What is the name of your state? IL
We rented from our previous landlords for 9 years until we moved out this past April and bought a home. When we moved into the rental house, the previous tenants had left an enormous amount of trash and personal items throughout the house and yard. The house was actually not liveable but because they agreed to rent it to us extremely cheap, we decided to do the rehab so we could move in. Anyway, we picked up most of the trash except what was stored in the sheds and barns around the home and the one extra room we did not use - the summer kitchen that was off to the side of the mudroom, not part of the living space we occupied. They also had dumped (the tenants AND the landlords) quite a few appliances and things behind the house in the woods, one of which was our old water heater. We did so only at the request of the landlord because they didn't want to pay to have it hauled or scrapped.
So we gave notice that we would be moving and had the electric shut off the day after our closing. We asked what the timeframe the landlords wanted us to move our stuff out by and they said there really isn't one because they were going to sell the land to the state so they could put a proposed highway in. After a couple weeks, we had removed everything that WE had put there with the exception of the appliances that we had installed and received rent credit for. Then the calls started coming... They wanted all the siding picked up from the yard - we paid for 90% of it, they picked up the last few boxes and paid someone to install it. It helped them get more insurance on the place and therefore benefited them to have it done. The guy they hired did a crappy job and left his trash and workmess behind in a pile. He also did the roof (not to code mind you) and left that mess, too. They wanted us to take the trash from the woods which we really didn't contribute to. All these things that were present when we moved in they now want us to remove.
Now he is threatening his lawyer on us but I don't see grounds for any legal action. There was never a signed rental agreement (we lived in a small town) in which we agreed to remove everything when we left, even things that were their responsibility or items that weren't even ours. They complained that the sewer ditch was backing up, but we didn't have any problems with it the day we moved out - although we did beg them to get it cleaned out because the smell was so awful it came into the house because the pipe wasn't extended far enough. They wanted us to do something about it, but as I see it, it's their property and everything was in working order when we left it.
I think the state is requiring them to remove everything that is an environmental hazard and because they are so cheap, they now think that we're just going to hand over money or our labor to get it done. They never took care of anything while we were there - we went without water countless times and electric on more occasions that I can count because they refused to fix anything. We even had no furnace the last few years and relied on space heaters because they would not have a repairman out to fix the old furnace that was in the house. I'm surprised the house didn't burn down while we were in it.
Anyway, he is leaving several harassing voicemails threatening legal action but I am not removing things that aren't mine. Do we have anything to worry about, should I attempt to hire an attorney? Is there a way to get him to stop trying to come after us for these things?
We rented from our previous landlords for 9 years until we moved out this past April and bought a home. When we moved into the rental house, the previous tenants had left an enormous amount of trash and personal items throughout the house and yard. The house was actually not liveable but because they agreed to rent it to us extremely cheap, we decided to do the rehab so we could move in. Anyway, we picked up most of the trash except what was stored in the sheds and barns around the home and the one extra room we did not use - the summer kitchen that was off to the side of the mudroom, not part of the living space we occupied. They also had dumped (the tenants AND the landlords) quite a few appliances and things behind the house in the woods, one of which was our old water heater. We did so only at the request of the landlord because they didn't want to pay to have it hauled or scrapped.
So we gave notice that we would be moving and had the electric shut off the day after our closing. We asked what the timeframe the landlords wanted us to move our stuff out by and they said there really isn't one because they were going to sell the land to the state so they could put a proposed highway in. After a couple weeks, we had removed everything that WE had put there with the exception of the appliances that we had installed and received rent credit for. Then the calls started coming... They wanted all the siding picked up from the yard - we paid for 90% of it, they picked up the last few boxes and paid someone to install it. It helped them get more insurance on the place and therefore benefited them to have it done. The guy they hired did a crappy job and left his trash and workmess behind in a pile. He also did the roof (not to code mind you) and left that mess, too. They wanted us to take the trash from the woods which we really didn't contribute to. All these things that were present when we moved in they now want us to remove.
Now he is threatening his lawyer on us but I don't see grounds for any legal action. There was never a signed rental agreement (we lived in a small town) in which we agreed to remove everything when we left, even things that were their responsibility or items that weren't even ours. They complained that the sewer ditch was backing up, but we didn't have any problems with it the day we moved out - although we did beg them to get it cleaned out because the smell was so awful it came into the house because the pipe wasn't extended far enough. They wanted us to do something about it, but as I see it, it's their property and everything was in working order when we left it.
I think the state is requiring them to remove everything that is an environmental hazard and because they are so cheap, they now think that we're just going to hand over money or our labor to get it done. They never took care of anything while we were there - we went without water countless times and electric on more occasions that I can count because they refused to fix anything. We even had no furnace the last few years and relied on space heaters because they would not have a repairman out to fix the old furnace that was in the house. I'm surprised the house didn't burn down while we were in it.
Anyway, he is leaving several harassing voicemails threatening legal action but I am not removing things that aren't mine. Do we have anything to worry about, should I attempt to hire an attorney? Is there a way to get him to stop trying to come after us for these things?