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I'm on the fence about whether to pursue a claim in small claims court(Fort Bend County). Thought I'd seek the advice of the internet! Anyone been through this in Fort Bend? Thoughts on the chances of seeing anything out of this?
Quick timeline:
1/10 - gave 60+ days notice(per the lease) along with forwarding address. Received confirmation of receipt from LL two days later
3/2 - received an email with a list of a dozen items or so to clean/fix. Mostly touch-up paint.
3/8 - notified LL that all but one item(replacing small piece of sod next to downspout) were fixed and returned keys
3/13 - LL emails that touch up paint not the same color as the wall. Upon move-in the LL had pointed out two cans of paint that were left for touch-up(verbal, so no proof). I replied that I used the paint he provided and it appeared to match the wall. He responded that they were left by prior tenant and may have been wrong color.
3/14 - end of lease
It's now been 47 days and have not received deposit or an accounting documenting damages and charges taken out of security deposit as required by the property code. In fact it's been complete radio silence. I have a letter prepared to send via certified mail along with the section of the property code and another copy of my notice that showed my forwarding address.
Does his brief email on 3/2 suffice for an accounting? He gave no feedback to the items we fixed other than the paint. He gave no itemization of charges being withheld.
What's your experience? Do I have a case? Or am I screwed? Per the law we are beyond the 30 day limit where the LL can claim damages. If I take to small claims court is there a chance I could wind up paying damages?
I think you have a case. His initial itemized list was of things to repair before surrendering premises correct? If he has not sent you a itemized list of deductions from your deposit and he is past the legally allotted time to respond/give a accounting of the deposit I would send a demand letter with the past 30 day as the reason for demand of full refund of security deposit.
Thanks for your reply. That's correct, the initial list was before surrendering the house. He's offered no response since surrender aside from his question about the color of the touch up paint. Even then he gave no indication as to whether he wanted it fixed or paid for out of the security deposit.
I will likely go ahead and send the demand letter and see if he responds.
I don't know where Fort Bend County is, but you need to look up what the proper procedure is for your state and see if you need to make a demand for the deposit in writing first.
For some states, if the landlord misses their (15, 21, 30 day) window to return the deposit, the tenant can sue and will almost always win. For other states, like Idaho, where I live, the tenant has to make a written demand for the deposit, and only if the landlord refuses can they successfully sue. Otherwise, if you sue without having made the written demand, you could lose in court.
As long as you follow the right procedure for your state, I would say you would likely win, in this case, since the landlord did not follow proper procedure. However, you asked whether there was any chance you might have to pay damages, and the answer is yes, in any court hearing, that is always a possibility.
You failed to provide when you moved out. You mentioned turning in the keys but was that after you corrected the issues and had you already moved out or not?
It will be up to a judge to decide if you had been given a itemized list or not of deductions since we have not seen a copy and you acknowledged receiving the email since you followed up.
I had one tenant who later became a realtor himself who moved out and years ago we would do a walk through with a tenant present which we don't do any longer.
That particular tenant asked me to come by in the evening just when it started to dark and since the tenants had asked me to put up their own ceiling fans with lights we allowed them to take them so lighting was very poor at that time of the day.
He showed me the touched up walls and at first I didn't see it but when all of a sudden the sun started to shine I noticed that the tenant had used the wrong paint. he had used the paint for the doors which is glossy paint while at that time all my walls had flat paint touch ups...2100 sqft of walls that needed additional paint due to a tenants error. It might be a human error but not one where a judge will agree that a LL has to eat all the cost. Anything above normal cost to paint the property had to be paid by the tenant and after at first disagreeing the tenant agreed to have it deducted from his security deposit.
For myself it was a lesson learned never to conduct a walk through with the tenant present and having to deal with a fast talking tenant who wants to hurry through a property while as the home owner you want to conduct a thorough walk through without distractions.
Hi Bentlebee - thanks for your response. I moved out on 3/8 when I returned the keys and yes, I had corrected the issues on his list by then. Since then the only response I received was the email on 3/13 that the paint was not right.
While I would certainly agree that it was implied that I needed to fix the items on the list to get the security deposit back, he has offered no definitive communication since moving out as to whether he was withholding or not. Given his brief comment on the paint color, I fully expected to receive a letter within the 30 day limit indicating that he was charging X dollars out of my deposit to fix the paint to his satisfaction. Which I would have accepted. Instead he has disregarded the rules and offered no communication.
Do you think his one sentence email after I moved out that the paint was the wrong color would suffice as an itemized accounting of charges against my security deposit?
Every State is different. In Florida the law is not specific about itemizing the items but even when you have one amount for the deductions a judge will require that invoices are provided and some will not even take just an invoice but want to see that you have indeed paid for it as a landlord.
Some judges will not allow deductions for items you clean yourself and that is why I don't clean much myself anymore since I don't get paid for my time but we do get refunded completely if we have proof if we hire someone else and that way for me it is a win win situation since it saves me time and sweat equity in exchange for zero monetary funds and nobody will like that.
In a lot of cases landlords don't have the proper proof that is needed and a tenant can benefit from that by not having to pay a dime or less than expected but if a landlord has proof in our County I can assure you that a landlord will have an easy case.
I'm not sure if a judge will go by the date on the email you received or if the landlord has proof he mailed it to you and the mail didn't reach you due to an error or if certified mail never got to you due to no forwarding address...
If the landlord has proof of mailing to you the list of what would be deducted than you will have a hard time, but if you know for sure that you provided a new address or that mail would be forwarded while delivered at the previous address (rental address) than you will have an easy case.
In the end it comes down to common sense which some people don't have and it is funny to hear tenants making their case up with lies that are so outrageous and the same counts for landlords that try to scam tenants for their security deposit.
I sat in court holding up the certified letter that was never opened but returned to me after 3 x USPS trying to deliver it and the tenants refusing to accept it. The judge had a field trip holding up that letter and the tenants were stuttering trying to come up with an excuse.
Their countersuit was 3 times the rent which was even more hilarious since they probably had watched some judge shows and they must have heard the register ring....unfortunately for them Florida is not a triple security deposit State so any tenant better check out their State laws in order to avoid looking like a fool.
From what I have read it seems you have a good and easy case, but keep in mind you may not know what the landlord has a proof...maybe nothing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FletchFFletch
Hi Bentlebee - thanks for your response. I moved out on 3/8 when I returned the keys and yes, I had corrected the issues on his list by then. Since then the only response I received was the email on 3/13 that the paint was not right.
While I would certainly agree that it was implied that I needed to fix the items on the list to get the security deposit back, he has offered no definitive communication since moving out as to whether he was withholding or not. Given his brief comment on the paint color, I fully expected to receive a letter within the 30 day limit indicating that he was charging X dollars out of my deposit to fix the paint to his satisfaction. Which I would have accepted. Instead he has disregarded the rules and offered no communication.
Do you think his one sentence email after I moved out that the paint was the wrong color would suffice as an itemized accounting of charges against my security deposit?
Just thought I'd follow up in case anyone else finds themselves in similar situations and looking for info here.
I sent a certified return receipt letter. In the letter I stated that I hadn't received my deposit or any accounting of it, that he was in violation of the property code, that I expected to see my deposit in one week or I would pursue my deposit through small claims court. With the letter I included a copy of the lease termination letter I sent previously, and a copy of the applicable section of the property code highlighted and underlined. At the recommendation of a local tenant's council organization, I included a copy of the completed small claims petition.
One day later....I received a phone call from a very angry landlord who proceeded to chew me out. I again simply stated my complaint and that I was well aware of my rights. He claimed it must have been lost in the mail and insinuated that that was my fault. He threatened that his lawyers would have a field day with me, etc, yada yada. Yet....my security deposit was in my mailbox the next day!
So a little legwork to make absolutely sure I was in the right per the code, a certified letter, and withstanding an angry tirade from a landlord who clearly did not seem to have a thorough understanding of the property code or how the small claims process works, and my issue is over.
I hope that provides helpful information to anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation.
So a little legwork to make absolutely sure I was in the right per the code, a certified letter, and withstanding an angry tirade from a landlord who clearly did not seem to have a thorough understanding of the property code or how the small claims process works, and my issue is over.
I hope that provides helpful information to anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation.
Amen and hope springs eternal. So many people come onto forums such as these, get decent advice and then turn around and do what they feel like doing against all that advice, then come back bleating that everything went wrong - and it's never their fault. Glad it worked out for you!
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