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You know the story about the snake who hitched a ride on the turtle crossing the river and got bit. After doing the snake the favor. And the snake said "Hey, you knew I was a snake".
For future reference, it's an Aesop's fable about the scorpion and the frog
Assuming you were the rental agent, you seem rather naive and inexperienced in all this. I hope you are a quick learner.
I have to agree. Sounds like an inexperience property manager/agent who mishandled the situation resulting in the mess. The tenant just may end up getting a windfall payment from the landlord. We'll probably next read a post on how to defend oneself from a lawsuit by a property owner suing the manager over negligence.
The second the tenant made any compliant, I would have asked for the items in writing. If anything they said remotely sounded like or if the tenant mentions safety, hazard, unhealthy, I would have immediately hired my own licensed contractor to inspect and repair the dangerous situation the tenant complained about. If the tenant claimed mold, I would have hired a mold inspector to test and if toxic mold was found, remedy the situation.
Assuming you were responding to the tenants claims of a hazardous, unsafe or unhealthy situation, you had every right under NC GS § 42-42; to entered the premise to make those repairs. IT'S NO LONGER THE TENANT'S CALL WHEN THEY YELL FIRE! The fact that it sounds like you sat on your hands and did nothing is probably why the case was handled as a retaliatory eviction.
This is a classic case of a person ignorant of the law letting the tenants control the events. Nobody to blame but yourself.
Now, you would have the right under NC law to sue and recover damages from the tenant as allowed by NC GS § 42-51. However remember you must follow the 30 day deadline for the accounting. You will be able to deduct from the security deposit actual property and financial damages but based on what you said, the court has already voided the rent the tenant owes due to habitability. This means the court may refuse to include any and all rent owed due to the prior court ruling.
You do not need advice from the internet, you need a qualified attorney handling this from now on.
I think you and the tenant ended up in a pissing match because after making them get rid of their dog, you tried to sue for additional rent once they told you they were moving. You admit that there were some problems with the unit (and it smelled due to dead mouse in the wall--yuck), and when he told you to keep the security deposit for last month's rent--you would have been better off letting them vacate and doing just that. By suing for additional rent, you initiated legal proceedings and opened up this can of worms, and now they feel they need to hit you right back.
Also, you brought up in your posts that he didn't cut the lawn, and there is dirt on the windows/siding makes me wonder if you have reasonable expectations for what the tenant is responsible for. At the end of the day, he doesn't own the house, will not keep it in pristine condition and I think it's silly to expect them to. Not sure what your relationship is to the owner, but you both sound a little bit over your head.
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