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Below is a letter I wrote to my apartment complex management... im confused as to wether I should pay it or fight... I no longer live in the same state for what it's worth...
To whom it may concern,
My name is ***********, I am writing this letter and forwarding to all higher up management and to any persons related to the management of **********, as your "leasing manager" Edna was very unhelpful in my situation.
My issue is in regards to a 30 day notice policy.
On July 15, 2014 me and my wife (whom the unit was under) went and inquired about our leave date. We were told by an employee whose description is young, thin, dark hair, she appeared to be in her mid 20s early 30s (whose signature i have as it was the same individual i would always submit my rent and other paperwork to, but cannot legibly read her name on the paper) that it is required to submit a 30 Day notice prior to leaving the unit. We did. We did all the proper steps to insuring that our notice was in ink, and our scheduled move out date would be Aug 15, 2014 = $300.
Here's where the problem lies, because of working out of state and only a certain window of time to clean out my apartment, I only had the week of July-29 through Aug-3 to be able to be out of the apartment otherwise I would have to extend it another 6 weeks. I specifically asked your employee IF IT WAS POSSIBLE to move out by the 3rd of August. Her reply was yes it wouldn't be a problem and all we would have to pay is the PRORATED fee of 60 dollars. WE CLEARLY ASKED YOUR EMPLOYEE AND SHE CLEARLY ANSWERED. We went as far as to reconfirm over 3 TIMES if this was ok and if we would owe any overdue balance after our departure. She still assured us it was no problem.
The day of our departure Aug 3, 2014 before purchasing our money order my wife called the office to re-confirm how much would our move out fee would be. We were told 60 dollars. Everything went smooth and no problems surfaced after our move out, until October 2014. We received mail from the apartment mgmt stating we owe an additional 240 dollars and to call within 30 days BEFORE IT GETS REPORTED ON OUR CREDIT. I called twice that month and informed her of our situation only to be told by Edna that an individual by the name of William would return my call. I never received a follow up call. This is my credit were talking about here.
On November 10 I called Edna about the situation and Edna once again told me to call the following day so we can discuss it with William. On November 11 i called Edna and asked about our situation and the whereabouts of William. Edna's reply was this and exactly this. "HE SAID YOU OWE THE REMAINING $240, THE BILL IS RIGHT". I replied and asked " is there anyway we can resolve this, your leasing agent said it was ok repeatedly". and she replied with "Nope. It must have been a misunderstanding. The conversation abruptly ended after that.
If a tenant/resident repeatedly inquires about an out of box move out date and is repeatedly given a go, how is that a misunderstanding? I have paperwork of the 60 dollars payment, and you SHOULD have the money order receipt of 60 dollars on August 3, 2014. Why would I pay a partial payment of the move out fee? makes no sense that it could be a misunderstanding. I also have the leasing agents signature and partial name. I was not given a fair assessment of the situation by Edna nor any apartment management agent, just four 5 minute calls in a span of two months. Most importantly if it was a misunderstanding on the leasing agents part then why am I at fault for the undue balance. The remainder of balance and now my credit report are a problem. How do I tell Equifax and Experian that this is a "Misunderstanding". The biggest issue is how this was handled by Edna. Their was almost no consideration what so ever on her part. She either told me to call back or wait for a return call. I will reach out to any persons who have any type of responsibility regarding the apartments and will let my experience be shared. I will move forward with this legally and contact the complexes apartment management, BBB and Equal home opportunities until I finally get it properly resolved as far as the debt I owe and my credit outlook. For questions or concerns you can call me at **********. I will not be making anymore outgoing phone calls to this property and its employees and especially to Edna.
Pretty simple: you need to pay the remaining $240.
You clearly received incorrect information from the leasing agent regarding what was owed but the situation was somewhat brought about by your trying to change your move-out date. You were required to give 30 days notice; for an 8/15 move-out, that means 7/15 or earlier, which you claimed you provided. Just because you decided to relinquish possession almost two weeks earlier didn't absolve you from having to pay what was owed til the 15th; technically, if you tried to stick with the 3rd as your move-out day, you didn't provide proper 30 days notice and your LL could have charged you full month's rent + penalties for not providing adequate notice as required.
Again, it stinks that someone in their office gave you incorrect information but common sense should have told you that you owed til the 15th; just because you decided to leave earlier doesn't mean you weren't still obligated to pay. As far as the management is concerned, you gave notice to end your lease on the 15th, resulting in a pro-rated rent owed of $300; on 8/3, you gave them $60 towards that and vacated, so yes, you very clearly owe the $240 that remains. Frankly, I'm just shocked they haven't tacked on a ton of late fees and penalties onto that.
Pretty simple: you need to pay the remaining $240.
You clearly received incorrect information from the leasing agent regarding what was owed but the situation was somewhat brought about by your trying to change your move-out date. You were required to give 30 days notice; for an 8/15 move-out, that means 7/15 or earlier, which you claimed you provided. Just because you decided to relinquish possession almost two weeks earlier didn't solve you from having to pay what was owed til the 15th; technically, if you tried to stick with the 3rd as your move-out day, you didn't provide proper 30 days notice and your LL could have charged you full month's rent + penalties for not providing adequate notice as required.
Again, it stinks that someone in their office gave you incorrect information but common sense should have told you that you owed til the 15th; just because you decided to leave earlier doesn't mean you weren't still obligated to pay. As far as the management is concerned, you gave notice to end your lease on the 15th, resulting in a pro-rated rent owed of $300; on 8/3, you gave them $60 towards that and vacated, so yes, you very clearly owe the $240 that remains. Frankly, I'm just shocked they haven't tacked on a ton of late fees and penalties onto that.
Are you stating I have no common sense? I asked and I was answered... I would've had no problem staying the extra week let alone extend it an extra 6 weeks, but i was provided false information. So I have no common sense because I believed in what I assumed was a competent leasing agent. I mean its not everyday I decide I want to give a move out notice. Lol. I have receipts and paperwork stating I was completely finished with my lease after said payment of $60. if i have that kind of documentation, then why would I even think twice about if the remainder balance would be an issue.
Your job situation is your problem, not your landlord's. I also believe you owe the $240 and if you really feel that you have a case, pay the balance and take them to court. $240 isn't worth a ding on your credit report.
Misunderstandings happen all the time. Tenants make partial payments all the time. Leasing agents have been known to be wrong, you should've been talking to the manager of the complex and every conversation should've been documented with a follow up email or signed letter.
When you turned in your partial payment did you get a receipt clearly stating that your balance to this complex is zero and that they agreed to let you surrender the unit 10 days early and forgo the balance of the rent you owe?
I'm confused. Under what premise (and despite what was relayed to you), how could you assume that holding possession of the unit after your 30 day notice would not make you liable to pay for that additional period? If you rented a car which was supposed to be turned in on July 15th and you kept it until August 3rd, wouldn't you think it very peculiar if the agent told you not to worry about it, those extra days are a freebie?
Obviously a mistake was made but you had nothing confirmed in writing and common sense dictates that you would have got this anomaly in writing. Consider yourself fortunate that you haven't been charged for an additional month's rent. Pay it and chalk it up to a lesson learned.
Are you stating I have no common sense? I asked and I was answered... I would've had no problem staying the extra week let alone extend it an extra 6 weeks, but i was provided false information. So I have no common sense because I believed in what I assumed was a competent leasing agent. I mean its not everyday I decide I want to give a move out notice. Lol. I have receipts and paperwork stating I was completely finished with my lease after said payment of $60. if i have that kind of documentation, then why would I even think twice about if the remainder balance would be an issue.
I'm not saying you have no common sense, but I am saying you should have been prepared to rectify the error of the leasing agent. You made it so your lease ended on 8/15, which would result in a pro-rated rent owed of $300. You decide to vacate the unit earlier, on 8/3; you're given incorrect information that your pro-rated amount would then be $60. Yet you knew your monthly rent was (I'm assuming here, utilizing the amounts) $600, and that your actual lease still extended until 8/15, hence you still were responsible for the full pro-rated amount; it should have crossed your mind that the reduction to $60 might be an error and you should have been prepared for the possibility that mistake would have been noticed. Just because you decided to move out much earlier than your lease end doesn't absolve you the responsibility of paying until the end of the lease. Whatever you have in writing most likely states that you were finished with your lease as of the ending date of 8/1, not 8/3; you didn't pay the full amount owed until 8/115, so it's pretty clear-cut.
Again, you received very poor and obviously incorrect information; however, once you were contacted the first time, you should have realized the error and paid what you owe. Allowing them to drag you into collections and mess up your credit over a mere $240 is pure foolishness.
I'm not saying you have no common sense, but I am saying you should have been prepared to rectify the error of the leasing agent. You made it so your lease ended on 8/15, which would result in a pro-rated rent owed of $300. You decide to vacate the unit earlier, on 8/3; you're given incorrect information that your pro-rated amount would then be $60. Yet you knew your monthly rent was (I'm assuming here, utilizing the amounts) $600, and that your actual lease still extended until 8/15, hence you still were responsible for the full pro-rated amount; it should have crossed your mind that the reduction to $60 might be an error and you should have been prepared for the possibility that mistake would have been noticed. Just because you decided to move out much earlier than your lease end doesn't absolve you the responsibility of paying until the end of the lease. Whatever you have in writing most likely states that you were finished with your lease as of the ending date of 8/1, not 8/3; you didn't pay the full amount owed until 8/115, so it's pretty clear-cut.
Again, you received very poor and obviously incorrect information; however, once you were contacted the first time, you should have realized the error and paid what you owe. Allowing them to drag you into collections and mess up your credit over a mere $240 is pure foolishness.
this is true, i don't believe a $240 debt should be avoided and cause a ding in credit just because i'm upset about the situation... i just wanted other peoples opinion which is why i posted this. Swallow my pride and pay it is what i'm going to have to do. thanks by the way everyone.
I can absolutely understand why you feel upset and taken advantage of; yes, the young lady meant to do you a favor by only charging $60 prorated, but in reality (law) they are entitled to the full amount, unfortunately. I also had to pay for the full month on the lease when we only moved in on the 17th, and yes, it sucks since the previous tenants were still dragging their possessions out the day before we moved in, but we paid. This is how renting work We are in a very competitive rental market in South Florida, and rentals of any kind and upkeep just fly within days on the market, so you pay what they ask for, no matter how unreasonable that condition may seem.
I can absolutely understand why you feel upset and taken advantage of; yes, the young lady meant to do you a favor by only charging $60 prorated, but in reality (law) they are entitled to the full amount, unfortunately. I also had to pay for the full month on the lease when we only moved in on the 17th, and yes, it sucks since the previous tenants were still dragging their possessions out the day before we moved in, but we paid. This is how renting work We are in a very competitive rental market in South Florida, and rentals of any kind and upkeep just fly within days on the market, so you pay what they ask for, no matter how unreasonable that condition may seem.
I think they're actually being very reasonable under the circumstances; they are owed $240. The OP's lucky they haven't tacked on fees/penalties.
Send them a check and be grateful it was only for $240. He clearly owes it.
Last edited by Ultrarunner; 11-21-2014 at 07:32 PM..
Well, although he stated it in a rude way, his point is very much valid: by not paying that remainder $240, you technically broke your lease AND were late on your rent. You actually are very fortunate the management company didn't charge you late fees and penalties on top of everything; I'm sure that might have been partly due to their recognition of their complicity in the mistaken information you were given. Nevertheless, you were pretty lucky they were only coming after you for just $240.
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We are in a very competitive rental market in South Florida, and rentals of any kind and upkeep just fly within days on the market, so you pay what they ask for, no matter how unreasonable that condition may seem.
