Walk Through at end of lease

[devlin]

What is the name of your state? PA

I am requesting that my LL walk through the house with us on the last day of our lease so that we may be present for any damages she might try to withhold from our security deposit. She, however, would like for us to just leave the keys and call her when we are out. Do we have a right to a walk through? There is no damage to the house and we have only been here six months. We do not want to lose our security deposit based on any claims she may have. Thanks in advance.

Here is her response to our request for a walk through:

After all your possessions are out of the house, make sure the house is clean and the grass is mowed. You can leave all the keys and the garage door opener in a drawer in the kitchen. Please make sure the house is locked-up. All you have to do is call me on my cell phone to tell me you are moved out. I will check the house the next day.

What is the condition of the appliances? Or, are there any other problems I should be aware of?

 

[treese]

There is no law in PA requiring the LL to have the tenant present for the final walk through.

Protect yourself and take pictures after move out and clean up. Put a daily newspaper in at least one of the pictures - as proof of the date.

 

[acmb05]

There is no law in PA requiring the LL to have the tenant present for the final walk through.

Protect yourself and take pictures after move out and clean up. Put a daily newspaper in at least one of the pictures - as proof of the date.

You can however dispute any charges and try to come to a compromise with the landlord. If that does not work your only recourse is to sue in small claims.

 

[devlin]

Thanks!

There is no law in PA requiring the LL to have the tenant present for the final walk through.

Protect yourself and take pictures after move out and clean up. Put a daily newspaper in at least one of the pictures - as proof of the date.

Good advice...thank you! Even though there is no law, she is showing she is uncooperative, we have let her know if she changes her mind we will be happy to accomodate her schedule as best as we can.

 

[devlin]

Thank you!

You can however dispute any charges and try to come to a compromise with the landlord. If that does not work your only recourse is to sue in small claims.

Yes, i can see it coming to that unfortunately, hence trying to cover my butt by having a walk through with her present. I think I will also make sure I have witnesses as to the condition of the house upon moving out.

Thank you for the advice!

 

[treese]

Even though there is no law, she is showing she is uncooperative, we have let her know if she changes her mind we will be happy to accomodate her schedule as best as we can.

To be honest with you, it is not so much that she is being uncooperative, she has the right to fully inspect the property. As a LL, it can be distracting when doing a walk through with tenants present. If there are damages, the tenant knows where and what they are and some tenants (not all) attempt to distract the LL away from them. If damages are found, some tenants want to debate the issue right then and there and things can go south fast.

Yes, i can see it coming to that unfortunately, hence trying to cover my butt by having a walk through with her present. I think I will also make sure I have witnesses as to the condition of the house upon moving out.

Even if you were to do a walk through with the LL, damages and problems that are not obvious can still come up after the walk through, that is why the LL has 30 days to return the deposit.

 

[devlin]

Good points....

However, I am sure you are an honest person, the person I am dealing with unfortunately is not honest and cannot be trusted. Like I said, we have only been here six months, there has been essentially no time to do any damage. My LL is in violation of her lease currently, she lied to us when we moved in, we are the 4th tennant in 2 years (which is something we found out later). I mean, what kind of LL wants 4 tennants in two years? People that rent houses, not apartments, are usually looking to live somewhere for a few years, not six months, unless the dwelling is advertised as a short term lease.

Thanks again for the advice and for the perspective from the "other side". However, I still say if she wants to claim any damages we should have the opportunity to fix them prior to her sending us any inflated bills.