WuLabsWuTecH
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio
Question: I paid rent for a partial month when the unit was not yet ready for move-in ($200). The landlord wants to refund me only $75 of that. Can I just go ahead and subtract $200 from my next month's rent?
Story:
I was slated to move in to my unit at the end of June. I paid a partial month's rent (~$200), plus a security deposit (~$400), plus July's rent (~$1000) when I went to pick up my keys. When I got to the unit, it was clearly not ready for move-in. There were doors not attached, carpet not put down, a ladder in there, etc. Turns out, there was a miscommunication between the rental office and maintenance about when the unit should be ready for move-in. The rental office staff came out, and agreed the unit was not ready for move-in, and I gave the keys back. I was finally able to move-in on July 1st.
A week after I moved in, I went to the property manager and asked for a refund of the $200 I paid for June and the manager agreed I was due that much and stated that property managers didn't have the authority to authorize refunds, but he would kick it up to the corporate office. He was fired about a week later. The interim manager had no idea what I was talking about, so I explained the story again. She stated that she would work on it for me, but I never heard from her again. Two weeks later, a new manager was placed at our property. Once again, she had no idea what was going on, but after my explanation, she agreed she would work on it for me.
After many emails (>50% of which went unreturned), and phone calls, I finally got an email last week. The manager said she didn't know what agreement I had with the previous managers, but the best she could do was a $75 rent credit for the time I couldn't move into my unit. I replied that this was unacceptable and requested either a rent credit for $200, or an explanation as to why she thought $75 was all I was owed. A full week later, I have not heard anything back from her.
They have had a lot of turnover in the rental office (managers and associates both), and I think that's part of the reason emails aren't getting returned and when they do get returned, they essentially all say, "I have no idea, let me talk to the property manager and get back to you." They subsequently have never gotten back to me other than the manager's email I mentioned above.
Today, I sent out another email asking for a status update. It has gone unreturned as of right now.
My plan is this: If I don't hear back from them tomorrow, I plan on sending one more email stating that if I receive no response before rent is due on the 25th, I will assume they are accepting my accounting as correct and I will deduct $200 from my November's rent. I plan on following up with a phone call (they always answer the phone) on a recorded line to ensure they have received this email. Then I will pay $800 for my next rent ($1000 rent minus the $200 I am owed).
Can anyone see a better way to deal with this or see any flaws with my plan?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Question: I paid rent for a partial month when the unit was not yet ready for move-in ($200). The landlord wants to refund me only $75 of that. Can I just go ahead and subtract $200 from my next month's rent?
Story:
I was slated to move in to my unit at the end of June. I paid a partial month's rent (~$200), plus a security deposit (~$400), plus July's rent (~$1000) when I went to pick up my keys. When I got to the unit, it was clearly not ready for move-in. There were doors not attached, carpet not put down, a ladder in there, etc. Turns out, there was a miscommunication between the rental office and maintenance about when the unit should be ready for move-in. The rental office staff came out, and agreed the unit was not ready for move-in, and I gave the keys back. I was finally able to move-in on July 1st.
A week after I moved in, I went to the property manager and asked for a refund of the $200 I paid for June and the manager agreed I was due that much and stated that property managers didn't have the authority to authorize refunds, but he would kick it up to the corporate office. He was fired about a week later. The interim manager had no idea what I was talking about, so I explained the story again. She stated that she would work on it for me, but I never heard from her again. Two weeks later, a new manager was placed at our property. Once again, she had no idea what was going on, but after my explanation, she agreed she would work on it for me.
After many emails (>50% of which went unreturned), and phone calls, I finally got an email last week. The manager said she didn't know what agreement I had with the previous managers, but the best she could do was a $75 rent credit for the time I couldn't move into my unit. I replied that this was unacceptable and requested either a rent credit for $200, or an explanation as to why she thought $75 was all I was owed. A full week later, I have not heard anything back from her.
They have had a lot of turnover in the rental office (managers and associates both), and I think that's part of the reason emails aren't getting returned and when they do get returned, they essentially all say, "I have no idea, let me talk to the property manager and get back to you." They subsequently have never gotten back to me other than the manager's email I mentioned above.
Today, I sent out another email asking for a status update. It has gone unreturned as of right now.
My plan is this: If I don't hear back from them tomorrow, I plan on sending one more email stating that if I receive no response before rent is due on the 25th, I will assume they are accepting my accounting as correct and I will deduct $200 from my November's rent. I plan on following up with a phone call (they always answer the phone) on a recorded line to ensure they have received this email. Then I will pay $800 for my next rent ($1000 rent minus the $200 I am owed).
Can anyone see a better way to deal with this or see any flaws with my plan?
Thanks in advance for your help!