What is the name of your state? CaliforniaI have been trying to find information regarding what rights the tenant has when the landlord fails to advise and refuses to inspect prior to tenant move out date.
In California the law reads: The landlord must give the tenant written notice of the tenant's right to request an initial inspection of the rental and to be present during the inspection. The landlord must give this notice to the tenant a "reasonable time" after either the landlord or the tenant has given the other written notice of intent to terminate
I rented a house for eight years and never was late on my rent. The house was about 40 years old. When I moved in, the house was in okay condition the carpet showed moderate wear and you could see where the walls had been filled where the previous tenant had hung things, During the eight years the landlord never repainted the inside of the house or recarpeted it. During the eight years every time I had a plumbing problem and contacted the owner she would raise my rent so I quit calling her and paid for the plumbing bills myself. Five years ago the mold in the bathroom was so bad there was mushrooms growing on the walls. The owner finally had a relative come and tear out the rotten window sill and put in a window while I was out of town. When I returned the owner contacted me and asked if I was happy with the bathroom. I told her that the installer broke the window glass when he installed the window and that as soon as I turned the water on the stuff the man used on the grout washed off and the black was coming through again. For the last 3 years I have used that XR44 mildew remover every other day to retard the growth of the mold living in the walls.
I gave my 30 day notice and paid a full months rent even though I was moving 7 days before the end of the month on 6/1/2005 in which I told the landlord that I would be moving to Arizona with the moving company on June 23,2005. She never sent me the required notice informing me of my right to pre inspection which the law requires. Ten days before I was scheduled to move I called her to schedule for her to check the house so I could get my deposit before I moved. She told me she was busy until the 24th of June and she would look at the house that day after I leave. Two days before I was to move I learned off the internet about my right to pre inspection so I hand delivered a request that she view the house before I leave and provide me a list of things she thought I should have deducted from my deposit and I gave her a copy of the security deposit statute which said she was required to do a pre inspection. Again she said she was busy until Friday the 24th. She lives less than 10 minutes from the house and does nothing except sit around her house all day eating bon bons.
I had to leave on the 23rd because the movers were delivering the furniture at 9am on the 24th in Arizona so I left the keys with my sister to meet with the landlord. The landlord waddled around the place mumbling and mentioned every little thing like the trash cans needed to be put out with the trash the cupboard had some disposable dishes that needed to be removed, so my sister asked her to write a list of what needed to be done and she would take care of it.
Remember now I lived in this house for eight years, I left a beautiful leaded glass coca cola Tiffany lamp hanging in the dining room because the one there was all rusty and the glass was yellowed. I left a working washer and dryer that are all hooked up and were maybe four years old because my new house came with W/D installed. I had the house cleaned by two people who swept the walls down wiped out the cabinets, scrubbed the bathroom, cleaned the oven and washed all the walls. Before I left for Arizona. All trash was in the trash containers and there was nothing laying around for anyone to pick up. The woman gave her a two page list that required I wash the walls again because the walls still looked dirty and wash the popcorn ceilings, that I replace the screens that are disintegrating and have tons of little holes in them. That I put her chandelier back in the dining room ( I threw away the rusty corroded thing seven years ago and that I make sure all trash is collected..Replace the broken bathroom window her worker broke and hang the broken gate
Now that you know all the details can anyone tell me
1. What is the penalty when a landlord fails to give tenant notice of right to pre inspection ?
2. Does a landlord loose the right to make deductions from the deposit? If not why does the code require the landlord to do something without any penalty if they don't?
3. What is considered the useful life of a window screen? What percentage could be deducted each year? The landlord wants me to replace all screens
4. In California the code states that the average time a rental paint job deprecates is 2-3 years so if you live somewhere for three years you shouldn't have to do anything to the walls when you move. After eight years the landlord wants the walls washed a second time and the ceiling washed because I was a smoker years ago. Can she charge me for excessive wear and tear after eight years claiming smoke damage?
5. The landlord listed replace bathroom window which is the one her relative broke installing it three years ago that I told her about when she called me to see if the bathroom was okay. How do I fight this if it is her against me?
6. There is an old wooden gate that fell off the hinges years ago that I sat up next to the wall so I didn't fall over it. On the list the landlord wants the gate rehung which means I would have to reenforce the wooden gate, fill the holes and buy new hardware and screws for a gate I never even used. The thing is as old as the house and goes nowhere except to a yard full of big weeds behind the back yard. Is it my responsibility to fix a gate that was hanging when I moved in but rotted off after I moved in?
7. Every time something needed to be fixed around the house the landlord would get someone from TJ to do the work really cheap. Three years ago she had these guys paint the outside of the house BRIGHT turquoise blue and some other Mexican guys put on a new shingle roof..After they were finished i realized that the roofers had stolen a brand new case of 18 spray cans of rust preventing primer from the table inside my garage that I had bought about a week before the roofers started. Istarted looking around and found I was also missing a huge 30 gallon trash bag I had just filled with brand new T Shirts 70-80 of them all with pictures of classic cars, road rallies, cruisers from different car club events. Never worn a really nice collection of shirts. I’m sure the guys thought they had scored a huge bag of painting rags never considering what all these new shirts were worth until they started pulling them out of the bag to use. Each shirt was worth 13-15 dollars. They also took a new suitcase on wheels that I had only used once which cost $85 I immediately called the landlord to report that the men had taken things that belonged to me and asked her to get the items back. She blew me off and told me it was my fault for having things I wanted to keep in the garage. She never got the items back and never compensated me for my loss. Am I able to include the cost of the items her workers stole from my house if I have to sue her for my deposit? Can I get reimbursed for all the plumbing bills I paid because the water pipes and septic tank are so old?
The big thing is replacing the screens can anyone tell me according to the law the useful age of window screens ?
Sorry to write a book here I have searched for hours for these answers on the internet but all I can find is general answers related to a security deposit
Thanks
Brigid