Charges after move out

[ex-renter in Az]

What is the name of your state?[]What is the name of your state? Arizona

I moved out of my apartment two months ago. Recently I received a bill in the mail about charges due on my former residence. These bills are for cleaning the stove, sink, patio and bathroom. The problem is, we left the apartment in good condition. Everthing was cleaned before we moved out and nothing was mentioned untill the bill came. Also, there was never a final walk through!!! Not sure if that is a good or a bad thing, but I never signed off on these charges. I do not want to pay for bills that are fabricated. What can I do? I have requested photos and proof of the uncleaned apartment, and received another copy of the bill (with a threat of reporting to the credit agency) Any help would be appreciated,

Thanks

Mark

 

[JETX]

I moved out of my apartment two months ago. Recently I received a bill in the mail about charges due on my former residence.

EXACTLY how long after you moved out did you receive this 'bill'??

Acording to your state laws, the landlord was required to provide this statement to you within 14 days of your surrendering the property.

33-1321. Security deposits
C. With respect to tenants who first occupy the premises or enter into a new written rental agreement after January 1, 1996, upon move in a landlord shall furnish the tenant with a signed copy of the lease, a move-in form for specifying any existing damages to the dwelling unit and written notification to the tenant that the tenant may be present at the move-out inspection. Upon request by the tenant, the landlord shall notify the tenant when the landlord's move-out inspection will occur. If the tenant is being evicted for a material and irreparable breach and the landlord has reasonable cause to fear violence or intimidation on the part of the tenant, the landlord has no obligation to conduct a joint move-out inspection with the tenant.

D. Upon termination of the tenancy, property or money held by the landlord as prepaid rent and security may be applied to the payment of all rent, and subject to a landlord's duty to mitigate, all charges as specified in the signed lease agreement, or as provided in this chapter, including the amount of damages which the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with section 33-1341. Within fourteen days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays or other legal holidays, after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession and demand by the tenant the landlord shall provide the tenant an itemized list of all deductions together with the amount due and payable to the tenant, if any. Unless other arrangements are made in writing by the tenant, the landlord shall mail, by regular mail, to the tenant's last known place of residence.

E. If the landlord fails to comply with subsection D of this section the tenant may recover the property and money due the tenant together with damages in an amount equal to twice the amount wrongfully withheld.

F. This section does not preclude the landlord or tenant from recovering other damages to which the landlord or tenant may be entitled under this chapter.

G. The holder of the landlord's interest in the premises at the time of the termination of the tenancy is bound by this section.

 

[ex-renter in Az]

billing

The bill was received 3 weeks after I moved out. However, The signature statement is marked at 5 days after move out.

 

[longneck]

the judge will look at the postmark on the envelope, not the signature inside the envelope.

but you need to look at the days in your three weeks. according to the law, you can't count saturdays, sundays, or holidays. in three calendar weeks, that's either 14 or 15 days. (unless i counted wrong. i don't count well at 1:30 in the morning.)

 

[Who's Liable?]

UNfortunately for AZ, depending on the city you resided in, they(judges) lean more towards the LL side... Scottsdale, Tempe and Phoenix all heavily lean towards the LL side...

 

[ex-renter in Az]

Thanks for the input. So in a nutshell, if I got the letter in the 14 day window, I have to pay? Do I have anyway of contesting these charges? Does the burden of proof fall on me to disprove these charges?

The apartment was in ahwatukee, and the landlord was equity residential. I have also come across other internet posts saying that this community has a history of sticking it to former residents. Lesson learned, I should have taken pictures when I moved out.

 

[JETX]

Thanks for the input. So in a nutshell, if I got the letter in the 14 day window, I have to pay?[

Nope. And that is not what we said.
If you don't pay (no matter what the notice), the landlord can claim you owe him money. Just as equally, you can claim that the landlord owes YOU money. It stands that way until one of you decide to file a lawsuit, have the court here the claim(s) and render a judgment.

The statute I provided says that if the landlord does NOT notify you in accordance with the law, then you can file a lawsuit for the full amount of your deposit, plus two times that amount in damages.

 

[Who's Liable?]

You need to figure out exactly when you were notified... You said the signature date was 5-days after you moved out... That doesn't matter, the judge will most likely look at the post mark date of the letter...

The LL may have signed the letter on the 5th but sent it on the 10th... get my drift?

You may have screwed yourself by not demanding your security deposit the day you moved out... This puts the LL on a time clock that they MUST respond by... See Below...

D. Upon termination of the tenancy, property or money held by the landlord as prepaid rent and security may be applied to the payment of all rent, and subject to a landlord's duty to mitigate, all charges as specified in the signed lease agreement, or as provided in this chapter, including the amount of damages which the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with section 33-1341. Within fourteen days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays or other legal holidays, after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession and demand by the tenant the landlord shall provide the tenant an itemized list of all deductions together with the amount due and payable to the tenant, if any. Unless other arrangements are made in writing by the tenant, the landlord shall mail, by regular mail, to the tenant's last known place of residence.

 

[longneck]

ah, good point WL. i didn't notice that. ex-renter: what that means is you have to start couting the 14 days from when you handed in your keys or the last day you moved your stuff out of the apartment, whichever was later.

 

[ex-renter in Az]

On the postmark date of the letter, I am not sure I still have the actual envelope that I received the letter in. I am currently looking for the envelope, but not counting on finding it. Since the letter was sent by regular mail, what proof, if any, is there that I actually received the letter in the givin timeframe? Much less received the letter at all?

The good news is I did not have a deposit with the apartment. So they will have to decide to take me to court in order to recoupe these charges. Since I am sure you have incountered these situations before, should I expect to be taken to court? The total bill is under $300, it is all for cleaning of the apartment. I know you can never say never, but given this senario, is it likely?

One more question; can they ding my credit if I choose not to pay this bill? That is my biggest concern. I do not want to take a hit to my credit over taking a stand on principle.

Thank you again for your knowledge on this subject.

 

[Who's Liable?]

I would say there is a good chance that you will be taken to court... Once there, it will be the LL burden of proof to show that you caused the damage to the rental unit... Unfortunately, you have no evidence to support your calim that the apartment was left spotless, and AZ being that they tend to side with the LL, you will most likely lose...

As for the credit ding, if they win and get a judgement against you, then yes it will affect your creit score... The other thing I would be worried about is that if you do not pay this, any future apartment you try to rent might not allow you to move in if you have an un-paid fee with a previous LL...

If they take you to court, I would counter sue for the return of the deposit up to 2X because they did not accurately follow the LL/T laws in getting the deposit back to you... Then it is upon them to show proof that they sent you a notice within the 14 day time frame... You may not win, but if you're getting sued, why not sue back, and the time frame is really sketchy on this one...

 

[treese]

You did not have a Security Deposit with this LL?

Then the laws regarding Security return/itemization do not apply.

 

[longneck]

also, if they take you to court and the judge awards any damages at all to the LL, you could also be stuck with paying the LL's court costs. before this comes to a court battle, i strongly suggest you try and reach some sort of agreement with your LL.