What is the name of your state? Colorado
My lease will be ending and I'll be vacating the apartment on October 31 of this year. Proper 30 day notice was given. The landlord dropped off a moveout checklist and discussed a couple of things with me.
Specifically, she told me NOT to fill any nail holes (this is also listed on the checklist she gave me), which I have no problem with, but the last time she told a tenant not to fill the nail holes, she tried to take the money for having her maintenance people do it themselves out of their deposit. She says that tenants do it wrong, and it costs more to fix what they did wrong than it does to just do it herself. That I do have a problem with, since I would fill the holes if she requested that it be done.
She asked me if I would wait to have the carpets cleaned until after she has the unit painted. I have no problem with cleaning the carpets, because I signed a lease that stated that i would upon move out. However, I feel that my responsibilities end when I turn the keys over to her, and I should have the carpets cleaned before I do turn them over. Otherwise, the condition of the carpet will not be accurately stated on the walkthrough, and she could charge me for it.
She also mentioned the mildew in the shower from the last time she was in the bathroom to look at the toilet. I have not responded to this yet, as I am not sure how to. Before I moved in, her maintenance people just put new grout on over the old rather than cleaning it properly. The grout has subsequently come off when I scrub the shower walls, and come loose around the edge of the tub. Keep in mind, this is a normal once a week scrub with a mild cleaner that's causing the new grout to come off. Within a week of moving in, the mildew was seeping out from underneath the grout they had applied over it, but she refused to even come and look at it, much less fix it. When I mentioned the mildew to her before, she became quite upset with me, and suggested that if I wasn't capable of properly cleaning the bathroom, I should pay her maintenance person to come over and do it forme. She insisted that her maintenance people had done everything correctly and the bathroom was spotless when I moved in. I do have pictures of the peeling grout, as well as places where it's obvious that new grout was put on over the old, with a noticeable color difference between the two. My concern here is that she will charge against my deposit to fix something that was messed up when I moved in.
Her maintenance people have a tendency to "jerry-rig" things during repairs, and I'm afraid this is going to cost me. So, to anyone who has made it this far (I do apologize for the length), here are my questions:
1: Since she specifically told me not to fill any nail holes, can she charge me for doing it herself?
2: Do I have to wait to have the carpets cleaned until after she has the unit painted? Or can I just have it done before i turn over the keys, so that it will be done before the final walkthrough?
3: With the pictures I have, do I stand a chance of getting out of the cost of fixing the shower walls, since it was just covered and not cleaned before i moved in?
4: Does anybody have any ideas for how I can explain my concerns to her in written form without her becoming angry and making things harder for me during and after my move?
Thanks in advance to anybody who took the time to read my admittedly very long post. Any ideas or advice would be very much appreciated!
Rowan
My lease will be ending and I'll be vacating the apartment on October 31 of this year. Proper 30 day notice was given. The landlord dropped off a moveout checklist and discussed a couple of things with me.
Specifically, she told me NOT to fill any nail holes (this is also listed on the checklist she gave me), which I have no problem with, but the last time she told a tenant not to fill the nail holes, she tried to take the money for having her maintenance people do it themselves out of their deposit. She says that tenants do it wrong, and it costs more to fix what they did wrong than it does to just do it herself. That I do have a problem with, since I would fill the holes if she requested that it be done.
She asked me if I would wait to have the carpets cleaned until after she has the unit painted. I have no problem with cleaning the carpets, because I signed a lease that stated that i would upon move out. However, I feel that my responsibilities end when I turn the keys over to her, and I should have the carpets cleaned before I do turn them over. Otherwise, the condition of the carpet will not be accurately stated on the walkthrough, and she could charge me for it.
She also mentioned the mildew in the shower from the last time she was in the bathroom to look at the toilet. I have not responded to this yet, as I am not sure how to. Before I moved in, her maintenance people just put new grout on over the old rather than cleaning it properly. The grout has subsequently come off when I scrub the shower walls, and come loose around the edge of the tub. Keep in mind, this is a normal once a week scrub with a mild cleaner that's causing the new grout to come off. Within a week of moving in, the mildew was seeping out from underneath the grout they had applied over it, but she refused to even come and look at it, much less fix it. When I mentioned the mildew to her before, she became quite upset with me, and suggested that if I wasn't capable of properly cleaning the bathroom, I should pay her maintenance person to come over and do it forme. She insisted that her maintenance people had done everything correctly and the bathroom was spotless when I moved in. I do have pictures of the peeling grout, as well as places where it's obvious that new grout was put on over the old, with a noticeable color difference between the two. My concern here is that she will charge against my deposit to fix something that was messed up when I moved in.
Her maintenance people have a tendency to "jerry-rig" things during repairs, and I'm afraid this is going to cost me. So, to anyone who has made it this far (I do apologize for the length), here are my questions:
1: Since she specifically told me not to fill any nail holes, can she charge me for doing it herself?
2: Do I have to wait to have the carpets cleaned until after she has the unit painted? Or can I just have it done before i turn over the keys, so that it will be done before the final walkthrough?
3: With the pictures I have, do I stand a chance of getting out of the cost of fixing the shower walls, since it was just covered and not cleaned before i moved in?
4: Does anybody have any ideas for how I can explain my concerns to her in written form without her becoming angry and making things harder for me during and after my move?
Thanks in advance to anybody who took the time to read my admittedly very long post. Any ideas or advice would be very much appreciated!
Rowan
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