Damage - please reply seniorjudge or blonde lebinese - would appreciate your feedback

[krsw78]

What is the name of your state? IL

I recently moved out of the place I had rented for the past 7 1/2 years. The landlord went to the place to do the inspection & I didn't hear back from him so I called to ask the status of my security deposit. He told me that there was no way I was getting it back so I told him that I would like receipts (in Illinois that is the law) & then he got angry & told me that nothing was fixed yet & he was thinking about consulting an attorney concerning the damages. When I asked what he meant he said there were crayon marks on the wall (a wall that hadn't been painted for almost 8 years), trim (??), 3 doors with holes in them (more like 1 door w/ a small hole & 1 door with a small "dent"), holes in the wall (4 baseball sized holes - which we patched but not to his liking apparently - we also spackled all nail holes - keep in mind that those walls were like cardboard), the cabinets in the kitchen hadn't been replaced since the place was built & the front part of one of the drawers in the kitchen pulled off so I left it there for him to repair because I attributed that to wear & tear - I didn't break it off - it fell off. Lastly, he was upset about the kitchen carpet - (yes there was carpet in the kitchen). About a year after I moved in my dryer caught fire & damaged the carpet in front of the dryer(which was in the kitchen - also MY dryer not his) & he made an insurance claim for it. The insurance company came out and cleaned but he never repainted or replaced carpet (which I assume the insurance company gave him money to do). The people who came to clean cut the burnt piece of carpet out that was in front of the dryer & now he's blaming me for that. When I mentioned that he had already been paid by the insurance company to repair that carpet he threw his $250 deductible in my face. Regardless, is that some sort of insurance fraud to receive the money but not replace it & then try to make me pay for it? Anyway, I lived there for 7 and a half years & the only things he's came to my house for was to replace the water softener, fix the central air (because a snake shorted it out or so he says), look at my furnace because the electric company said I had a carbon monoxide leak from buildup of years of not being cleaned & check for leaks because the water bill was high. I think that he's mad because now that we're gone he actually has to fix the place to rent it out again. He never did anything unless it absolutely HAD to be done. 7 1/2 years of no maintenance will take a toll. OK so my question was - if he actually consulted an attorney is it going to be worth it for him? I honestly don't think so & I feel that he's trying to intimidate me for some reason. If I thought the place was as bad as he seems to, I would've never called to ask about the deposit status. Also, what's the best thing for me to do at this point? I know the person who lived there before me & she had problems w/ him too. The person who lives on the other side of the duplex would be able to testify to his lack of maintenance. Thanks for your help (and time...I know this was long!!) Oh & the deposit amount was $335 - about 150 was withheld for the partial month we still had stuff there.

 

[BL]

(f) If the landlord or landlord's agent fails to comply with any provision of Section 5-12-080 (a) - (e), the tenant shall be awarded damages in an amount equal to two times the security deposit plus interest at a rate determined in accordance with Section 5-12-081 (Amended February 7, 1997) This subsection does not preclude the tenant from recovering other damages to which he may be entitled under this chapter. (Prior code §193.1-8; Added. Council Journal of Proceedings, September 8, 1986, page 33771)

http://www.illinois-attorney.com/080.htm

You do not state if you had a lease or not ? or you were month to month tenants.

The Meir fact that you kept your belongings there a 1/2 month could give the LL the right to charge a full months rent, unless you had a written agreement.

As far as all the other damages go, If he fallowed the LL/tenant laws he would have a right to damages.

If he's not asking for the full months rent, and has violated the LL/tenant laws on deposits , write him a letter. Cite the Laws, and request your remaining security deposit within (7) business days , or you will see him in court for the allowable amount due you.

Did you see the part about security deposit interest ? Your entitled to it.

On a final note, whenever repairs need to be made after you call the landlord and if not fixed in a reasonable time frame fallow up with return receipt certified letters, of when you contacted him and what for and again request repairs to be made. If he ignores your letters contact code inspectors to come out and do an inspection. Then get a copy of the reports along with your copies of letters for your records.

On another note: A furnace with CO2 leaks could very well have cracks in the Heat exchanger ( that could make you deathly Ill or kill you ). Cleaning alone would not fix it. You should always call in a code inspector, or your utility Co. to inspect it if you have concerns . There's always 911.

 

[krsw78]

We had a lease for the first year but I assume that we were month to month after that because we never signed a new lease.

As for the 1/2 month vs. full months rent for the last month: When I called him to inform him that we had bought a house he said that we could go ahead & just pay 1/2 months rent since we would be completely moved out by Dec. 12th. Nothing in writing - just verbal.

The people who came to clean the furnace checked the heat exchanger & said it looked fine - the furnace just needed a super good cleaning - to the point that the charges were around $275. When we bought our house they told us it would cost $65 to clean the furnace so that one at our old place must've been really bad.

I suppose my main question was: reading the damages I described, do they sound serious enough to you that he would need to go as far as hiring an attorney?? It just seems like minor things to me - the carpet COULD BE a big deal had it not been burned in a fire & had he not been paid by the insurance company for it 7 years ago. Let me know what you think - you seem to really know your stuff.

 

[BL]

We had a lease for the first year but I assume that we were month to month after that because we never signed a new lease.

As for the 1/2 month vs. full months rent for the last month: When I called him to inform him that we had bought a house he said that we could go ahead & just pay 1/2 months rent since we would be completely moved out by Dec. 12th. Nothing in writing - just verbal.

The people who came to clean the furnace checked the heat exchanger & said it looked fine - the furnace just needed a super good cleaning - to the point that the charges were around $275. When we bought our house they told us it would cost $65 to clean the furnace so that one at our old place must've been really bad.

I suppose my main question was: reading the damages I described, do they sound serious enough to you that he would need to go as far as hiring an attorney?? It just seems like minor things to me - the carpet COULD BE a big deal had it not been burned in a fire & had he not been paid by the insurance company for it 7 years ago. Let me know what you think - you seem to really know your stuff.

Oh & the deposit amount was $335 - about 150 was withheld for the partial month we still had stuff there.

You are talking about $185.00 you want returned. The walls with holes/patches would probably cost that alone, so forget the rest of the damages.

I'll address the carpet though. Depending on HOW expensive this carpet was ( and what idiot would put expensive carpet in a kitchen anyways ) , i doubt the landlord could recover much from an insurance Co. for it.
Certainly by it being 7 years old goes in your favor anyways , especially if the carpet was of lower quality.

Now, as I said before, IF the landlord has breached the State's laws about security Deposits , you have a right to ask for the Damages allowed. You also have a right to interest on the security deposit the landlord held ( the legal way ). Read the LL/tenant law on the link I posted.

If the landlord admits he verbally told you he was withholding about $150.00 for rent in court you should win. If he denies he ever told you that , and claims he kept the entire rent amount for that month's rent , you will most likely lose. In my opinion .

 

[krsw78]

Yeah, kitchen carpet is kind of a dorky idea. The carpet was not high quality - it was the low pile berber looking stuff - something you might put in a basement or like a enclosed front porch. The stuff that has like 4 different colors blended in, if it's mainly blue it usually has like a little bit of tan/white colors in there too. Stuff that wouldn't show stains/spots real well. That was probably towards the end of its useful life.

In Illinois if you have 5 or more units you have to send an itemized statement/receipts within 30 days for damages you're keeping out of the security deposit. My place was a duplex so I'm not sure what the law is or how it applies in my situation. Regardless, my 30 days aren't up yet but I'm hoping he screws around long enough so they will be because when I called him to ask about the deposit, he wasn't nasty until I said I wanted receipts.

Well anyway, thanks so much for your time!! I hope he quits being so petty & just moves on but I'm not sure what will happen at this point. I do feel a little better though.