Landlord charged me 3 days rent for Refrigerator and Table after I moved out. (apartment, lease)
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Advice needed. I moved out of my house on Dec 1. However, i informed my landlord that our garbage company would be taking all garbage on dec 5th. I told landlord that i neatly placed all wood, tables, etc neatly along the side of the house and other garbage in garbage bags. I also informed landlord that I had garbage in the garage and a mattress and refrigerator that I would take outside the evening of dec 4th so that the front of the garage would not look like garbage city for 4 days. My landlord said find and let me keep the garbage clicker. However On Dec 3rd my landlord informed me that the house has to be completely empty and that I had a refrigerator with food (a dozen eggs). I told her about our previous conversation and she seemed annoyed and said she didn't want to charge me 3 days rent for my belongings. I promptly went to the house that evening and set outside the refrigerator, a mattress, a television and a table.
Now my landlord is withholding 3 days rent from my security deposit despite our previous conversation.
Is this lawful? What if someone moves out and leaves a coffee table and mattress. Can the landlord then charge the tenant rent everyday until those items are removed by the tenant?
If you left possessions inside the premises, that means that the landlord would need to dispose of them before getting new renters in the property, or wait until you have done so. Your belongings have caused a delay, which impacts how much money that the landlord is able to receive from the property.
I think it is fair to either be charged for the time until you picked up all of your possessions, or be charged to store them for you or to dispose of them. (I think a landlord has to store left belongings for a certain amount of time before disposing of them, but I'm not sure if this applies everywhere.)
If your move out date was Dec 1 then you should have had the premises free and clear, clean, keys returned, on that date.
The verbal agreement you made with her should have been in writing since it essentially extended your lease date. You might have mentioned something to her and she said Ok without thinking about it, then when she went over to the house she was obviously concerned that items would be left and she would have to deal with them.
So, morally she shouldn't be charging you if she said "OK" in passing but legally she has a right to do so absent a written agreement.
If your move out date was Dec 1 then you should have had the premises free and clear, clean, keys returned, on that date.
The verbal agreement you made with her should have been in writing since it essentially extended your lease date. You might have mentioned something to her and she said Ok without thinking about it, then when she went over to the house she was obviously concerned that items would be left and she would have to deal with them.
So, morally she shouldn't be charging you if she said "OK" in passing but legally she has a right to do so absent a written agreement.
This ^
Unfortunately without a written agreement, your stuff should have been removed come December 1st. Morally though, it would be wrong for the landlord to charge you given the fact that she agreed prior to your move. Its something you can get mad about, but unfortunately the law will say you have to pay it.
Also, is this a working refrigerator? Are you keeping it or throwing it away? I am just curious why you had a refrigerator there in the first place. Didn't the place come with one?
Advice needed. I moved out of my house on Dec 1. However, i informed my landlord that our garbage company would be taking all garbage on dec 5th. I told landlord that i neatly placed all wood, tables, etc neatly along the side of the house and other garbage in garbage bags. I also informed landlord that I had garbage in the garage and a mattress and refrigerator that I would take outside the evening of dec 4th so that the front of the garage would not look like garbage city for 4 days. My landlord said find and let me keep the garbage clicker. However On Dec 3rd my landlord informed me that the house has to be completely empty and that I had a refrigerator with food (a dozen eggs). I told her about our previous conversation and she seemed annoyed and said she didn't want to charge me 3 days rent for my belongings. I promptly went to the house that evening and set outside the refrigerator, a mattress, a television and a table.
Now my landlord is withholding 3 days rent from my security deposit despite our previous conversation.
Is this lawful? What if someone moves out and leaves a coffee table and mattress. Can the landlord then charge the tenant rent everyday until those items are removed by the tenant?
Look, just WTH do you think the "evil landlord" is supposed to do with YOUR stuff? It costs money to dispose of stuff, you have to pay a fee to use a dump, etc. Also, that stuff is heavy, they would have to hire someone to help, especially a refrigerator. I own rental property, I would be quite upset if I went over after they tennants had moved only to discover I was stuck with a refrigerator, old mattress, table, TV, Etc. Moving cost money, as I'm sure you know. That's why you didn't take the old crap with you or dispose of it, just let the landlord handle it. Ok, so, that's why you were charged 3 days rent. i don't know how they came up with 3 days, but you're probably getting a bargain at that. If you had to move it, pay someone to haul it off, rent a truck, pay dump fees, etc, it would probably cost you more.
READ your lease, it probably says something in there about leaving the place emply, etc. Also, like someone else pointed out, usually landloords can't just dump your stuff, they have to keep it for 30 days, or something like that. Where are they supposed to keep it? Rent a storage unit if you can't figure out what else to do with it. In other words, use YOUR money, not the landlord's, because its YOUR stuff! And the landlord isn't your mommy, there to clean up after you!
I've always been under the impression that the lease is not officially over until keys are returned. I've stayed over a day or two longer in a place and the LL has been okay w/ it, but she had no reason to be and we were prepared to pay per day. These days, I think I may prefer this since it would give an extra day or two to clean up properly and do minor fix ups before the final walk-through. Had a friend whose entire move was messed up b/c there was a conga line of people moving and the apartment she was moving into wasn't vacant yet. No reason for the LL not to charge extra for that inconvenience.
I agree that this is likely legit. In fact, by not being out when you agreed to be (out meaning all your belongings gone, all your cleaning done, and all keys/garage remotes returned), you could possibly be charged for another month's rent (or until a new tenant moves in, whichever is less time).
According to the terms I have in my lease, I would have disposed of those items myself, charged you for moving them, and the dump fee (probably $40 or so) and a $200 penalty for not being vacated on time. I would guess your 3 days rent is less than that amount, so in my opinion, you are getting off pretty easy. We don't allow tenants to leave things for the garbage guy to pick up unless trash day is the day immediately after moveout. Otherwise, if the next tenant is moving in right behind you, you've left them a mess to deal with.
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