Suing Landlord...HELP! (Arlington: real estate, apartments, leasing)

[KCrewl]

Hello again!

I posted on here a few months ago regarding the hellish landlord I had through Long and Foster. We have finally moved out of that awful place, and have been going through what I like to call the circles of hell with these people.

Aside from the fact that we had such a nightmarish experience there, we were glad to leave and start some place new. We moved out on 7/31/11. Virginia law (and our lease) states they had 45 days from our lease termination to provide an itemized list of deductions with receipts for our returned security deposit. That means they owed us our deposit remainder by 9/14/11. The provided a list of "deductions" on 9/8/11. Not only did they fraudulently charge us for many items, some without receipts, and some fraud WITNESSED by their new tenant, but they also did not mail our check until 9/15/11. The check was back dated 9/13/11. Regardless, Viriginia law doesnt say "close to 45 days" or "around" 45 days...It says 45 days. Period. End of story. They mailed it out on day 46. They are a real estate office, they should know to be more organized and timely, especially given our nasty history fighting them and their desire to keep their deduction money.

After being enraged by the inflamed and fraudulent charges, I noticed that it was mailed too late. A day is a day, and it is still willfully after the 45 day period given that they could have cut a check and mailed it on 9/8/11 per their receipts. I emailed them to advise that they could politely return the balance by X date since they did not comply with their lease agreement or state law, or I would be forced to take them to small claims court. They did not respond.

I filed in small claims, with mountains of damaging evidence against them, and today they appeared with an attorney and had our case moved to General District so they could retain legal counsel. The judge dismissed us for the day, and we proceeded to talk in the hallway...The owners and awful agent and lawyer, and my husband and I along with the tenant who volunteered to support us. The lawyer asked us what we wanted in terms if a figure, and we advised we wanted it in full with the interest that has accrued plus court costs to file against them. Then for an hour, went back and forth between us talking and getting nowhere. I guess they want to fight with us despite pretty hard evidence that they simply neglected their responsibility. They wanted to argue about the charges and this and that and the other...But its plain and simple...Fraud and long standing issues aside, they mailed our deposit late, therefore I am entitled to ask for it all back. My thoughts are they want to talk me in circles and try to snowball this into some drawn out case, but I am hopeful it will come down to the simple fact that this was their irresponsibility biting them in the rear end. We left letting them know that we would see them in court, but would accept a private settlment to avoid it. Very tense, and we got nowhere.

I guess my questions are more along the lines of experience...I feel like I have a very damning case against them with witnesses, and hard evidence. The law is the law, and I am confident in my case. But Im curious to know if anyone has been in a similar position that can give me some pointers, or share their experience. What are my odds or what can I do to continue building a tall case?

[HEATHER72]

I don't know that I would have bothered to sue over getting paid one day late. Is it really worth your time (taking off work??) and the stress? I'd be happy to be done with them and moved on to a new place. I'm surprised the new tenant is backing you, because I'm guessing this is going to make living there awkward for them.

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by KCrewl

. . . The lawyer asked us what we wanted in terms if a figure, and we advised we wanted it in full with the interest that has accrued plus court costs to file against them. . . . .

If this is what you want, stick to your guns and keep prodding them until you get it. You may as well use the tactic of the limited 45 days although as Heather72 mentioned, I am not sure if making a stink about being 1 day off is enough fodder for anything (ask your lawyer).

There seems to be plenty of games going on so just go with the flow and keep your cool.

After all is said and done, yelp or blog these folks and be sure to warn other potential renters about how raggedy these people are. Good luck with everything!

[chariega]

unless you REALLY need the money that they withheld from the deposit or it is a LOT of money, I'd just be glad to have the whole thing over and done with.

YES, it is a matter of principle--they mailed it late, and didn't have receipts, etc. but it's best to pick and choose your battles and this wouldn't be a battle I'd pursue any further. Good luck!

[KCrewl]

I would fight the refund anyway, but since it was a day late figured I would exercise my right to ask for all of it back. They took more than half, and charged us fraudulently, so I would have fought the amount deducted anyway.

We were required to have the place professionally cleaned by a maid, have carpets cleaned, and whatnot. We provided receipt from their selected vendors upon move out. When they sent our deductions they charged us AGAIN for a maid service $150. Then, they charged us $200 for carpet deodorizing, which was not required. The new tenant reached out to us to explain that the maid they hired actually bought Carpet Fresh from Giant and sprinkled it on the carpet, and then vacuumed it up a few days later. The maid was not smart enough not to leave her $4.50 receipt on the counter! They provided no receipt for this "service" they deducted, and charged us $200!!! She is not a certified carpet expert, nor does Carpet Fresh powder from Giant cost $200. Furthermore, we called several reputable carpet cleaning businesses (including their preferred vendors) for a quote on deodorizing, and all quoted us less than $75 for a deodorizing professionally. They also charged us $400 to change the paint color on the walls, which was the ORIGINAL paint that was there when we moved in. There was no damage to these walls nor were we required to paint them for any reason. They also tacked on a $150 late fee for our March rent, despite the fact that we have a cancelled check showing it was paid 2 DAYS before it was due.

One way or another, I was going to fight this with gusto. In this economy, money does not grow on trees. If it was a small amount, it would not be worth the fight, but these charges (among other misc charges) took half of our deposit back. Living here is not cheap, so you can imagine that it was a significant chunk of change that is just unacceptable.

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by KCrewl

I would fight the refund anyway, but since it was a day late . . .

These people are rip-off artists and taking advantage of renters who cannot (or are unwilling) to challenge them. I would fight the rat bast*rds too for everything they owe you.

[KCrewl]

You're right. They are rip-off artists. I just got a call from my mom, who was an occupant on our lease. Someone who just quit from her leasing office at her apartment offered to be a witness for us. She got fed up with her boss's questionable practices and is searching for a new job. She liked me mom, so she gave her a heads up that overcharging like this is standard, and will testify that most landlords typically will overcharge in bundles that go unquestioned. She even told us that one time, a tenant left a bag of trash on their porch and they slapped them with a $150 fee for "waste removal" for someone to WALK it to the dumpster.

[peanutrach]

Don't have any advice but want to say good luck! These landlords sound AWFUL!! After years of dealing with terrible landlords I am so glad we bought a home and don't have to answer to anyone (except for the bank of couse).

A couple of years ago we had this awful landlord who was so mad that we had to break our lease b/c we had to move cross-country to take care of a sick family member. I am not sure why she was so mad since we were going to pay the rent to the end of our lease or whenever they got a new tenant to take over. Even though we never even received a copy of the lease and they called my husband a liar (very long story)! After we gave our notice she put up an ad on Craigslist with the house info and said don't approach the current tenants (us) b/c they are "off their meds." We were furious and told her we were going to sue her for libel if she didn't take it down immediately. She said someone else did it on her behalf (yea right). Reading your post brought up those terrible memories...again, I wish you the best of luck on behalf of all the disgruntled former/current tenants out there!

[KCrewl]

Thank you, I am hoping that I can make an example out of these people. Yes, it seems petty to let the 1-day bring us to court...However if they were legitimate in their deductions in the first place, I would let it go. But because they both defrauded us AND were late, I have a right to request a full reimbursement by law. And boy oh boy am I going to. I have mountains of pictures, emails, documents, etc. to timeline and document the HORRIBLE way we were treated and neglected, not to mention the dump they rented to us. If it were amicable to this point I would be less inflamed, but because they have been nothing short of a nightmare, and then this....I am on FIRE with anger. I'm sorry to hear that your landlord was a rusty nail too; I will do a happy dance for ALL of us disgruntled tenants when I win. Because I am confident that I will.

[info781]

I rented many places in my time as a renter. The first thing is don't clean everything yourself when you move out, come to an agreement on maid cost when you move in and promise to take your stuff out and that is it. So you know when you move out it will cost you $150 to clean the place or whatever. Everyone has different cleanliness standards. Same with carpet,drapes cleaning don't do it your self just agree to pay $75 or whatever. In the apartments I rented in DC and Arlington, they told me not to clean the place on move-out, they did it. Of course they put it in the rent.
In the contract make sure you put that since you do not smoke you will not pay for new paint,drapes unless you damage them. Remember a contract can be changed on the spot don't let anyone tell you different. Take photos when you move in, I always did.
Judging by the amount of money you are out < $600 don't waste your time with lawyers, courts etc. , better to just let it go. I know you are mad , but in the context of your whole life it is a small issue. I learned these things when I lost my first deposit after they brought in a maid after I tried to clean it. My buddy was watching me cleaning the fridge and laughing at me asking if this was the best thing to do on a Sat. afternoon to save $75, he was right.