orangenerd
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WI
I need legal help as to whether I should take legal action. And how much I can sue for (above damages ie court costs, attorney fees)
1. Landlord is disputing validity of checkin sheet - lease started in June (we started paying rent), he knew we were not moving in until August, still had repairs to be made (electrical, phone jack not hooked up until after we moved in, broken door "replaced" but was only kinda fixed-see below ) He said it was fine so we signed and sent checkin sheet on the 13th of August. We never got a notice saying it was too late. When we receive the itemized charges, He does not use the original checkin sheet, but makes his own checkout sheet (different format) charging us for the items we had already listed. After we request for him to look at the "original" checkin sheet, he sends a letter which includes the original checkin sheet, but says that he has rejected all claims on there because he says that the law says that the checkin has to be within 7 days from the beginning of the lease (I thought the law said "at least" seven days to inspect the apartment, but after that as long as the landlord was ok with the time frame). He does take off the costs of the screen (he doesn't specify why but after going there to speak with the current tenants, I find out that he never bought replacement screens)
2. Land lord has 8 hrs of cleaning as a result of abruptly moving due to negligence- Landlord has EVERYTHING listed as dirty…no damages, just dirty. We moved out when our lease was over, not sure how he determined abruptly and negligently, but we did not have many items as we had already moved the majority of our stuff. We DID clean, and admit some things may have been forgotten but doesn't wi law prevent landlord charging for routine cleaning, unless there were specific damages. Also, after speaking with the current tenants and inspecting the unit, the refridgerator was STILL in the condition we found it in ie dirty behind(took pictures at checkin and 1 yr later still the same). Also, we moved out at 12pm while new tenant moved in at 5pm, and stated there was no one cleaning while he was moving in meaning it was impossible to have 8hrs of cleaning. After contacting landlord to reduce charges, landlord is insistent on the 8 hrs of cleaning.
3. Landlord charging us for door and screens- Landlord informed us before we took the place that the previous tenants kicked the front door in, and he would replace door. The door present at the time we moved in was NOT a replacement, but rather seemed patched(side of the door seemed hammered in to make it flush and able to close). After city inspection, landlord was required to replace the door (Late april). We did not get notice to pay the costs of repair, so we were not able to dispute at the time of occurrence.
4. Landlord charging for snow removal- we were not exclusively responsible for snow removal as we took half of the sidewalk and another unit took the other half, should not have to pay the WHOLE bill if anything. We ALWAYS shoveled our side, but do not feel responsible for the other side as it was the responsibility of the other unit.
5. Landlord charging for utility bill- Although we will probably not dispute this, landlord NEVER told us it was a shared meter (water for sure, not sure about electricity). In the lease we were to pay half and landlord pays half, but if the lease for the other shared unit states the same then the landlord if effectively not paying for anything. Just a thought to see if we could pursue an avenue on this.
6. Landlord charging for waste removal - Claims Box our table came in was left over(box 4ft by 4ft by 6inches). We dispute that because we already threw away our box and the removal was done on the 3rd while we moved out on the 1st. New tenant did not see anything boxes left on the curb, just junk (not ours) in the backyard.
7. Land lord claims that unit was "READY" in June- just a thought but, when the guy came to hook up our phone line because the jack did not have a wire on the backside (inside the home wiring) he said someone had rewired the unit over the summer. One of the tenents says that when he came in July to move in some stuff and get mail that people were still working on the unit. (fixing closet doors-which were not finished until after we moved in, lighting etc)
8. Landlord obviously is not keeping track of finances- He tells me that I gave him a 600 sec dep when I gave him 675. I could get a statement from the bank to prove it since I gave it to him in a check. Does this help my case that he doesn't even know what I gave him for deposit.
Do I have a case?
Thanks
I need legal help as to whether I should take legal action. And how much I can sue for (above damages ie court costs, attorney fees)
1. Landlord is disputing validity of checkin sheet - lease started in June (we started paying rent), he knew we were not moving in until August, still had repairs to be made (electrical, phone jack not hooked up until after we moved in, broken door "replaced" but was only kinda fixed-see below ) He said it was fine so we signed and sent checkin sheet on the 13th of August. We never got a notice saying it was too late. When we receive the itemized charges, He does not use the original checkin sheet, but makes his own checkout sheet (different format) charging us for the items we had already listed. After we request for him to look at the "original" checkin sheet, he sends a letter which includes the original checkin sheet, but says that he has rejected all claims on there because he says that the law says that the checkin has to be within 7 days from the beginning of the lease (I thought the law said "at least" seven days to inspect the apartment, but after that as long as the landlord was ok with the time frame). He does take off the costs of the screen (he doesn't specify why but after going there to speak with the current tenants, I find out that he never bought replacement screens)
2. Land lord has 8 hrs of cleaning as a result of abruptly moving due to negligence- Landlord has EVERYTHING listed as dirty…no damages, just dirty. We moved out when our lease was over, not sure how he determined abruptly and negligently, but we did not have many items as we had already moved the majority of our stuff. We DID clean, and admit some things may have been forgotten but doesn't wi law prevent landlord charging for routine cleaning, unless there were specific damages. Also, after speaking with the current tenants and inspecting the unit, the refridgerator was STILL in the condition we found it in ie dirty behind(took pictures at checkin and 1 yr later still the same). Also, we moved out at 12pm while new tenant moved in at 5pm, and stated there was no one cleaning while he was moving in meaning it was impossible to have 8hrs of cleaning. After contacting landlord to reduce charges, landlord is insistent on the 8 hrs of cleaning.
3. Landlord charging us for door and screens- Landlord informed us before we took the place that the previous tenants kicked the front door in, and he would replace door. The door present at the time we moved in was NOT a replacement, but rather seemed patched(side of the door seemed hammered in to make it flush and able to close). After city inspection, landlord was required to replace the door (Late april). We did not get notice to pay the costs of repair, so we were not able to dispute at the time of occurrence.
4. Landlord charging for snow removal- we were not exclusively responsible for snow removal as we took half of the sidewalk and another unit took the other half, should not have to pay the WHOLE bill if anything. We ALWAYS shoveled our side, but do not feel responsible for the other side as it was the responsibility of the other unit.
5. Landlord charging for utility bill- Although we will probably not dispute this, landlord NEVER told us it was a shared meter (water for sure, not sure about electricity). In the lease we were to pay half and landlord pays half, but if the lease for the other shared unit states the same then the landlord if effectively not paying for anything. Just a thought to see if we could pursue an avenue on this.
6. Landlord charging for waste removal - Claims Box our table came in was left over(box 4ft by 4ft by 6inches). We dispute that because we already threw away our box and the removal was done on the 3rd while we moved out on the 1st. New tenant did not see anything boxes left on the curb, just junk (not ours) in the backyard.
7. Land lord claims that unit was "READY" in June- just a thought but, when the guy came to hook up our phone line because the jack did not have a wire on the backside (inside the home wiring) he said someone had rewired the unit over the summer. One of the tenents says that when he came in July to move in some stuff and get mail that people were still working on the unit. (fixing closet doors-which were not finished until after we moved in, lighting etc)
8. Landlord obviously is not keeping track of finances- He tells me that I gave him a 600 sec dep when I gave him 675. I could get a statement from the bank to prove it since I gave it to him in a check. Does this help my case that he doesn't even know what I gave him for deposit.
Do I have a case?
Thanks