What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Alabama
My landlord, who is out of state, and has been continuous trouble since the initial lease is now trying to keep part of my deposit, and to do so, is making up false claims. Here's a brief backstory:
I paid $1100/month for the house, that upon moving in, was filthy from the last tenants (friends of hers, I later learned). Toilet seats were stained, walls were dinged up pretty bad, excessive dog hair on and in everything, filthy appliances, stained tubs and showers, disgusting carpet (that I managed to get her to replace because it was covered in dog urine), clogged drains, the list goes on... I unfortunately did not notice any of these things when the house was shown to me, or I would have skipped on this house.
After sending her numerous photos, she said she would hire a cleaning company to come in and they did, but they did not do a thorough job. We lived out of boxes in the dining room the first week and a half of living there. We also repainted almost every room of the house ourselves and repaired broken cabinets because they were unworkable. We cleaned out a makeshift storage area under the backyard steps because it was a mecca for mosquitos and simply looked awful. We also repainted the front door because it was it dire need. We took numerous before and after pictures, because this whole time we've had that unnerving feeling that there just is no appeasing this person. She sent someone she knew to drive by the house and emailed us saying "we should have referred to her before painting the door." It should also be noted that it has been made apparent that she has not come to see her house in a couple of years per her friend that met us to give the keys to June 29. We did not have the courtesy of having a walkthrough before we moved in because she could not fly down. However she did come down the past Sunday apparently...a week after I had moved out. Yesterday an I get an email stating the following:
"Sorry it has taken me a few days to get in touch with you. The last week has been extremely busy. I was able to stop by the house on Sunday for a few hours. I really appreciate what you were able to do in the house. There are something�s that I will need to have taken care of before the new tenant moves in.
There were holes in all three bedrooms above all of the windows where it looks like curtain rods were hung. Since those were not patched or painted I will have to bring someone in to take care of those.
All window ledges and glass needs to be cleaned; there was dirt and dog hair on them. All of the window blinds had dog hair in them and had not been cleaned.
There were cob webs in all corners of the rooms toward the top of the ceilings.
Baseboards in the kitchen, dining room, living room and bathrooms had large amounts of dust. I am not talking about the baseboards in the bedrooms.
The interior doors in the house need to be cleaned of dirt and hand marks.
Master bathroom sink, shower and tub hardware had soap scum rings and needed to be cleaned.
The pantry shelves had debris and dirt on them and need to be cleaned.
Wood floors in the living room need to be swept and mopped. There were foot prints on the floor and clumps of dog hair.
The back patio had large amounts of dog hair. The door was also extremely dirty.
Also the air condition filter looked like it had not been changed in a really long time and had a lot dog hair in it.
Because of the amount of dog hair in the house, on the blinds and on the patio it appeared that a dog was in house longer then the temporary basis we originally discussed.
Based on all of these items, I will not be able to return the full amount of your deposit. The house will need to be re-cleaned and you will be charged the minimum cleaning fee of $250 based on item 16 in the lease agreement. A handy man will have to come into patch and paint the holes in the wall, replace the air condition filter and clean the vent of the dog hair. There will be a charge of $100 of these repairs.
I made sure to review all of the pictures and emails that you sent me with regards to prior damage, so that I didn�t charge you for existing damage.
Please send me your forwarding address so I can send you the $750 of your deposit."
NO dog has been in that house at ANY given time and I know for a fact that hair was not left behind....there's is no possibility. Baseboards were cleaned, air filter had been changed regularly, floors had all been thoroughly swept and mopped, holes were patched....these claims are ridiculous. What should I do? I have not responded to her email yet. I did take several photos of the house before I handed the keys over to her friend because I knew she was not going to give my deposit back easily. I took close ups of the tubs, showers, toilets, appliances, floors, etc. Any tips would be appreciated. This is one person that should NOT be a landlord.
My landlord, who is out of state, and has been continuous trouble since the initial lease is now trying to keep part of my deposit, and to do so, is making up false claims. Here's a brief backstory:
I paid $1100/month for the house, that upon moving in, was filthy from the last tenants (friends of hers, I later learned). Toilet seats were stained, walls were dinged up pretty bad, excessive dog hair on and in everything, filthy appliances, stained tubs and showers, disgusting carpet (that I managed to get her to replace because it was covered in dog urine), clogged drains, the list goes on... I unfortunately did not notice any of these things when the house was shown to me, or I would have skipped on this house.
After sending her numerous photos, she said she would hire a cleaning company to come in and they did, but they did not do a thorough job. We lived out of boxes in the dining room the first week and a half of living there. We also repainted almost every room of the house ourselves and repaired broken cabinets because they were unworkable. We cleaned out a makeshift storage area under the backyard steps because it was a mecca for mosquitos and simply looked awful. We also repainted the front door because it was it dire need. We took numerous before and after pictures, because this whole time we've had that unnerving feeling that there just is no appeasing this person. She sent someone she knew to drive by the house and emailed us saying "we should have referred to her before painting the door." It should also be noted that it has been made apparent that she has not come to see her house in a couple of years per her friend that met us to give the keys to June 29. We did not have the courtesy of having a walkthrough before we moved in because she could not fly down. However she did come down the past Sunday apparently...a week after I had moved out. Yesterday an I get an email stating the following:
"Sorry it has taken me a few days to get in touch with you. The last week has been extremely busy. I was able to stop by the house on Sunday for a few hours. I really appreciate what you were able to do in the house. There are something�s that I will need to have taken care of before the new tenant moves in.
There were holes in all three bedrooms above all of the windows where it looks like curtain rods were hung. Since those were not patched or painted I will have to bring someone in to take care of those.
All window ledges and glass needs to be cleaned; there was dirt and dog hair on them. All of the window blinds had dog hair in them and had not been cleaned.
There were cob webs in all corners of the rooms toward the top of the ceilings.
Baseboards in the kitchen, dining room, living room and bathrooms had large amounts of dust. I am not talking about the baseboards in the bedrooms.
The interior doors in the house need to be cleaned of dirt and hand marks.
Master bathroom sink, shower and tub hardware had soap scum rings and needed to be cleaned.
The pantry shelves had debris and dirt on them and need to be cleaned.
Wood floors in the living room need to be swept and mopped. There were foot prints on the floor and clumps of dog hair.
The back patio had large amounts of dog hair. The door was also extremely dirty.
Also the air condition filter looked like it had not been changed in a really long time and had a lot dog hair in it.
Because of the amount of dog hair in the house, on the blinds and on the patio it appeared that a dog was in house longer then the temporary basis we originally discussed.
Based on all of these items, I will not be able to return the full amount of your deposit. The house will need to be re-cleaned and you will be charged the minimum cleaning fee of $250 based on item 16 in the lease agreement. A handy man will have to come into patch and paint the holes in the wall, replace the air condition filter and clean the vent of the dog hair. There will be a charge of $100 of these repairs.
I made sure to review all of the pictures and emails that you sent me with regards to prior damage, so that I didn�t charge you for existing damage.
Please send me your forwarding address so I can send you the $750 of your deposit."
NO dog has been in that house at ANY given time and I know for a fact that hair was not left behind....there's is no possibility. Baseboards were cleaned, air filter had been changed regularly, floors had all been thoroughly swept and mopped, holes were patched....these claims are ridiculous. What should I do? I have not responded to her email yet. I did take several photos of the house before I handed the keys over to her friend because I knew she was not going to give my deposit back easily. I took close ups of the tubs, showers, toilets, appliances, floors, etc. Any tips would be appreciated. This is one person that should NOT be a landlord.
