riverbluet
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? VA
I had been living in a 660sqft 1bdrm apt for 23 months and moved 3 months ago to a larger 2bdrm unit in the same complex. I had paid a $365 security deposit which rolled over to the new apt. I had also paid a $300 pet fee (1 dog and 1 cat, $150 each) as well as $20 extra each month for the pets. This second apartment I paid a second $300 pet fee, continue the $20 increase in rent a month and also paid a $200 pet deposit (just showing the large amount of money spent here). I know the fees do not cover anything, they are just a charge for the privilage of having a pet, so i know nothing we have paid so far would go towards move out fees.
A month after move out we received an itemized letter with out move out fees. Along with many fairly reasonable fees (clean fridge, replace drip pans on stove, cover nail holes, etc) which I do not mind paying for, we were charged $480 to replace the carpet and $70 for the subflooring due to pet stains. My pets do NOTHING. it is like living with stuffed animals. No digging, scratching, chewing, clawing, urinating, deficating, etc. nothing. they dont even play. they have never had an accident on the carpet, there was no smell, etc. I dont mind paying for cleaning and decon, bc i understand that the new tenants could have allergies, but new carpet?!
My fiance and I wrote the rental property to ask them why we were being charged so much, because the carpet looked fine, no stains, rips, etc when we moved out. It did not need replacement. they replied with an estimate from their third party suggesting numerous "pet stains" throughout and that they recommended new carpet. New carpet was installed before we moved in, and was also installed after we moved out. I have invoices for both installs. It cost $481 for the carpet and padding before I moved in, as well as $151 for labor, total = $656.85. I have the estimate from the same comanpy before we moved in as well, and it just recommended cleaning, but they put in new carpet anyways!
What I did wrong: NO PICS! I was so confident in our upkeep of the place that I didnt take any pics! Dumb, I know. But they dont have any pics either to prove that there were stains. Neither the property manager, the cleaners who do the estimates, or the other company who actually replaced the carpet have any pics. I have done the black light test in this new unit (3 months living here) and there is nothing on the floors. No urine, no stains. We clean and vacuum often. Clean pets.
So basically do I have anything that could stand up in small claims court? No one has evidence, I feel that they just think "pets, yes, we are going to replace it" but my pets are not the norm. Would I be able to file a court date myself to dispute the charges, and if so, would I be able to win since they cant provide proof of the supposed damages (and that 3 months in a diff unit have yeilded NO stains as supporting evidence)?
Also, If I take this to court, will it go to our credit report and/or rental history? We plan on moving out of state in Dec (moved to 2bdrm to get a roommate and save money) and do not want to hinder our chances of finding a rental out of state.
Help!
I had been living in a 660sqft 1bdrm apt for 23 months and moved 3 months ago to a larger 2bdrm unit in the same complex. I had paid a $365 security deposit which rolled over to the new apt. I had also paid a $300 pet fee (1 dog and 1 cat, $150 each) as well as $20 extra each month for the pets. This second apartment I paid a second $300 pet fee, continue the $20 increase in rent a month and also paid a $200 pet deposit (just showing the large amount of money spent here). I know the fees do not cover anything, they are just a charge for the privilage of having a pet, so i know nothing we have paid so far would go towards move out fees.
A month after move out we received an itemized letter with out move out fees. Along with many fairly reasonable fees (clean fridge, replace drip pans on stove, cover nail holes, etc) which I do not mind paying for, we were charged $480 to replace the carpet and $70 for the subflooring due to pet stains. My pets do NOTHING. it is like living with stuffed animals. No digging, scratching, chewing, clawing, urinating, deficating, etc. nothing. they dont even play. they have never had an accident on the carpet, there was no smell, etc. I dont mind paying for cleaning and decon, bc i understand that the new tenants could have allergies, but new carpet?!
My fiance and I wrote the rental property to ask them why we were being charged so much, because the carpet looked fine, no stains, rips, etc when we moved out. It did not need replacement. they replied with an estimate from their third party suggesting numerous "pet stains" throughout and that they recommended new carpet. New carpet was installed before we moved in, and was also installed after we moved out. I have invoices for both installs. It cost $481 for the carpet and padding before I moved in, as well as $151 for labor, total = $656.85. I have the estimate from the same comanpy before we moved in as well, and it just recommended cleaning, but they put in new carpet anyways!
What I did wrong: NO PICS! I was so confident in our upkeep of the place that I didnt take any pics! Dumb, I know. But they dont have any pics either to prove that there were stains. Neither the property manager, the cleaners who do the estimates, or the other company who actually replaced the carpet have any pics. I have done the black light test in this new unit (3 months living here) and there is nothing on the floors. No urine, no stains. We clean and vacuum often. Clean pets.
So basically do I have anything that could stand up in small claims court? No one has evidence, I feel that they just think "pets, yes, we are going to replace it" but my pets are not the norm. Would I be able to file a court date myself to dispute the charges, and if so, would I be able to win since they cant provide proof of the supposed damages (and that 3 months in a diff unit have yeilded NO stains as supporting evidence)?
Also, If I take this to court, will it go to our credit report and/or rental history? We plan on moving out of state in Dec (moved to 2bdrm to get a roommate and save money) and do not want to hinder our chances of finding a rental out of state.
Help!
