What is the name of your state? California
A month or so ago, I was given verbal permission to park in the parking lot in front of my apartment. The next day (within my permitted timeframe) my car was towed. I retrieved my car for $295 and I was furious. I located a new apartment and gave my 30-days-notice at the first apartment.
In my 30-days-notice letter, I explained politely that I was given permission to park in the lot and that I felt that I should be reimbursed for that expense. I also said that I would take it out of November's rent. I said that since we were giving notice on Oct 14th, and leaving by Nov 14th, that it would be ideal for them to find someone to take over Nov 1st if at all possible. I said that I could prorate days between our actual move-out date and November 14th at $46.66 per day (our rent divided by 30 days). I also confirmed a conversation with one of the managers that we would receive our security deposit back in full, and within a week of move-out. All of these various verbal agreements would have gone up in smoke if I didn't confirm in writing, so I thought it would be a good idea to get it all down so we were clear on all terms.
I never received a written response, but I did have several conversations with one manager. In one conversation, he confirmed receipt of the letter, and said that it would be "totally cool" and to make sure that we kept them informed. He also apologized profusely about towing my car, and said that he would take the responsibility.
A subsequent conversation on Nov 4th between this manager and my roomate was very short (as he was on his way somewhere) but he mentioned that we were responsible to find new tenants or else we were stuck under the provisions of the lease. We are month-to-month tenants, so his ideas about our rental relationship were incorrect, and I felt it necessary to correct his assumptions. I wrote a follow-up letter saying that I was very happy that he accepted the terms of my previous letter, that we would be moving out on the 10th, that the $46.66 per day prorated amount for 14 days, minus the towing fees of $295 was included in check form, and that I wanted to schedule a move-out walk-through for this time and date. I also informed him that we never signed a lease and that it was not our obligation to find new tenants, nor would we be "on the hook" for rent for the rest of a non-existant lease.
He called my cell phone yesterday and very nastily said that "none of this would fly," and good luck trying to get back my security deposit.
QUESTIONS:
By verbally accepting bits and pieces of my initial letter, does that imply acceptance of the entire thing, when he never raised any objections until he found out we were never under the provisions of a lease?
Did I mess up in any appreciable way to screw up my case if I should have to take this to Small Claims?
What things would you suggest I mention in my follow-up letter to the manager?
Thanks a million, I really appreciate your time and effort!
Gryndor
A month or so ago, I was given verbal permission to park in the parking lot in front of my apartment. The next day (within my permitted timeframe) my car was towed. I retrieved my car for $295 and I was furious. I located a new apartment and gave my 30-days-notice at the first apartment.
In my 30-days-notice letter, I explained politely that I was given permission to park in the lot and that I felt that I should be reimbursed for that expense. I also said that I would take it out of November's rent. I said that since we were giving notice on Oct 14th, and leaving by Nov 14th, that it would be ideal for them to find someone to take over Nov 1st if at all possible. I said that I could prorate days between our actual move-out date and November 14th at $46.66 per day (our rent divided by 30 days). I also confirmed a conversation with one of the managers that we would receive our security deposit back in full, and within a week of move-out. All of these various verbal agreements would have gone up in smoke if I didn't confirm in writing, so I thought it would be a good idea to get it all down so we were clear on all terms.
I never received a written response, but I did have several conversations with one manager. In one conversation, he confirmed receipt of the letter, and said that it would be "totally cool" and to make sure that we kept them informed. He also apologized profusely about towing my car, and said that he would take the responsibility.
A subsequent conversation on Nov 4th between this manager and my roomate was very short (as he was on his way somewhere) but he mentioned that we were responsible to find new tenants or else we were stuck under the provisions of the lease. We are month-to-month tenants, so his ideas about our rental relationship were incorrect, and I felt it necessary to correct his assumptions. I wrote a follow-up letter saying that I was very happy that he accepted the terms of my previous letter, that we would be moving out on the 10th, that the $46.66 per day prorated amount for 14 days, minus the towing fees of $295 was included in check form, and that I wanted to schedule a move-out walk-through for this time and date. I also informed him that we never signed a lease and that it was not our obligation to find new tenants, nor would we be "on the hook" for rent for the rest of a non-existant lease.
He called my cell phone yesterday and very nastily said that "none of this would fly," and good luck trying to get back my security deposit.
QUESTIONS:
By verbally accepting bits and pieces of my initial letter, does that imply acceptance of the entire thing, when he never raised any objections until he found out we were never under the provisions of a lease?
Did I mess up in any appreciable way to screw up my case if I should have to take this to Small Claims?
What things would you suggest I mention in my follow-up letter to the manager?
Thanks a million, I really appreciate your time and effort!
Gryndor
