What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? MissouriWhat is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Missouri
My son and his girlfriend leased an apartment with friends of theirs. About two months in, the roommates brought home a dog, which they did not tell the landlord about, nor pay a pet deposit for. They would leave the dog home for hours alone and, consequently, it used the bathroom in the apartment, as well as chewed the weather striping around the door and chewed a hole in the carpet in their (the roommate's) bedroom. My son told them they had to let the landlord know about the dog and pay a pet deposit, which they ignored.
Fast forward 7 months...the landlord came and did a walk through of the apartment one month prior to the lease being up. When she saw the damage to the carpet in the bedroom, the roommate told her he did it moving a mini fridge into his room and that it was not my son's fault, that he would make payment arrangements with them to take care of the repair bills. She told my son that other than that the carpet didn't look too bad and could be cleaned, but if they couldn't match it to just replace the bedroom that had the damage, they would have to replace the entire apartment and would cost approximately $1100. Upon move out, she told him that it would be closer to $1400 and that he would be responsible for half. Now, three weeks later, she notifies him that he would be responsible for over $800 in damages (carpet replacement due to the damaged carpet in the roommate's bedroom), as well as cleaning costs. And that if the roommate does not pay his half, my son will be responsible for the whole amount and if he does not pay it it will go against his credit.
My son and his girlfriend were the ones that went back to the apartment after everything was moved out, to clean. The roommates did not return to clean even their own bedroom and bathroom, plus they left two TVs, which my son had to dispose of, or that would have been another charge. They also had to haul out five bags of trash/garbage left behind by the roommates. The only thing my son didn't clean was the roommates bedroom and bathroom. They have pictures of the rest of the apartment after they finished cleaning, which took them over five hours to do. During the eight months there, my son and his girlfriend were the only ones that did any cleaning, and had even gotten to the point that they quit buying groceries and eating there because the kitchen/refrigerator were absolutely disgusting. They cleaned out stuff from the refrigerator that had been there since right after they moved in.
My question is how can he be held responsible for damages caused by A) a dog that was not his, to B) an area that he did not have access to and did not use? Besides having to pay a cleaning fee when it was the roommate's bedroom and bathroom left dirty, not his?
My son and his girlfriend leased an apartment with friends of theirs. About two months in, the roommates brought home a dog, which they did not tell the landlord about, nor pay a pet deposit for. They would leave the dog home for hours alone and, consequently, it used the bathroom in the apartment, as well as chewed the weather striping around the door and chewed a hole in the carpet in their (the roommate's) bedroom. My son told them they had to let the landlord know about the dog and pay a pet deposit, which they ignored.
Fast forward 7 months...the landlord came and did a walk through of the apartment one month prior to the lease being up. When she saw the damage to the carpet in the bedroom, the roommate told her he did it moving a mini fridge into his room and that it was not my son's fault, that he would make payment arrangements with them to take care of the repair bills. She told my son that other than that the carpet didn't look too bad and could be cleaned, but if they couldn't match it to just replace the bedroom that had the damage, they would have to replace the entire apartment and would cost approximately $1100. Upon move out, she told him that it would be closer to $1400 and that he would be responsible for half. Now, three weeks later, she notifies him that he would be responsible for over $800 in damages (carpet replacement due to the damaged carpet in the roommate's bedroom), as well as cleaning costs. And that if the roommate does not pay his half, my son will be responsible for the whole amount and if he does not pay it it will go against his credit.
My son and his girlfriend were the ones that went back to the apartment after everything was moved out, to clean. The roommates did not return to clean even their own bedroom and bathroom, plus they left two TVs, which my son had to dispose of, or that would have been another charge. They also had to haul out five bags of trash/garbage left behind by the roommates. The only thing my son didn't clean was the roommates bedroom and bathroom. They have pictures of the rest of the apartment after they finished cleaning, which took them over five hours to do. During the eight months there, my son and his girlfriend were the only ones that did any cleaning, and had even gotten to the point that they quit buying groceries and eating there because the kitchen/refrigerator were absolutely disgusting. They cleaned out stuff from the refrigerator that had been there since right after they moved in.
My question is how can he be held responsible for damages caused by A) a dog that was not his, to B) an area that he did not have access to and did not use? Besides having to pay a cleaning fee when it was the roommate's bedroom and bathroom left dirty, not his?
