landlord failed to give us full security deposit back

[legalnewbe]

What is the name of your state? Tucson, Arizona

We are not on very good terms with our landlord. He promised to fix or clean things around the house when we moved in, but only did one of the 5 or 6 things promised. We really needed the place, however, so we agreed to pay an extra $100/month, but we failed to put any of his promises in writing.

Our lease expired Dec 31st, but we moved out early and did the walk through to inspect the place with our landlord around Dec 22nd. He said everything looked fine; there would be no deductions from our original $900 security deposit, except a $25 charge for a late payment from when we wrote a bad check.

Now he wants to charge us another $25 for a fee from his bank for insufficient funds, but he has not showed us any documentation for that. He is also charging us $150 for things around the house that he now says aren't in good enough condition. Is that allowed? Isn't that what walk-throughs are for? Also, we didn't ask for any of our money back from moving out early, even though that gave him over an extra week to get the place ready for the next tenant. He also put up a vacant notice instead of allowing us to come by and pick up mail, so a lot of our mail was either lost or delayed getting to our new house.

Should I cash the $700 check he sent us, or does that preclude us from hoping to get the remaining $150? We have already paid more than we feel we should have, but I don't want to lose any more to this guy. Also, the lease stated that if a dispute goes to court, the losing party will pay the other side's attorney's fees. Does that apply to disputes after the tenant has moved out? What else can I do?

Thank you so much!

 

[Kazzie]

Your landlord is entitled to charge you for a fee he received from his bank for YOU bouncing a check. Check your lease to see if there might be a set fee already in place.

You would not be entitled to receive any money back for "extra rent" cuz you moved out early.

The landlord can charge you for excessive ware-possible didn't notice the extent of damage during the walk-thru. If you think it's unfair, you can take him to court to try to get your money back.

Your landlord had every right to put a notice up for vacancy. You should have notified the post office to re-route your mail.

 

[treese]

He promised to fix or clean things around the house when we moved in, but only did one of the 5 or 6 things promised. We really needed the place, however, so we agreed to pay an extra $100/month, but we failed to put any of his promises in writing.

Not getting his promises in writing was your mistake. You could have followed up with written requests referring to the promises that the LL had verbally agreed to, asking when the LL expected to perform on said promises.

Now he wants to charge us another $25 for a fee from his bank for insufficient funds, but he has not showed us any documentation for that. He is also charging us $150 for things around the house that he now says aren't in good enough condition. Is that allowed? Isn't that what walk-throughs are for?

Of course it ia allowed. If he was charged a fee for NSF from one of your checks, he can deduct it. Usually writing a bad check will get you 2 charges - one for late payment and a second for bank fees. Do you think that he would be able to provide proof in court?

A walk through is usually a fairly quick once over to look for major and/or obvious damages. Many times, smaller or less obvious issues are not noticed until the LL is prepping the apartment for the next tenant. Just because the LL did not find these issues during the walk through does not release the tenant of liability for the repair. Again, if the LL can provide pictures, receipts or other documentation that the damages were caused during your tenancy, how are you going to prove otherwise?

Also, we didn't ask for any of our money back from moving out early, even though that gave him over an extra week to get the place ready for the next tenant.

Legally, you have no right to ask for prorated rent to be returned. You are liable for the rent until your lease has expired. You chose to move out early.

He also put up a vacant notice instead of allowing us to come by and pick up mail, so a lot of our mail was either lost or delayed getting to our new house.

Your mail is your responsibility. A change of address to have all mail forwarded in advance would have prevented your lost or delayed mail. It would have been nice for the LL to allow you to come by and pick up mail, but he had no obligation to do so.

Should I cash the $700 check he sent us, or does that preclude us from hoping to get the remaining $150?

You can cash the check and still file suit.

Also, the lease stated that if a dispute goes to court, the losing party will pay the other side's attorney's fees. Does that apply to disputes after the tenant has moved out? What else can I do?

You would be liable for the court and/or legal fees if you lose.