Tenant rights

[yowzator]

I have an issue with a prior landlord. At the end of September 2000 I moved out of a house that I was renting in Portland, OR into a house that I just purchased. I was living at the rental house for about 7 years.

The original rental agreement clearly indicates that no pets were allowed in the rental. Originally, I did not have any pets. But I got divoriced and needed a new roommate to help cover the cost of the house ($1400/mo). My brother moved in with two cats.

Unfortunately, one of the cats urinated all over the house. It was bad enough that there was definitely a strong smell when someone walked into the house.

When I moved out, I had completely emptied the house of everything and thoroughly cleaned all of the rooms in the house. I even rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned the carpets.

I think that I owe the landlord some money for damages and would like to resolve this issue amicably. When I spoke to him about things, I didn't admit to anything, but I told him I wanted to do the right thing and work out some sort of agreement with him to resolve the issue.

After that, he sent me the following list of damages. I really don't feel that many of them are fair.

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<table border=1><tr valign=top><td>$20</td><td>Back door lock</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>$30</td><td>Light in dining room</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>$30</td><td>Light cover in refrigerator. Really it’s unreplaceable, which means I have to get a new refrigerator.</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>$1053</td><td>Carpet - When you moved in there were: 65 yards of new carpet in the downstairs and the upstairs bedroom - $1300 pro-rated at $650, and 55 yards of 3 year old carpet upstairs at $1210, pro-rated at $403.</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>$1200</td><td>Wood floor - Cat urine had soaked into the wood around the front door. The repair necessitated removing the floor boards around the door, wall base board and door threshold, then refinishing the whole living room floor to match.</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>$30</td><td>Back door window</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>$60</td><td>Chipped counter top by stove</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>$20</td><td>Water damage by tub</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>$20</td><td>Broken mini-blind in upstairs bedroom</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>$70</td><td>Missing garage door remotes</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>$1200</td><td>Cleaning and painting 80+ hours at $15/hr</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>$80</td><td>Dump fees for junk left and Carpet etc.</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>$3813</td><td>Total</td></tr><tr valign=top><td>($500)</td><td> less deposit</td></tr><tr valign=top><td><b>$3313</b></td><td>Excess damage</td></tr></table>

There were other damages as well like where the cat clawed the doors, the down stairs screen and the bathroom fan, most of which I’ve repaired without too much trouble.

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He says he will start legal proceedings starting Dec 15th if he doesn't receive payment from me by then.

Most of the things he refers to above are simple wear-and-tear items. I lived there for 7 years. Things are bound to happen. Does this mean I'm responsible for them (chipped counter top, back door lock, light in dining room)?

I certainly don't think I should have to pay $1200 for cleaning and painting! Nor should I have to pay for him to go to the dump.

And why should I pay for him to replace the entire living room floorboards and refinishing it so that it would match the small part he was forced to replace because of cat urine? The living room was completely carpeted when I lived there. There was no hardwood floor visible, so why would it need to be refinished to match?

I have my arguments about some of the other issues too, but I won't bring them up here. There are certainly some things that I agree with. For instance, the carpet probably does need to be replaced. The back door window did get broken while I lived there. The mini-blind was broken by the cats.

I'm willing to work with the landlord and come to an agreement and payment plan. But I'm really concerned about all the extra charges he is listing and am hoping to get some advice.

Thanks!

[Edited by yowzator on 12-11-2000 at 08:40 PM]

 

[LL]

I don't want to be sympathetic, but now you know why I get very upset at a tenant who moves in a cat when the lease says "LESSEE shall not bring, keep, maintain or allow any pets whatsoever in or about said premises".

Now you know that the landlord really meant it.

Maybe he really had to do the repairs to repair the urine-soaked floorboards.

On the other hand, it took two man-weeks to paint the house. It sure out to look nice, after so much attention

 

[yowzator]

Thanks for your response!

I believe that the landlord did have to do many repairs. I've felt really, really bad about the whole thing. That's why I want to work out arrangements with him.

But what I don't want is to be taken for more than I truly owe. I'm trying to determine what should be considered legitimate charges and what should not.

 

[LL]

Go and talk to your landlord and see what you can work out, if anything.

You don't have much leverage however, because you are the one that violated the agreement. What you did is one of the things that makes me, just for an example, very angry. Such tenants leave me with a bigger problem than they realize. Urine soaked floorboards, carpets whose odor will never go away, scratched everything. I generally don't make extra charges, for my own labor, for example, and travel time to go and pick out carpet and supervise installation, but I really feel cheated in cases like this. To you it was a little thing, just having a couple of cats, but to the landlord, it is a giant headache for which he will never really by entirely compensated.

If you feel that you are being taken, then look at the items that make you feel that you are being taken. Are they reasonable amounts for the damage that is being claimed? Thats "reasonable" not cheap. I don't believe that you can't find a light cover for the refrigerator, whatever that is. Try a big-city appliance supply store.

Do you dispute the cost of repairing the floor? If so, why the heck did you bring in the cat?

Did you leave a mess behind needing 80+ hours to clean and paint. What about all the other broken things. After all, if you could not be trusted to take care of the property according to agreement, why should anyone believe you now?

 

[yowzator]

Well, I certainly didn't post my message intending to get into an argument with another landlord about whether what I've done was right or wrong. Obviously, I'm in the wrong here and am willing to admit it. I'm also wanting to do the right thing and come to an agreement with my prior landlord. I'm sorry that you've had a bad experience in the past and are so bitter about it that you need to take it out on me.

I came to this forum looking for helpful legal advise. It looks like I won't be getting it here. I appreciate hearing about the perspective that another landlord takes on this topic, but it really isn't what I'm looking for. I was hoping to receive impartial legal advice, not something slanted for the other side.

As I said before, I left the place clean and in good shape. Sure, the walls probably needed to be repainted, but this is something that I would expect after 7 years. It really doesn't seem like something that I should pay for. It was his choice to do that in order to make more money on the home. I'm sure he's renting the place for close to $2000/mo now (from the $1450 that I was paying).

 

[LL]

Sorry, Yowz, but that's how a judge might look at it, too.

If you're asking him to believe you that you didn't make a mess, the LL will suggest to look at how honestly you performed on the rest of the lease.

How do you think a judge would rule on that?

 

[HomeGuru]

Ok writer wowgator. Here's your legal advice.
Legally you are wrong and are liable for the damages.

Disclaimer: the above legal advice is impartial and not slanted; shaken and not stirred.

[Edited by HomeGuru on 12-13-2000 at 10:46 AM]

 

[David J. Miller]

I'm sure the poster will not accept your advice Homeguru and for two reasons. First, it is certainly not what she wanted to hear and secondly, I'm sure she'd prefer it stirred rather than shaken.