[AL] Reletting. Can the new tenant be responsible for preexisting damage?

[pizdos]

Here is how my issue resolved:

• Jun 22 - move out date; I clean the unit as much as I can.
• Aug 19 - my final statement is issued.
• Aug 28 - I accidentally discover my final statement on the resident's portal; I owe ~$250 according to the statement for carpet cleaning+replacement; I send a dispute letter (the content is below) to all landlord's emails (including 1 corporate email) I could find; immediately receive a response from the corporate saying that they will look into the matter; no response from the local management.
• Sep 2 - I call the local office to confirm that they received my dispute.
• Sep 9 - I send an email to the corporate asking about the status of my dispute; they respond saying they cannot tell me the status but my email will be forwarded to the team overseeing the local office.
• Sep 10 - I am about to send my dispute through certified mail but I receive an email from the local office saying that my balance is $0 now.

My dispute letter:

Dear management of <appartment complex name>,

I am writing to dispute a billing error in the amount of <amount> posted to my account on <final statement date>. The damages listed in the bill (attached to this email) had been incurred before my lease term and thus posting them to my account violates the RENTAL AGREEMENT AND LEASE (attached to this email).

First, Section 6 of the rental agreement states that each Resident shall pay to Landlord a non-refundable Redecoration Fee to cover the normal expenses
incurred by Landlord returning the Premises to their original condition at the commencement of the Lease. The photos you provided with the bill clearly demonstrate that I left the carpet (in both shared and private areas) in a far better condition than it was on my Lease's commencement date (<commencement date>). As you know, another tenant occupied the Unit prior to my move in. Since you did not enter the Unit and did not inspect it before my move in, you cannot claim that the damages depicted on your photos were incurred during my lease term. This fact makes the charges listed in the bill unwarranted.

In addition to that, Section 20.b states that in the case of lease assignment the departing resident must pay for all damage to the Unit and Property as provided in the Lease. You charged the previous tenant the reletting fee of $450, but you did not inspect the Unit and did not charge him for all damage as Section 20.b prescribes. Instead, you are charging me for what has been caused by the previous tenant, thereby violating your own procedures.

Considering above mentioned, I am requesting that the error be corrected by providing a bill that reflects only those damages (if any) that were caused during my lease term from <lease start date> to <lease end date>.

Please investigate this matter and correct the billing error as soon as possible. I would prefer to receive your decision through email. Please stop any collection activities related to this bill while resolving the dispute.

For your information, I have not received any mail or email regarding this bill as of <email date>. Instead, I accidentally discovered my final statement on <date> in my account on the resident's portal.

Sincerely,
<personal information>

I hope this information helps somebody.

 

[quincy]

Here is how my issue resolved:

• Jun 22 - move out date; I clean the unit as much as I can.
• Aug 19 - my final statement is issued.
• Aug 28 - I accidentally discover my final statement on the resident's portal; I owe ~$250 according to the statement for carpet cleaning+replacement; I send a dispute letter (the content is below) to all landlord's emails (including 1 corporate email) I could find; immediately receive a response from the corporate saying that they will look into the matter; no response from the local management.
• Sep 2 - I call the local office to confirm that they received my dispute.
• Sep 9 - I send an email to the corporate asking about the status of my dispute; they respond saying they cannot tell me the status but my email will be forwarded to the team overseeing the local office.
• Sep 10 - I am about to send my dispute through certified mail but I receive an email from the local office saying that my balance is $0 now.

My dispute letter:


I hope this information helps somebody.

Thank you for the update, Pizdos. I am happy to hear your dispute letter worked to resolve matters with no court action necessary

 

[FarmerJ]

Please , please Please next time around your first day when you move in use camera take pics , print them out then as you find other things again take pics and print them and again on move out day after its all empty and clean take more including the inside of fridge , oven , cupboards , and toilet bowl and tub & shower area. Then when and if this kind of thing comes up again you are free to tell the LL in writting if they try to make un fair claims against your deposit they will end up getting to explain them selfs to a Judge who will get to see your before and after pictures. BTW thank you for coming back to share your outcome , most dont.

 

[quincy]

Please , please Please next time around your first day when you move in use camera take pics , print them out then as you find other things again take pics and print them and again on move out day after its all empty and clean take more including the inside of fridge , oven , cupboards , and toilet bowl and tub & shower area. Then when and if this kind of thing comes up again you are free to tell the LL in writting if they try to make un fair claims against your deposit they will end up getting to explain them selfs to a Judge who will get to see your before and after pictures. BTW thank you for coming back to share your outcome , most dont.

Pizdos recorded the condition of the rental when he moved in. He apparently did everything right, which is probably why his outcome was so good.