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Suing Landlord Over Water Bill

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Jackiep1122

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TX

I am planning on taking my landlord to small claims court for a portion of unpaid deposit, as well as a very large water bill. Here is the story:

In June, we discovered we had a large roach population congregating in our backyard. Landlord called someone to come check it out and they told her they were worried about the foundation and said that the bugs were going to get in because the ground was so dry and it was creating gaps btw foundation and home. We explained that the issue was not the bugs in the house, we were worried about why there were so many in the yard in the first place! The landlord was very rude to us and said that we were neglecting the home and it was our responsibility to have been watering the foundation since we were in a drought. Not only are we just renters, it clearly says in our lease that landlord takes care of all yard maintenance. There is no mention of us watering it or anything else for that matter. She told us that she EXPECTED to see us watering the yard every night and that she was coming by the next day to make sure we had soaker hoses set up around the house. I told her that it was NOT our job to save the foundation on the home and that we would not purchase special hoses out of our pocket for her to save her foundation. I did say that I would be happy to turn them on and off for her as she requested though. The water bill is in my name and I was afraid that running those hoses was really going to rack up my bill. I explained to her that if she wanted me to continue to let them run, she needed to put something in writing saying that she was willing to cover any overage on our bill. She argued with me and said that every 1000 gallons was only 3 dollars but that she would be willing to pay any overage. Well sure enough I got my water bill in and it is well over $1,000! I called her up and told her about it, and sent her all the paperwork via fax and certified mail. I did not hear back from her for over a week. She e-mailed me back a few days ago to tell me that she is having the city look into it and will keep in touch. The water bill has since gone past due and had a few hundred in late fees added on. The balance has been added to my new account for my new home and if it is not paid by Friday my water will be shut off. I think I have a good case for Small Claims Court but wanted to see what others opinions were. I have docs showing average monthly usage since I lived at that address, copies of past water bills to show average dollar amount, e-mail from landlord stating she would be willing to pay overage, copies of all e-mails and faxes as well as certified letters I sent.

Secondly, landlord deducted money from our deposit claiming that they would have to resod the whole back yard due to several dead patches. As i stated above our lease mentions nothing about watering the yard. The only mention of the yard is that the landlord is responsible for maintenance. I did have 2 small toy dogs back there but they are too small to have stomped the grass dead. The landlord sent pics of the yard but they were taken 3 weeks after we moved out. The house had been vacant and un-watered for 3 weeks in a drought, of course the grass is dead! Not only is that the issue but she sent me an estimate she got off a website. Nothing professional that mentions our address, square footage, etc. She does have pictures of the yard when we first moved in and it did look better then, but we were also not in the middle of a record setting drought.

Sorry for the length but I could really use some opinions. Landlord is also an attorney so I am nervous to go up against them in small claims representing myself.
 


FarmerJ

Senior Member
Use your copy of the lease in court to show the courth the fees related to maint of the lawn etc are not fair and do ask the LL to show the court where in the lease it says that you must water the foundation, Offer to the court that you did as the LL asked but that you feel its not fair for you to have to pay the cost of the water and sewer charges for water that went around the house.
 

Who's Liable?

Senior Member
This sounds eerily similar to a post a few months ago regarding soaking the foundation of a home in TX.

As stated back then, unless specifically included in the lease, LL cannot force tenant to water the foundation.
 

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