Rental problem - OHIO

[seseoppa]

What is the name of your state? Ohio

Hello all,

A friend of mine is going through some problems with her landlord. Last month, already well into her lease, she requested the rental office for a free washer and dryer in her apartment. She did this because her friends that moved into the same apartment after she did got hooked up with free washer & dryer. The rental office granted the request and she had been using the equipments without problems.

Then last week, her landlord contacted her for unpaid charges for washe & dryer rental + late fee and threatened to evict her if the fees were not paid. She tried to resolve the issue by talking with the property manager. But the manager basically accused her of lying and insisted that it would have been "illegal" for them to offer her free washer and dryer when other people that signed the lease at the same time she did were not given free ones. The manager stated there is a law that says as such. My friend requested them to take the washer and dryer back but the manager wants to charge her removal fee on top of all that.

My friend is planning to file a complaint with the BBB. She may have some problems here too because she never documented or recorded any conversation proving she was to get the equipments for free... But then she was never billed for the equipments when she received them in her apartment either...

Is this a complete BS? This ordeal seems pretty ridiculous from a everyday business point of view.... You're not allowed to offer special deals to anyone unless you offer the same to the whole group? Isn't this bait and switch? Can anyone shed some light on this matter? Thanks!

 

[Who's Liable?]

What is the name of your state? Ohio

Hello all,

A friend of mine is going through some problems with her landlord. Last month, already well into her lease, she requested the rental office for a free washer and dryer in her apartment. She did this because her friends that moved into the same apartment after she did got hooked up with free washer & dryer. The rental office granted the request and she had been using the equipments without problems.

Nice of the rental office to do that, but they were under NO legal obligation to giver her free rental units.

Then last week, her landlord contacted her for unpaid charges for washe & dryer rental + late fee and threatened to evict her if the fees were not paid. She tried to resolve the issue by talking with the property manager.

Since there was nothing in writing OR signed between both parties, NEITHER can collect on "rental" fees.

But the manager basically accused her of lying and insisted that it would have been "illegal" for them to offer her free washer and dryer when other people that signed the lease at the same time she did were not given free ones. The manager stated there is a law that says as such.

The manager is an idiot. There is no such law. While there may be a template lease that the management company uses for every prospective tenant, they can alter the lease as they see fit.

My friend requested them to take the washer and dryer back but the manager wants to charge her removal fee on top of all that.

Tell them to pound sand, however now that the offer for removal was made, they can come and take it at their discretion.

My friend is planning to file a complaint with the BBB. She may have some problems here too because she never documented or recorded any conversation proving she was to get the equipments for free... But then she was never billed for the equipments when she received them in her apartment either...

Without a signed authorization OR agreement letter from the office for rent to be applied to the units, management is SOL. HOWEVER they CAN charge a rental fee with WRITTEN notice to the tenant.

Is this a complete BS? This ordeal seems pretty ridiculous from a everyday business point of view.... You're not allowed to offer special deals to anyone unless you offer the same to the whole group? Isn't this bait and switch? Can anyone shed some light on this matter? Thanks!

cackeyed

 

[seseoppa]

Who's Liable, thank you very much for your advice. I'm glad to hear that no such strange law exists. My friend understands that she is not entitled to free washer + dryer... She simply wants the dispute resolved by having the landlord remove the appliances at no charge.

Right now, the property manager is pressuring my friend with incurred rental fee, late fee and appliance removal fee with immediate deadline + more late fees and of course eviction as the ultimate consequence. Although her English is pretty good, my friend is from overseas. I think the property manager may be trying to take advantage of this by pulling some BS law out of her bottom...

So since nothing was signed can my friend ignore the onslaught of these unreasonable charges until the matter is resolved through BBB (hopefully)? Can this be ground for eviction?

 

[Zigner]

Who's Liable, thank you very much for your advice. I'm glad to hear that no such strange law exists. My friend understands that she is not entitled to free washer + dryer... She simply wants the dispute resolved by having the landlord remove the appliances at no charge.

Right now, the property manager is pressuring my friend with incurred rental fee, late fee and appliance removal fee with immediate deadline + more late fees and of course eviction as the ultimate consequence. Although her English is pretty good, my friend is from overseas. I think the property manager may be trying to take advantage of this by pulling some BS law out of her bottom...

So since nothing was signed can my friend ignore the onslaught of these unreasonable charges until the matter is resolved through BBB (hopefully)? Can this be ground for eviction?

The BBB will not "resolve" anything. They are a voluntary organization with no oversight what-so-ever. She likely cannot be evicted for this (successfully), but she can expect to be non-renewed when the lease is up.

 

[seseoppa]

Zigner, thank you for the advice... Sucks that BBB doesn't have as much authority as I thought... I will update you guys as we make progress in resolving this. Good to hear that my friend is unlikely to be evicted from this. Knowing this she will feel less pressure to give into their unreasonable demands.

 

[Hot Topic]

The BBB is a "paper tiger." What they do is to try and get the two parties together to resolve the problem. They can't legally force the landlord to give in, and they can't force your friend to do what the landlord demands.

You can file a complaint to be put in the landlord's file, but it's unlikely that anyone looking for an apartment will research that file.

It looks good for a company to have that pretty BBB plaque on their wall, but it actually means little.

 

[Alaska landlord]

There is no such law. However, another renter renting at the same time with a similar apartment may bring up discrimination charges. Sort of like, I didn't get a free washer/dryer because I am (pick your color) It would be unwise to make an offer to one applicant and not another.

Bottom line, your manager was correct but for the wrong reason.

 

[HuAi]

BS - every apartment is different. If market conditions go down and I have to offer my new tenants a $100 rent discount to get someone in the door next month, it doesnt mean I have to credit all my existing tenants $100 who I already locked into a lease, black, white, or green!

 

[seseoppa]

UPDATE:

Filed a complaint on BBB. The property manager responded with the her story that my friend agreed to pay for the rental. PM implicitly backed off on trying to charge my friend for the appliance removal fee and the extra month's rental (apparently it takes them a month to come to her apartment and take them out). But the PM is still trying to charge her for the rental fee.

My friend replied that she understood them to be free of rental charges and there is no documented evidence anywhere that they agreed to pay for rental. She demanded the landlord to withdraw their financial demands and remove the appliances from her apartment.

The property manager failed to respond to my friend's rebuttal by the BBB set deadline which was yesterday 6/12/2008. So that is the end of trying to resolve it through BBB...

The PM actually left a note on my friend's door yesterday saying she owes them money and they will not accept future rent payments unless she pays the rental charge in dispute. Rediculous. Can they do this?

 

[Ohiogal]

UPDATE:

Filed a complaint on BBB. The property manager responded with the her story that my friend agreed to pay for the rental. PM implicitly backed off on trying to charge my friend for the appliance removal fee and the extra month's rental (apparently it takes them a month to come to her apartment and take them out). But the PM is still trying to charge her for the rental fee.

My friend replied that she understood them to be free of rental charges and there is no documented evidence anywhere that they agreed to pay for rental. She demanded the landlord to withdraw their financial demands and remove the appliances from her apartment.

The property manager failed to respond to my friend's rebuttal by the BBB set deadline which was yesterday 6/12/2008. So that is the end of trying to resolve it through BBB...

The PM actually left a note on my friend's door yesterday saying she owes them money and they will not accept future rent payments unless she pays the rental charge in dispute. Rediculous. Can they do this?

They need to prove she owes the rental payments.

 

[LindaP777]

The PM actually left a note on my friend's door yesterday saying she owes them money and they will not accept future rent payments unless she pays the rental charge in dispute. Rediculous. Can they do this?

Worst case scenario; the PM will have to file for eviction for non-payment of past fees/rent. If this happens, your friend must appear in court to tell her side of the story. Let a judge decide if she owes the fees or not.

 

[Alaska landlord]

BS - every apartment is different. If market conditions go down and I have to offer my new tenants a $100 rent discount to get someone in the door next month, it doesnt mean I have to credit all my existing tenants $100 who I already locked into a lease, black, white, or green!

Yes, but you must offer EVERY applicant the same deal or you may find yourself in a discrimination lawsuit.

 

[seseoppa]

My friend is torn between settling by paying the rental fees and fighting the landlord to the end...Although she is furious with the way the property manager has handled this ordeal, she is not sure if she wants to go through all the troubles and stress of fighting eviction over ~$100.