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Owe $1,000+ Damages

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Thales

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Alabama

Earlier this afternoon I received a letter from our old apartment complex claiming that we owe them $1,082 in damages to our unit. Our lease termination date was September 25th 2008, we ended up turning in our keys on September 24th (Rent was paid in full for that month). The letter we received is postmarked for November 12th 2008 and was not sent First Class, we provided them with a forwarding address but they addressed the envelope to the unit we lived in at their property. The letter lists our lease end date as September 25th 2008 and our move out date October 1st, thankfully they aren't concocting charges for going over our contract date, but they've listed on the letter some odd charges.

They claim that they had to do excessive cleaning, replace all of the carpet and make some repairs. Some of the odd items listed;

-The master bedroom door closes and locks, but doesn't click shut. We reported this problem to the maintenance manager at the time and we were told it was normal, the apartment settling.

- The tile soapdish wasn't caulked sufficiently in the master bathroom and it became loose and fell but did not break. The maintenance manager spackled(?) where it had been and said he would return within two days to affix the soapdish again, he took it with him and never returned. We are being charged $25.00 to replace the soapdish, I can only assume they are accusing us of taking it.

- We never did a move-in walk through, we were provided a form and told to fill it out then give it back by the end of our move-in day. After turning the form in we noticed that the front door of our unit, which had never been lived in, had some dings on it and had been touched up with off colored paint. We spoke with the assistant property manager and informed her of this, she said that she would make a note of this on that form. According to this letter that is one complaint as well.

- We paid our cable company to have an extra coax outlet installed in the master bedroom as there were none. Maintenance assured us that they would take care of this, after a month we got tired of waiting. In the letter they claim that there should be two outlets present so they tacked it on the list.

- We are being charged to replace the AC filter, though it makes no mention of it being our responsibility in the lease. When we initially moved in they replaced a fuse on the AC, one of about three times, and also put in a new filter. Not sure why we are being charged for another AC filter as it isn't listed as something we are responsible for.

I admit that the carpet was damaged in all but the second bedroom, it was a cheap imitation berber carpet, my wife had the good fortunes of talking with the builder who installed the carpeting and he called it "paper carpet", something that they had to replace quite often as it was cheaply made. According to them it cost $1k to replace the carpeting and pad. We paid a $200 security deposit and $500 for two pets, apparently the pet deposit doesn't cover any damage caused by the pets... although I'm not sure what the purpose of the deposit is then.

I'm more than happy to pay for the damages provided they correctly invoice us for the unit. The above mentioned peculiarities are few of the things I would like straightened out. Having done a little research I see that according to the Uniform Residential Landlord & Tenant Act (2007) that I came across on Alabama HUD's website that if we do not have a deposit returned to us or an itemized bill for damages sent within 35 days by first class mail we are entitled to double our initial deposit. They did not send this letter via FCM and it was not postmarked on the envelope until November 12th, would we be covered by this? (Article 2, Section E)

Additionally, the letter says that the full amount of the damages are due within 10 days of the postmarked date, is there any law stating the full amount has to be paid? In other words, are we legally able to pay them over a period of time? I have every intention of paying what is correctly due within 2-3 months. We were on great terms with the property manager, we never filed complaints, we worked around their maintenance schedule, paid our rent early. They practically begged us to stay, even going so far as to offer us two months of free rent.

Again, not trying to dodge this, I want to pay it off quickly but I want to pay the correct amount.

Thoughts and answers?

Thanks;
Robert
 
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dolebot

Member
Lets see:
I'm not certain if the postmarked date or the date you actually received it is important, so lets choose the shortest possible amount of time thus giving the landlord the benefit of the doubt. Just for grins:
25 September (I'm assuming that is the date you handed them the keys?)
12 November

48 days.

day 35 was 30 October.

I happen to enjoy stuff like this on a slow day so here the text of the law that Thales referred to is at the bottom of this post. I found it via "ALISON" the Alabama legislatures web application available to the public at: Alabama Legislative Information System Online

Wow, Alabama loves its people. These are some nice laws. And I thought AL was a red state!

OK on point - I'm from FL and our laws are a bit different. But AL seems to have the same concept. If the landlord doesn't return the deposit within 35 days - or an accounting of the claims against it - you are due double the deposit. This does NOT remove the debt. In fact it makes the issue separate. You would seem to be due double the deposit - $400.

It does seem that a pet deposit is special - the law doesn't seem to mention it. I don't think you get that back at all. I could be wrong. Your original written lease will tell you what the disposition of that would be.

Let me tell you what my thoughts are:

The master bedroom door closes and locks, but doesn't click shut. We reported this problem to the maintenance manager at the time and we were told it was normal, the apartment settling.
You shouldn't be responsible for it. However in order to assert that you don't owe any money for this item - you may need to be able to prove that you reported the problem to the appropriate person. Might you have a maintenance receipt?

The maintenance manager spackled(?) where it had been and said he would return within two days to affix the soapdish again, he took it with him and never returned.
Your responsibility may have been to contact him again to see what the deal was. You might be out this $25 unless you can prove that.

After turning the form in we noticed that the front door of our unit, which had never been lived in, had some dings on it and had been touched up with off colored paint.

According to this letter that is one complaint as well.
Is there a dollar amount associated with it? Pre-existing conditions shouldn't be your responsibility yes? Again - as above you'll need proof that it existed when you took possession.

I admit that the carpet was damaged in all but the second bedroom
Than you should be responsible for the depreciated value of a cheap imitation berber carpet in all but the second bedroom.
Updated - Perhaps you would be responsible for the depreciated value of the entire carpet (its a whole unit?) plus the labor.

According to them it cost $1k to replace the carpeting and pad.
I don't know the cost of carpet or labor for your area - but I do know that to carpet an average apartment costs the landlord about $500-$800. It's a bit high, but not out of the question. In any event - you are responsible for the depreciated value of the carpet that was destroyed. Would a cleaning have helped? Maybe the pet tore it up.
Update - deleted mention of responsibility for the labor.

In the letter they claim that there should be two outlets present so they tacked it on the list.
So they say "there should be 2 outlets in the master bedroom" - and when you moved in, there were none. You had one installed, and they are charging you for the second missing outlet that never existed? You probably aren't responsible for that. Is there a dollar amount for that one?

Additionally, the letter says that the full amount of the damages are due within 10 days of the postmarked date
10 days is a number the landlord made up.

is there any law stating the full amount has to be paid?
No. There is no debtors prison in the USA, the absolute worst that can happen is that the landlord sues you - wins, and can then levy against your property, (i.e. make you sell your car, house, property you own, take the money from your bank account, etc to satisfy the debt). With a judgment, if Alabama allows it - they can also garnish your wages.

In reality - in 10 days the landlord will probably send the debt to a collection agency - and our good friend DC or one of his friends (i.e. debt collectors) will begin calling you, sending you letters, threatening the same as above.

As for what to do - You can recover your entire security deposit - you are entitled to that as the landlord forfeited that by violating the law (so it seems - I'm no lawyer nor a judge). You'll need to sue your landlord for it most likely.

Then you will need to either work out the discrepencies with the landlord, or wait for them to sue you. It's entirely possible that if you sue the landlord for the double security, that they will countersue for the damages. Get your evidence together now if you go down that road. I highly recommend a lawyer - but small claims is the proper venue and a lot of states do not allow lawyers in small claims.

Of course you can talk to the landlord and work it all out:

Maybe along the lines of agreeing to pay 50% of the carpet price - if they drop everything else and you will forget about the security deposit. If you do make such a deal - ensure that it is in writing, and ensure that the landlord agrees that the debt is gone forever, will not attempt to collect it, never to be resold, in perpetuity until the end of the universe, etc etc. You could include a damage provision - that if they do try to collect it in the future that you are due a certain sum of money. These are common. A lawyer is most helpful and quite worth an hour of time.


Section 35-9A-201
Security deposits; prepaid rent.
(a) A landlord may not demand or receive money as security, in an amount in excess of one month's periodic rent, except for pets, changes to the premises, or increased liability risks to the landlord or premises, for tenant's obligations under a rental agreement.

(b) Upon termination of the tenancy, money held by the landlord as security may be applied to the payment of accrued rent and the amount of damages that the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with Section 35-9A-301 all as itemized by the landlord in a written notice delivered to the tenant together with the amount due 35 days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession.

(c) If the landlord does not refund the entire deposit, the landlord, within the 35-day period, shall provide the tenant an itemized list of amounts withheld.

(d) Upon vacating the premises, the tenant shall provide to the landlord a valid forwarding address, in writing, to which the deposit or itemized accounting, or both, may be mailed. If the tenant fails to provide a valid forwarding address, the landlord shall mail, by first class mail, the deposit or itemized accounting, or both, to the last known address of the tenant or, if none, to the tenant at the address of the property. Any deposit unclaimed by the tenant as well as any check outstanding shall be forfeited by the tenant after a period of 180 days.

(e) The landlord's mailing by first class mail to the address provided in writing by the tenant, within 35 days of the refund or itemized accounting, or both, is sufficient compliance with this chapter.

(f) If the landlord fails to mail a timely refund or accounting within the 35-day period, the landlord shall pay the tenant double the amount of the tenant's original deposit.

(g) This section does not preclude the landlord or tenant from recovering other damages to which the landlord or tenant may be entitled.

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

(Act 2006-316, p. 668, §1.)
 
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ecmst12

Senior Member
The deposits that you paid should have been applied to the charges. And many of the charges sound bogus. And their notice was late, though the time limit is for the MAIL date not the delivery date; check the postmark. Take them to court for your $700 deposit x2 and let them argue with the judge why their notice was late, and prove that their damages are legit.

BTW, if you ruined the carpet, you owe for ALL of the labor cost, as well as the depreciated value of the carpet itself. The labor would not have been needed had you not damaged the carpet, and labor does not depreciate. How old was the carpet when you moved in and how long did you live there? What is the life expectancy of the carpet?
 

Thales

Junior Member
Thanks for the advice. I'd prefer not to have a long, protracted battle, they were decent Land Lords when we lived there and other than the occasional neglected maintenance problem we enjoyed our time there.

I've spoken with my boss who is a lawyer, specializes in Corporate Law, and he recommends pursuing a mutually acceptable agreement. I'm going to present my own version of events as they seem to have neglected quite a few things that I know to be in writing, the move-out inspection checklist makes no note of what we put on our move-in inspection. I'm going to request they fax a copy to me along with a copy of our lease, I seem to have misplaced that after the move. As I mentioned before, I know they carpeting was in rough condition, I want to pay for that. i feel bad about the condition that it was left in, the extenuating circumstances which led to the negligent condition of the unit are regrettable.

I fully intend to pay, however given my current predicament I'm unable to pay $1k right now without severely depleting my savings. I'm hoping they will agree to around $400 initially, then the remaining amount in the next month.

I'm hoping they can at least work with me.

Thanks for the advice everyone.
Thales
 

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