• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Previous Landlord Suing us in Small Claims Court Michigan

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

tinkaroo

Junior Member
Michigan
Genesee County


My husband and I received and Affidavit in the mail from the Small Claims court saying we are being sued by our previous landlord for $1,370.63.
We are due in court on May 19th, 2008. 1:30 p.m.
At the 67th District Court

Our previous landlord claims we owe him for Rent, Consumer’s Energy charges, sewer and water and damages to a stove, storm door window and clean up.
All states on the affidavit I received in today’s mail,

We moved to the Oxford area in the beginning of April because we are low income and needed to be closer to my husbands work in order to save on gas.
We also moved because our previous landlord kept the house in disrepair.
We were unaware of our tenants’ rights until we gave him notice and he threatened to take us to court.
Then I did some research and only then did I learn we could have formally requested in writing that he repair the home and then refuse to pay rent if repairs were not done in a timely manner.
Those repairs we were most concerned about were the peeling walls in the bathroom where on numerous occasions mold and fungus grew despite my use of bleach and vinegar to clean as best I could.
Also the floor in the living room sagged. We knew about this when we moved in and we ensured it would be repaired quickly.
However he did not repair the floor until we moved out and we lived there for at least two years.
Our other grievance that our landlord was made aware of on numerous occasions was the lack of proper insulation and therefore cold cold temperatures in the master bedroom and bathroom.
Resulting in our having to keep the thermostat at 80 degree’s in the winter and still being unable to heat the bedroom and bathroom to 60 degree’s.
We resorted to using a portable electric heater and closing the adjoining master bathroom door to try and warm the bedroom.
Even that did not provide enough heat to comfortably sleep so we added an electric blanket to our bed.
Yet every time my husband mentioned the heating issue we were met with indifference by our landlord and nothing was done.
Again because we were not informed of our legal tenant’s rights we endured because we thought if we rocked the boat he would evict us and we have children.
Fortunately there was never a heating issue in their rooms.

Then when we did finally acquire enough money for a down payment on a house in Oxford for rent we gave notice on March 19th in the form of a letter and again on March 21st in person.
My husband went to the landlords house to explain to him we were indeed moving and to apologize for not informing him sooner, but we had to wait to be approved for the new place and that happened on March 19th.
As of April 3rd when my husband went to retrieve the last items left at the house and to do a final inspection and cleaning he discovered that the locks to every door had been changed and the landlord had removed our lawn mower from the garage.
When he talked to the landlord and requested these items (refrigerator, riding lawn mower, vacuum cleaner) the landlord informed him he was keeping these items until we paid him what he claimed we owe.
We were not able to retrieve these items until the local police were called by my husband.
However the vacuum was no longer in the house and we have no idea what was done with it.
Also part of what he claims we owe is cleaning cost. However he locked us out before we had a chance to clean.
In order to attempt to make peace my husband explained that is why he left the vacuum and other items there because he was coming back to retrieve them and do the last cleaning and vacuuming and that the landlord could use part of our $1000.00 security deposit to pay for the rest of the rent due until the thirty days were up and for repair of a broken window on the front door.
To no avail the landlord is still suing us.
He claims we owe some great amount of money in the form of the utilities bills.
However we were not the only ones using those utilities. Which we were not aware of until after we’d moved in and my husband asked where the electric and water meters were and he was informed there was only one for the house despite there being a gentleman residing in the upstairs part of the house and our family on the lower floors.
Confused he asked if we then shared utilities and the landlord informed him we pay the utilities and that’s why he kept the rent lower.
However we were stuck paying utility costs we did not incur.
Can you help us figure out where to go from here?
We want to make sure we're prepared.
 


Alaska landlord

Senior Member
I think you pretty much screwed yourself. Your post was a bit vague, but if I understood it correctly, you failed to give proper notice. You also failed to clean the apartment and have caused some damage that you are now being charged for. Utility charges are often a month behind and it is probable that you did incur at lease half of those charges. Though, I would verify with the Utility Company.

You should be aware that it is likely that your upstairs neighbor was probably the beneficiary of all that heat you were pumping out and probably never had to turn his on.
Also, with these old houses it is not unusual for the heating to a comfortable level to be achieved and for certain areas of the house to have cold spots. As for the mold, that could have been caused by poor ventilation in the bathroom especially after a nice hot shower. If you had a working vent fan, you should have used it.
 

BL

Senior Member
Explain the lock out , the keeping of your personal property , etc .

If the LL broke the law ask for any and all damages associated with the lock out , and keeping of your property .

If you can get a police report on that , show it to the court .

Tell the court there was no agreement to pay another tenants utility cost .

I had a LL claim the same thing once . When I got the bill I took it to him . He claimed I was responsible for the whole house .

Let the Judge decide. .

BTW , you were also wrong in the way you handled this .
 

tinkaroo

Junior Member
Tenant/Landlord dispute in Michigan

Okay thank you for your reply however I disagree.
Firstly, we did give notice and agree'd to pay rent for the rest of the 30 days notice even tho we had already moved out.
So technically we were still the renters of the property until the 21st of this month.
We stated in writing and he agree'd that he would take the rent owed out of the security deposit.
Still leaving over $500 of that deposit to be used to fix a single pane of glass on a storm door.
We also did not "fail" to clean the apartment. We were unlawfully locked out.
As I stated above we were still legally in possession of the house until April 21st.
We had until then to have everything out and everything clean.
Thus why we called the police to retrieve our items still left there.

As for the other alleged damage. We did not cause.
Pre-existing condition that the landlord is intending to charge us for anyway.
A stove with two broken knobs. Which were broken when we moved in.
Making only two of the burners usable.
That is it.
Still not amounting to $500.

As for the utilities. We are aware we are responsible for some. However not nearly half.
One bill in particular is the energy bill for gas and electric.
Because we are low income we were placed on a budget plan.
However based on the uses the company decided, should we remain using that amount of gas and electric the budget would have to be adjusted.
That was for the month we moved out.
The bill is kept in the landlords name per his request so we are not able to discuss the bill with the company.
Therefor is it not the landlords duty to contact the energy company and explain that his tenant has moved out and therefore the energy use should drop?
Thus removing the need for the company to adjust the rate?
Especially since the bill he is trying to get us to pay if for the time we were not in the residence and were in fact locked out.

On top of that we never refused to pay any utilities
we ourselves owe. The problem came only when my husband asked for a break down of the bill because we are not convinced he has not been over charging us.
Having estimated what we owe.

As for the problems with the heat, I have lived in older homes before, this isn't simply a draft issue or cold spots.
These were entire rooms made virtually unusable by the fact they could not maintain a livable heat.
Larger rooms at that.

And as for the moldy fungus bathroom. There was no fan to be used.
It was a tiny bathroom.
I often showered with the bathroom door opened to allow the moisture to escape but it was not enough.

I fully realize I have screwed myself in the past by not knowing my rights. I am simply trying to ensure I not get screwed anymore.
Hence this post.
 

tinkaroo

Junior Member
Tenant/Landlord dispute in Michigan

The illegal lockout.
We paid rent until the 21st of April.
He changed the locks on the third and we hadn't moved out all of our stuff.
Left inside the home were cleaning supplies. Our refrigerator freezer and a vacuum.
Left inside the garage was a riding lawn mower.
Stuff my husband had not been able to move out yet.
He refused to open the door for my husband, stating that we owed him money and he intended to keep those items until we paid him what he alleged we owe.
My husband called the police to see if what was happening was legal.
My husband was informed it was illegal and the landlord was not with in his rights to try to "strong arm" us by keeping our possessions.
The police met my husband and the landlord at the house.
The police informed the landlord he was required to let my husband retrieve our items or being charged with theft.
We got our items.

Thank you for the advice on the utility matter.
I will make sure of course to bring a copy of the lease to court as it is not stipulated anywhere on the lease/rental agreement that we are responsible for anyone else's utilities.

And I do understand that we were naive and did not know our rights or how to handle a situation like this, again that is why I am on here for advice and information so I will be prepared for court and won't be taken advantage of again.
 

Alaska landlord

Senior Member
Are you aware that notice has to be given at the beginning of the lease period and not in the middle of the month? You are not renting by the day, but by the month.

If your lease period begins on the 1st and you give notice on the 19th of that same month then, it does not become effective till the 1st of the following month. which would be the 1st of June. Therefore, you were free to move in July without penalty.
 

tinkaroo

Junior Member
Tenant/Landlord dispute in Michigan

Actually per what is stated in our lease.
Rent is due for 30 days from date of notice.
Which is why he agree'd we only owe him half a months rent.
 
I love it when tenants come up with all their excuses on why they don't have to pay their rent. He gave you a reduced rental rate because their was probably only one meter as heat rises. Bleach takes off mold in bathrooms if you keep doing it. You can't just do it once and forget about it. If you damaged items then you need to repair them.

Pay the amount you owe and move on. Looks to me like you went and talked with a "free" attorney so that you can get out of paying the LL.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top