Filing Complaint Against Landlord

[amandaboan1]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? North Carolina


I recently moved out of a townhome at the end of my lease (after being a very good tenant and taking care of issues my landlord should have), and accidently damaged some of the carpet with some cleaning supplies (on the last day of the lease). After talking with the landlord, I agreed to fix the carpet with the understanding that my security deposit would be returned in full after the carpet was fixed to his satisfaction. I promptly fixed the carpet (keeping my landlord informed of what was going on), and contacted him when it was finished. (The bill for the replacement ended up being right under my entire security deposit). He said it was to his satisfaction and agreed to return the deposit. After waiting 6 weeks for the deposit, I finally contacted an attorney, who sent a letter to the landlord. Within a couple of days he sent the deposit, (well over the 21 days he stated in the lease) although it was $225 short. He claimed I had to pay the carpet cleaning expenses even though I had replaced the entire area of carpet that was in question. He sent no itemized receipt of the charges, only a handwritten note on a post it. It was only after my attorney contacted him two more times did he sent the itemized receipt.

After doing some research (because now I'm mad) I found that he breached the lease agreement in other ways. I was also not notified of the name and address of the bank within 30 days of the beginning of the lease that my security deposit was indeed deposited in a separate trust account in a North Carolina bank. When he eventually did send the deposit, it was from his personal checking account.

At this point I'm tired of dealing with it, but DO NOT want others to go through what I have gone through with this landlord. He is unprofessional and should not be allowed to rent to other tenants, as he did not fulfill his obligations with me (his first tenant ever). I have looked everywhere online and seem to be struggling...how in the world can I file a complaint against this guy?!?

 

[Gail in Georgia]

You don't file a complaint. There is likely no place where you can do this that would have much impact.

You sue your former landlord. This is typically done in Small Claims Court.


Gail

 

[Cvillecpm]

FYI * carpet installers do not VACUUM the carpet so once new carpet was installed YOU should have had it professionally vacuumed or cleaned as appropriate.

 

[amandaboan1]

I know all about small claims court, I just didn't want to have to go through all of that. It's not necessarily about the money at this point, its a matter of principle.


And to the second post, there was NOTHING mentioned in my post about the place needing to be vacuumed. That is NOT the issue. There were already new tenants living there when the carpet got fixed. They moved in the place "as is" the day after I moved out. It was completely to the LL's satisfaction, he's just an idiot and is trying to be difficult. Please read and understand the post before you respond. I am looking for actual advice from people who know.

 

[Hot Topic]

{Quote}After talking with the landlord, I agreed to fix the carpet with the understanding that my security deposit would be returned in full after the carpet was fixed to his satisfaction. I promptly fixed the carpet (keeping my landlord informed of what was going on), and contacted him when it was finished. (The bill for the replacement ended up being right under my entire security deposit). He said it was to his satisfaction and agreed to return the deposit.{Unquote}

Since it was a bone of contention between you, you should have gotten it in writing that the landlord was satisfied with the carpet and agreed to return the deposit.

Sue the landlord in small claims court. You don't have the "ammunition" to put him out of business.

 

[vlafl]

i understand!

i can't agree with you more about "Cvillecpm". that replyee is one of the worst i have seen on this site. he/she always give's ridiculous, short comments that are not logical or credible, and ALWAYS sides with the LL.
"Cvillecpm", there are situations where the LL is unprofessional, unethical, and down right in the wrong -they do exist (along w/ bad tenants) in this world. I am now certain after reading several of your other posts that you must be LL, and a BAD, UNETHICAL one at that.

It is sick what some people can get away with!
The saying goes, what comes around goes around. And, that is the truth!

BEST OF LUCK AMANDA.
I would get some local legal advice as it pertains to your state laws.

sincere regards,
vlb

 

[Alaska landlord]

He claimed I had to pay the carpet cleaning expenses even though I had replaced the entire area of carpet that was in question.

Just because you replaced the portion that you damaged, it does not exempt you from cleaning the rest of the carpet. The LL is entitled to charge for all damages to his property regardless of the rest of the issues you have satisfied.

 

[Mrs. D]

If he didn't have the carpet cleaning done, he can't charge you for it. Suing him will get your money back and leave a public records trail. It's certainly not a very big broadcast that he's a bad LL, but it's something. Depending on the size of the town you live in, talking to other people might be effective. I know where I went to college, a relatively small town with only a few major LLs, it was practically part of freshman initiation to learn about which LLs to avoid like the plague.

 

[Cvillecpm]

"Principle" will cost you $$$ and time. Since you AGREED to remedy the situation, you needed to have done it CORRECTLY and having the carpet in "livable" condition is part of the "bargain" you made with the landlord. If you did not understand this, you should have had your and your landlord's agreement IN WRITING.

FYI * as to the principle * landlords are a necessary evil (like fleas on a dog as one tenant web site states) to TEACHING your ex-landlord a lesson is like teaching a pig to sing....it will give you a headache and annoy the pig who will NEVER sing.

What it WILL DO is make the landlord more cautious for the NEXT residents who rent from the landlord * he won't be so agreeable, or he MAY (as I do) impose a 20% service charge for any monies taken from the tenants' security deposit * yes, it is in my lease and it is legal.

You made a mistake, damaged someone else's property and did not remedy the situation correctly. The landlord's mistake was in allowing you to attempt to correct the situation without specifics as to what you would be doing....next time, he won't be so pleasant or agreeable in a similar situation.