Renters association in cottage grove? help! (St. Cloud: townhouse, landlords, living in)

[aprilflowers]

I recently moved out of a townhouse (renting) and my landlord is trying to take my entire deposit, unfairly in my opinion. I don't know what I am supposed to do. Somebody told me to talk to some sort of renters or tennant association, but i have no clue where to start. Can someone get me off on the right foot?

A little more info:
I own a single cat and gave my landlord an extra 25$ a month for the pet. I lived there for 3 years. He's basically telling me I have to pay to replace all of the carpet in the house because it smells like cat pee, and on my word, the cat has NEVER peed or pooped in the house EVER. I feel really lost and hopeless!

[golfgal]

There is county advocate that deals with renters issues in each county. Go to the county website and find that department. They will help you. Good luck!

[usafracer]

Good luck since you made mothly payments any court is going to look at it like you paid to have your pet there living with you. Think of it as your kitty had to pay rent. I had the same issue when I moved out of my Apt in St. Cloud. The house was in better shape when I left than it was when I moved in. I didn't have the money for the deposit and paid $30 a month for 3 years and when I moved out I was counting on getting that money back and NO luck I lost in court for the reasons stated above. I really hope that you have better luck than I did.

Martin

[Clifford63]

Originally Posted by usafracer

Good luck since you made mothly payments any court is going to look at it like you paid to have your pet there living with you. Think of it as your kitty had to pay rent. I had the same issue when I moved out of my Apt in St. Cloud. The house was in better shape when I left than it was when I moved in. I didn't have the money for the deposit and paid $30 a month for 3 years and when I moved out I was counting on getting that money back and NO luck I lost in court for the reasons stated above. I really hope that you have better luck than I did.

Martin

Not uncommon these days to see pet rent. I rented this summer, and we had to pay $30 each for our two little dogs. As I understand it, this is not deposit in any way, just a tack on fee for extra wear and tear. We also had to pay $150 non rufundable deposit for carpet cleaning due to pets living in the space.

I was told we are being refunded the entire damage deposit which was $700.

Damage deposit and pet rent are two seperate things. Pet rent is not refundable, damage deposits are to be refunded and per MN law unless dammage did occur. A written letter that details the damages must be delivered to the tennent if any deposit is to be kept by the landlord. The letter must detail out the specific damages, and I believe it must be delivered within 10 days, but it could be 30.

If you did not receive such a letter, you will likely be awarded your full deposit.

Some landlords do what they please as tennants must go through a fair amount of red tape to get a fair settlement. These types ussually have a fair number of complaints against them too, which would help your case.

You may be able to cut some of the red tape by making the landlord aware that you know your rights and intend to contest his claim of damage. Good change the landlord fully understands the law.