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Need help figuring out who to file a complaint with

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simsjunkie

New member
Arizona

I received a note on my door (5/9/18) stating that I owe late fees, processing fee, and an amount of rent larger then what my lease states. I emailed my property manager whom told me that I owe late fee of $50 from August 2017. My new lease started in March 2018 and he never stated anything about past rent/late fees, and I also never received anything in the mail about late fees. I brought my spreadsheet into my meeting with him this week, to show that I paid a late fee in August 2017 because I received a notice from his office that I was 1 day late paying rent in June 2017. He then tells me that I was late in Sept 2017 to which I replied I never received a notice from his office stating I was late. He told me that those notices are a courtesy and they don't have to send them out. I told him that I wasn't late more than once last year and I paid the fee. Also, when he emailed me in April 2018 accidently about someone else's past due rent, I stated in the email that he had the wrong person. He told me to disregard the emails, and never once did he state even then that I owed them money from last year. In May 2018, I placed my rent check in their drop off box on the 4th (last day to pay rent on time), and in an email he told me that I was late because it was dropped off after 5:30pm. They were returning my personal check via certified mail, and I had to bring in a money order or cashier's check. I brought in a money order that was $50 over my rent, because my rent check was in their drop off box all weekend long, and attempted to rectify the situation with him this week. We have emailed him about how there are days I don't have a parking space when I come home from work, that his landscaper is there only 10 mins each month and doesn't complete the job. We have asked to have several potholes in the driveway and parking lot filled in, along with having the apts painted (chipping siding, cracks in the foundation) but each time we have been told that it isn't feasible. Two tenants are paying for the security lights because they are running off those units electrical box, but no where in their lease doesn't it state they are responsible for them. What are my options regarding the late fees? What are our options regarding the conditions of the apartments?
 


PayrollHRGuy

Senior Member
Late Fees: Show proof you paid on time each month.

Other: Put your other complaints in writing and send copies to both the management company and the owner.

It is not your business if the two other tenets are paying for the lights.
 

Gail in Georgia

Senior Member
This could all be avoided if you would simply pay your rent by the 1st of each month. Unless your lease states rent is due on the 4th of the month it is due on the 1st. You simply (as you have found out) begin to accrue late fees if it is received after the 4th of the month. To avoid all of this it is suggested you pay by the 1st.

As for the rest...not having a parking space, having the landscaper come only 10 minutes each month, having potholes in the driveway and chipped siding does not make these units "uninhabitable" not does it address the issue of late rent. If you don't like the above issues then don't renew your lease when the time comes to do so and find another place to rent.

Gail
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
Let me start by saying I was a landlord in Phoenix for 20 years and I am very familiar with the statutes. I am neither pro landlord nor pro tenant.

Let's start with the late fee that he says you owe for August 2017. According to ARS 33-1371 if he accepted "a partial payment of rent or other charges" and failed to notify you then of the late charge he appears to have waived the right to collect the late charge. My take is that the rent + the late charge = rent. Collecting one amount without the other is a waiver of the other if the statute wasn't complied with.

https://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/33/01371.htm&Title=33&DocType=ARS

In May 2018, I placed my rent check in their drop off box on the 4th (last day to pay rent on time), and in an email he told me that I was late because it was dropped off after 5:30pm. They were returning my personal check via certified mail, and I had to bring in a money order or cashier's check. I brought in a money order that was $50 over my rent, because my rent check was in their drop off box all weekend long, and attempted to rectify the situation with him this week.
Sorry, but any time you use the landlord's drop box you risk being late, especially when you deposit the rent check at the end of the last day when the last day is a Friday. That's like putting your foot in a bear trap just to see if the bear trap works. Very dangerous. I suggest you figure out a way to personally deliver the rent check to the landlord ahead of time and get a dated receipt. Your "spreadsheet" is not proof of anything.

We have emailed him about how there are days I don't have a parking space when I come home from work, that his landscaper is there only 10 mins each month and doesn't complete the job. We have asked to have several potholes in the driveway and parking lot filled in, along with having the apts painted (chipping siding, cracks in the foundation) but each time we have been told that it isn't feasible. Two tenants are paying for the security lights because they are running off those units electrical box, but no where in their lease doesn't it state they are responsible for them.
None of that has anything to do with rent. You may have had contemporaneous remedies for some or all of that when the occurred. You are welcome to study the statutes and check them out. You should be keeping the statutes handy as your bible for any rental agreement now and in the future.

https://housing.az.gov/sites/default/files/documents/files/AZ-Residential-Landlord-Tenant-Act-Jan-2018.pdf

there are days I don't have a parking space when I come home from work,
If you don't have an assigned space there isn't likely to be anything you can do about that.

that his landscaper is there only 10 mins each month and doesn't complete the job.
As long as the landscaping isn't affecting the habitability of your apartment and is not a safety issue, there's probably nothing you can do about that either, other than find another place to live when your lease is up.

We have asked to have several potholes in the driveway and parking lot filled in
That could be a safety or code issue that the city code enforcement department might be interested in. Take photos and send them anonymously if you would prefer not to be identified.

along with having the apts painted (chipping siding, cracks in the foundation)
Again, not a habitability issue. If your landlord is letting his property deteriorate, your option is to relocate.

Two tenants are paying for the security lights because they are running off those units electrical box, but no where in their lease doesn't it state they are responsible for them
Security lights use a minimum amount of electricity so that's not something to pick a fight about.

Gail got her post in before I finished typing mine but I'll let mine stand as is even though there is some duplication.

As for the title of your post:
Need help figuring out who to file a complaint with
Arizona has no regulatory agency that can come down on landlords (other than maybe a code violation). It's a contractual matter regulated by statute. Landlord tenant disputes are handled by the local justice courts if the disputes cannot be resolved without court.
 
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HRZ

Senior Member
I think drop boxes can be problematic...but unless the lease says otherwise I'd lean towards anytime before midnight as timely ....tenant gets benefit of ambiguity IF he can prove pm delivery....not a wise point to debate ...learn to pay it safely earlier .
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Generally, dropbox payments are late if deposited after-hours because they won't be received until the following business day.
 

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