Can a tenant dispute move out fees if the apartment caused health issues and distress

[jordanmarcio1]

I moved out 2 months before lease was over and now I'm getting charged with move out fees of 2 months rent and carpet replacement

Are the following good reasons to dispute move out fees?

• During my stay I developed a skin condition that after moving out of the apartment is was found it was because of the water quality inside the apartment.
• Constant Noise from upstairs neighbor due to poor apartment building construction during the time I lived in the apartment.
• Water flood couple of weeks after I moved in inside the master bathroom flooding bathroom and master bedroom. It was caused by something that got stuck in some pipe most likely likely by the previous tenant. All they did was vacuum the water and clean the carpet. Now they are asking me to pay for replacing?

 

[Just Blue]

I moved out 2 months before lease was over and now I'm getting charged with move out fees of 2 months rent and carpet replacement

Are the following good reasons to dispute move out fees?

• During my stay I developed a skin condition that after moving out of the apartment is was found it was because of the water quality inside the apartment.
• Constant Noise from upstairs neighbor due to poor apartment building construction during the time I lived in the apartment.
• Water flood couple of weeks after I moved in inside the master bathroom flooding bathroom and master bedroom. It was caused by something that got stuck in some pipe most likely likely by the previous tenant. All they did was vacuum the water and clean the carpet. Now they are asking me to pay for replacing?

What state?

 

[zddoodah]

I moved out 2 months before lease was over

How long ago was this?

During my stay I developed a skin condition that after moving out of the apartment is was found it was because of the water quality inside the apartment.

How could it be determined after you moved out that the water at the apartment was the cause of the condition? Did you collect water samples before you moved and have them analyzed by a toxicologist, with those results then analyzed by a dermatologist? Have other tenants in the same building experienced the same water-related condition?

Constant Noise from upstairs neighbor due to poor apartment building construction during the time I lived in the apartment.

To what extent did you complain about this to the landlord, and what, if anything, did the landlord do in response to your complaints?

Water flood couple of weeks after I moved in inside the master bathroom flooding bathroom and master bedroom.

When exactly did this happen?

It was caused by something that got stuck in some pipe most likely likely by the previous tenant.

So this was a backed up drain pipe? Toilet? Shower? Sink? How would a backed up drain pipe cause flooding of the significance you described? What is the "something"?

All they did was vacuum the water and clean the carpet.

Did you request that anything more be done? Were there any discussions at all about this after the remediation work was done?

Please answer each question I asked (as well as the question in the prior response).

 

[jordanmarcio1]

What state?

Florida

 

[jordanmarcio1]

How long ago was this?

I left the apartment December 1, 2023


How could it be determined after you moved out that the water at the apartment was the cause of the condition? Did you collect water samples before you moved and have them analyzed by a toxicologist, with those results then analyzed by a dermatologist? Have other tenants in the same building experienced the same water-related condition?

I was not able to collect samples because I didn't know it was the water. After I moved out I coincidentally stop using the medication and haven't had issues with my skin since then. I don't know if other tenants were having issues. If you tell me who to contact to get samples of the water I can ask the landlord permission to enter again. That way the new tenant can see us taking the samples. I will call tomorrow and ask them if I can do that. Thanks


To what extent did you complain about this to the landlord, and what, if anything, did the landlord do in response to your complaints?

I complained by calling the security officer onsite in many occasions during 2022 and 2023. In many occasions they were ok with it because it was before 10pm. The problem was primarily because the poor construction of the building. You could hear everyone walking on the second floor and hear everything when something was falling on the floor. I met many neighbors that had the same problem with upstairs neighbors. Poor build construction equals poor quality of living. From the eyes of the landlord this is totally acceptable. The root issue when it comes tonppor conditions comes from the same apartment complex (landlord) because when they build apartment they try to do it the cheapest way possible not caring about quality of living.


When exactly did this happen?

From 2022 to 2023


So this was a backed up drain pipe? Toilet? Shower? Sink? How would a backed up drain pipe cause flooding of the significance you described? What is the "something"?

The water came from the toilet. They had to bring a plumber to use some tool to push in to a bigger pipe whatever was cloging the smaller pipe. At least that's I was told. The landlord has records about this when this happened.


Did you request that anything more be done? Were there any discussions at all about this after the remediation work was done?

I asked to get carpet replaced but they didn't find it necessary. That day they spent money bringing third party people not from their maintenance crew. It cost them money that day to fix that. They probably didn't wanted to replace carpet that day because it was going to cost them money. However, now they want me to pay to replace it so they don't have to take the responsibility.



Please answer each question I asked (as well as the question in the prior response).

 

[quincy]

From what you have described, it sounds to me like you owe the two months rent for breaking the lease early. Depending on the age of the carpet when you moved in and the source of the clogged pipes, you could be held liable for carpet replacement, too. The water quality requires proof. The noisy upstairs neighbors due to the building’s construction seems like a non-starter to me.

 

[LdiJ]

From what you have described, it sounds to me like you owe the two months rent for breaking the lease early. Depending on the age of the carpet when you moved in and the source of the clogged pipes, you could be held liable for carpet replacement, too. The water quality requires proof. The noisy upstairs neighbors due to the building’s construction seems like a non-starter to me.

I agree about the noisy neighbors, and I think that it is more likely that something the OP did caused the clogged pipes rather than something the former tenant did. It doesn't take a couple of weeks for a clog to cause a backup.

However, I suspect that the carpet didn't have much, if any, useful life left anyway. If it did I would have thought that the landlord would have addressed the issue promptly, rather than waiting until the end of the lease.

 

[quincy]

jordanmarcio1 will want to find out how old the carpet was when he moved in if he wants to argue the carpet replacement cost.

 

[LdiJ]

jordanmarcio1 will want to find out how old the carpet was when he moved in if he wants to argue the carpet replacement cost.

Yep.

 

[FarmerJ]

You failed to mention if this rental unit was on a private well or if it was on city water?. If it was on city water then there would be no recourse to the landlord about the water since the city water would have to meet state set standards and is tested regularly. If the unit was on Private well for its water then the time to call the health department would have been while you occupied the unit to ask them i about water testing laws for rentals served by on site water wells. Clogged pipes in a multi unit happen sad to say. noisy neighbors in multi units sad so say not much you can do

 

[quincy]

You failed to mention if this rental unit was on a private well or if it was on city water?. If it was on city water then there would be no recourse to the landlord about the water since the city water would have to meet state set standards and is tested regularly. If the unit was on Private well for its water then the time to call the health department would have been while you occupied the unit to ask them i about water testing laws for rentals served by on site water wells. Clogged pipes in a multi unit happen sad to say. noisy neighbors in multi units sad so say not much you can do

It is possible for city water itself to be okay but the pipes that carry the water to a residence are not okay and it is the piping that affects the water quality.

 

[zddoodah]

Your follow up post is extremely hard to follow because you tucked your answers to my questions into the quote box. Here are my thoughts at this point:

1. You probably have a solid defense regarding carpet replacement, unless the landlord can demonstrate that the backed up pipe was because of something you did.

2. It doesn't sound like you have any evidence that the water at the apartment caused the skin condition.

3. The neighbor issue is hard to analyze because the only witness is you, but I doubt you could convince a court that the situation was such that the noise rendered the premises unhabitable.

At the end of the day, however, here's how this will go:

I'm assuming that the landlord refunded no portion of your security deposit. If you disagree with that decision, it's up to you to sue and prove that the landlord wrongfully withheld the money. It sounds like, if you do that, you'll get countersued. On the other hand, if you're willing to walk away from the deposit, then it's up to the landlord to decide if it's worthwhile to sue you for whatever additional amounts he/she/it wants.

I suggest you familiarize yourself with the Florida laws relating to the return of a security deposit to make sure that your landlord complied with them and that you comply with any applicable to you if you want to sue to get your deposit back. Also, keep an eye on your credit report and, if the landlord reports this, you can dispute the report in accordance with the provisions of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.