do. I would look into tenant and landlord rights in CA and see if there is anything out there that might be more helpful, sorry.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
From my understanding, they didn't deny after a notice they denied when the LL showed up unannounced. From what's posted, the LL has ever to actually give a 24 hour notice an email the night before doesn't count
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
I just moved into a new apartment and as I was deep cleaning the kitchen cabinets the inside of the cabinets started to peel off. There is a layer of non-waterproof paint or something all inside the cabinets. So anytime I clean the inside of the cabinets I’m wiping up tons of peeling paint.
This doesn’t seem cleanly to me and I’ve been trying to scrub it off myself but I feel the landlord should do something to remedy the situation. Any advice or suggestions as to how I can advocate for myself with my landlord?
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Perhaps they painted over pre-finished sealed cabinet with latex paint without sanding or priming? Or, maybe they just put latex paint over oil-based paint? Most pre-fab cabinets and doors are painted with oil-based paint for durability. Cabinets are usually sealed with some type of oil-based paint or they are laminate. Latex won't adhere without sanding or priming (maybe both).
I have one door in my house that the owner used white latex paint over oil-based factory finish paint. Latex will not adhere properly without sanding or priming first. The paint is just peeling off in little patches if touched or try to wipe my kid's fingerprints off the door.
If that's the case, do you know a painter? Might be good to document a statement from a professional painter and have pics for move-out.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
Hey yall, I have lived in my new house for about 6 months, the landlord lives next door and is an 80 year old woman. My last place was owned and operated by a larger company and fixes etc were never really an issue. My new landlord is….very frustrating and is borderline crossing some boundaries.
Right off the bat, there are things about this house that she requires me do that were not in the lease, it’s a 100 year old house and has its quirks but I immediately felt off about some stuff being withheld in the lease/tour of the place (which was done by a broker and not the landlord).
The windows leak water when it rains and have no weather proofing, she blamed me at first, and when I showed her proof and that water was leaking over power outlets, her response was that I should not use those outlets when it rains. She has not fixed the leaky windows, very thing is old in this house and she’s scared to modernize anything. The water heater is spotty when it rains, her excuse was “well it barely rains in California and I can’t afford to get a new one”. I travel a lot for work and am sometimes gone 2/3 weeks out of certain months, I was away for most of last month, and she is accusing me of having someone else living here because the water bills are much higher than they are supposed to be (I have no one else staying or living here) then she goes on to tell me I’m lying and started poking into my personal love life and if I have girlfriends who stay over. It goes on and on and she is very much in my business, and treats me like I’m a child (I’m 38).
One thing that bothers me is that I make very good money, just not enough to buy a house in Los Angeles at the moment, I can afford to fix all these things myself and take it out of the rent but she doesn’t trust me or anyone to fix anything. She constantly guilt trips me about how poor she is and as she is an elderly woman, I have sympathy but it is not my problem a landlord doesn’t know how to budget being a landlord, I paid her 6 months rent upfront so I know she has a certain amount of money.
I’m at a loss and I’m not sure what to do before I start withholding rent, as I would prefer to keep things civil
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Time to saddle up and ride off into the sunset.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Yea that’s what I’m thinking. My plan was that this was going to be my last rental before buying but I’m not sure how long I can live here. Thing is, it’s a beautiful house in an AMAZING location, it just needs some work…I wish I owned the place
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Maybe you can buy it from her for a decent price and fix it up. She can't afford to maintain, but you like the house.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Water heater aside, you can fix the leaky windows for quite cheap, and likely a lot of other annoyances, without much disturbance to the look or feel of the home.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
Weather proof windows are a habitability issue. As is hot water. Tell her to fix the issues or you walk. If she can’t afford to make repairs she can’t afford to operate a rental property and should sell.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
Research your state Owner-Resident Relations Act to see what recourse you have to force the LL to make the repairs.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
Weather proofing is habitability requirement. I'm sure there are other code violations as well. If it is a house, I believe you would contact the LA County Dept. of Building and Safety. You could also try contacting the LA Housing Dept.
The problem with just moving is that the next tenant will be stuck with the same problems. Landlords are obligated to make sure their spaces meet basic habitability requirements **before** renting them out. In some cases it is illegal to collect rent on a space that does not meet basic habitability requirements. In some cases, the tenant can be refunded some or all of the rent they paid if the space is declared uninhabitable. It sounds like this landlord has no business being a landlord.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
You gave OP a very good idea. Good thinking grasshopper.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
I am currently renting a house and the leasing company has been mediocre but now is down right terrible…
The first issue we had was the dishwasher broke. Informed the leasing office of the situation and scheduled a replacement to be installed. The maintenance company that was hired never showed up which caused my fiancé to miss work. Long story short I personally picked up the dishwasher and installed it myself and received some money off of my rent. (I don’t recall the amount but it was not a lot.)
Fast forward to now. We do an end of lease walkthrough and let them inspect the property to make sure we are keeping up with everything. No complaints there.
They want a receipt of our carpets being professionally cleaned. We explain we shampoo our carpets and they tell us our carpets will be fine no need for them to be professionally cleaned.
We emailed them to get our new lease agreement for another year and were told we need our carpets cleaned before we can sign. We explained what we were told a few weeks ago but they insisted anyways. Slightly frustrating but okay. We schedule a carpet cleaning company and inform the leasing office. Now today they have informed us that someone had driven by our property and we cannot sign another lease until our grass is green… Is this even legal to enforce?
|
r/renters
|
post
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
I think "they be trippin" on this one.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
I'm almost positive they can't harass you about that grass unless it's in the lease saying that you'll maintain it and keep it green. Hell then it may not even be legal.
That's crazy. I'm not a lawn connoisseur but you can't just immediately take care of a lawn and make it green. Lol. That's really weird and it almost seems like they're trying to find an excuse not to let you sign another lease.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
Do they do a walk through at the end of every lease period?
I've only had that upon moving out.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
Next it will be. You cannot sign the lease until there are no clouds in the sky.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
LL and tenants both have the option to not renew. Seems like they would prefer a new tenant rather than have you sign again (just my opinion here).
You can always accept the terms of the renewal or decline, and submit your notice of intent to terminate. Check your lease and state law on what that timeline is.
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
Green spray paint
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-25-07
|
That’s sheet rock not asbestos
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
This is drywall? Like the material you physically wall is made of…
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
If the walls haven’t been replaced since the 80s (I think that’s the decade) it’s possible but you would have to get it tested to confirm if I’m not mistaken
|
r/renters
|
comment
|
r/Renters
|
2024-24-07
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.