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Thanks for the great suggestions. You made me realize that none of my flooring complaints were in writing. Everything has been in person or over the phone, and so I just now emailed the property manager to summarize everything and list my complaints. I'll take some pictures when I get home.
I would probably be less upset (but still upset) if the laminate didn't have multiple spots that bulge and sink in when stepped on. They're telling me it is normal but my friends with laminate tell me it is not.
It's actually a very common problem with laminate flooring and is easily fixed. Your LL will probably have the installers come back and fix it if it hasn't settled down in a week or so.
If your lease doesn't specify hardwood flooring, there's nothing you can do about it. I doubt that the price of the rental was based on the flooring, even though that was one of the features which attracted you to the place.
Not sure about Virgin Island, but in USA this is not true. There is Implied Contract, which are terms not written down or agreed to verbally but is implied through the action of the parties.
The fact that the landlord charges extra for this unit compared to others without hard wood floor falls under implied contract. It is implied that the tenant is paying more for this feature. If the landlord also puts "hardwood floor" in the advertisement, then it is further proof of implied contract. Furthermore, by showing the tenant the unit with hardwood floor is in itself an implied contract. The management is implying, "This is what you are paying for. These are the features that you get."
Not sure about Virgin Island, but in USA this is not true. There is Implied Contract, which are terms not written down or agreed to verbally but is implied through the action of the parties.
The fact that the landlord charges extra for this unit compared to others without hard wood floor falls under implied contract. It is implied that the tenant is paying more for this feature. If the landlord also puts "hardwood floor" in the advertisement, then it is further proof of implied contract. Furthermore, by showing the tenant the unit with hardwood floor is in itself an implied contract. The management is implying, "This is what you are paying for. These are the features that you get."
Ahem, the US Virgin Islands are part of the US and judicially fall under same. I disagree that there is "implied contract" in this case. Nowhere in the OP's statement of facts does he say that the landlord is also offering less expensive units without hardwood floors. He compared units in the same general area, not those with the same landlord. I think you're stretching.
Ahem, the US Virgin Islands are part of the US and judicially fall under same. I disagree that there is "implied contract" in this case. Nowhere in the OP's statement of facts does he say that the landlord is also offering less expensive units without hardwood floors. He compared units in the same general area, not those with the same landlord. I think you're stretching.
All that matters is that the landlord showed the unit with hardwood floors and the tenant has a reasonable expectation to have hardwood floors in the unit. It's actually quite a routine application of implied contract.
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Short version:
I signed a lease for an all-hardwood apartment. The wood was a selling point and definitely something I was looking for. Some damage was found as the old tenants moved out, and the property manager "fixed" it by removing all the hardwood and putting in cheap laminate. Is that an ok thing to do? I feel like I was mislead and now I'm stuck paying extra for a higher-end apartment but actually getting something worse.
Long version:
I just signed a lease on an apartment where one of the big selling points was a big (~800 sq ft), open living/dining area with all hardwood floors. Soon after I signed the lease, the property manager informed me that they just discovered a small area (10-20 square feet) of the wood floor had water damage but the previous tenant had covered it with furniture so nobody noticed earlier. I was promised that it would be repaired immediately, and it didn't really look that bad anyway, so everything seemed fine. I gave them permission to enter the unit with some flooring guys to assess the situation and figure out when to do the repairs.
The property manager then contacted me to say that, because of the way the wood floors were installed, they couldn't remove a small section and had to replace the entire floor. The workers were to start two days later, would need a few days to finish, and I would still have access to the rest of the apartment (bedroom, bathroom). They spent two days removing the old floors and then on day 3 I came home to find an entire floor had suddenly appeared. The problem is that this new floor is laminate instead of wood. It feels soft and some areas visibly bulge up from the ground (those spots sink in when you step there). I complained to the property manager that they 1) swapped my much-desired hardwood for laminate without telling me, and 2) the laminate isn't even properly installed. They replied that laminate does that sometimes, laminate is a good thing, and overall there is no problem here.
Is it really fair of them to lure me into an apartment with hardwood floors and then swap it out for cheap laminate? I understand they own the unit, but I'm now paying a premium for a feature that no longer exists. I would have preferred the old floors with a small damaged area, but if that wasn't an option I may not have rented this place at all.
I'd tell management what you've said above, and that you want either a lower rent, or to be let out of your lease. Be adamant. You may get them to agree.
I don't think there was any bait and switch type thing happening here. The landlord didn't know the floor was damaged, so there's nothing nefarious going on, in my opinion. I think they made a business decision regarding the flooring, and when faced with the bill for a new hardwood floor, decided to get something more affordable. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
But, you're entitled to get what you bargained for, too. You contracted for a place with a nice old floor, and that mattered to you. So, tell them so. And negotiate a deal with them that you can both live with. That's what I'd do. I once contracted for a rental based on a "model" apartment, and when moving day came, the apt I got was a dump. I raised holy heck, and they agreed to lower my rent. So, it can be done.
Oh, and by the way, it's not legal to put clauses in leases that says that one party can change the terms in the middle of the contract if they feel like it, but the other party can't. People, including lawyers, put clauses in leases all the time that are not legal. If they're not legal, they're not enforceable.
And I agree that it's implied that you will get what you saw when you contracted for the unit. Leases don't list every single feature in an apartment - like every cupboard in the kitchen, for instance. That would be like saying that if you sign a contract that doesn't specifically say the same cupboards will be in the kitchen when you move in, that were there when you viewed the apt and signed the contract - that it would be legal for them to then remove all of the kitchen cupboards the day before you move in, saying - hey, we didn't list the cupboards in the lease, so we took them out and there's nothing you can do about it.
It's implied that you will get the kitchen cupboards that you saw, even if they're not specifically listed in the lease.
And in your case, it's implied you'd have hardwood floors. And the fact that they advertised the hardwood floors as a selling point, too, pretty much seals the deal, IMO, that you rightfully expected to get hardwood floors. So, it's entirely reasonable for you to negotiate a rent decrease or to terminate the lease, if that's what you'd prefer.
Last edited by NoMoreSnowForMe; 02-10-2015 at 11:57 PM..
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