Mistakes made (both tenant and landlord) - Getting the deposit back (apartments, lease)

[VoltaVolt]

So we have an interesting situation.

Summary:
Two of us signed a lease for an apartment (rent wise it was a steal - short sided thinking on our end). One of us was already living there as a sublet. The management company offered for us to keep the same rent as the previous tenants (we currently pay hundreds less than other units in the building due to good credit + timely payments). The catch? The apartment was given to us as is - previous tenants did not clean, walls are painted (not in accordance to the lease), and there is some damaged cabinetry and scratches on the hardwood floor in one bedroom. We are worried that these damages will be taken out of our deposit. The management company knew that the apartment was not in condition to rent right away (hence offering us the same rent in order to save time + money on renovating and finding new tenants).

Landlord mistakes:
1) No walkthrough prior to move-in
2) We did not sign onto the old lease. In fact we signed a completely new one, so we are not connected to previous tenants in any way even though we inherited their damages.
3) Poor construction. I work in architecture/construction project management for a living and this apartment is not up to standard. Of course these aren't major DOB violations that I could pressure them with, however you can make a good case for the apartments current condition being caused by poor contractors.
For example
a) The floor in the bathroom was not level before installing tile - this would be fine with small tile, however 2ft long tile was installed and grouted poorly (some areas are missing it completely). Due to this tiles have cracked under pressure because of the uneven ground below them.
b) Bathroom walls were poorly waterproofed, grouted and tiled. Again the same issues as the floor. The poor grout work allowed moisture to seep through resulting in tiles literally falling off the wall (which the super fixed, but poorly - they're now uneven and jut out from the wall). - There is an open class C violation from 2013 regarding mold in our apartment. It's not visible and I'm not about to break the wall to find out what this could possibly mean.
c) Poor plastering, painting etc. - You can see seams in the ceiling where plaster was not sanded or painted after construction. The walls have specks of paint+polyurethane from where the contractors painted the stairs (drip marks of poly running down the wall).
Many more...
Overall though if you don't know anything regarding construction the place is still fine for NYC. I don't want to misrepresent it as a slum. The building itself is filled with college age/alternative types.


Our mistakes:
1) No photos of before - we can get previous tenant testimony of the apartment's conditions + find facebook photos hopefully
2) We did not follow up in writing - we asked if the apartment would be renovated or cleaned before move in and were told no verbally because we were "continuing the existing lease"
3) We signed the lease with damages existing and it is not acknowledged anywhere explicitly
4) We have sublet the other bedroom - this is a standard practice in the building as a whole, however the lease does state the landlord should be made aware.

What should our next steps be?

The proposition I'm thinking of:
Be upfront with the management agency
a) Tell them we are not renewing the lease and express concern regarding our deposit
b) Ask for a walkthrough 1.5 months out from our lease expiration - document damages to be fixed by us and have a legal representative present (I'll grab a lawyer/friend from work)
c) Offer to repaint rooms that previous tenants painted not in accordance with the lease
d) Spackle + paint any holes left from previous tenants
e) Clean the apartment, hire a cleaner after the fact as well
f) Request for only $2000 of the $2600 deposit - to be given at move out.

We're good tenants trying to leave responsibly, but we don't have much faith in who we rent from. Any advice is appreciated.

[Kim in FL]

You need to sit down with your landlord and talk to them. You already signed the lease agreeing to accept the condition of the unit 'as is'. You knew, before you signed the lease, that they were not going to clean, paint or do repairs and you were fine with that. Now that you want to leave you're rethinking your initial acceptance....you should've thought about that BEFORE you signed the lease.

It's up to you to take pictures and document the condition of the unit when you take possession. Nothing you mentioned under the "landlord mistakes" mean anything....you can't hold crappy construction and shoddy work against the landlord when you knew what you were getting into from the get go.

As for your deposit request...you can't stipulate the dollar amount...there are clear cut procedures in dealing with the deposit. If you feel, after you move out, that you should've gotten more than you did, then you all are more than welcome to sue your landlord for what you think you're due.

I could be totally off base here so hopefully someone with a bit more NY tenant/landlord knowledge will chime in.

Good luck

[lkmax]

If none of the damage was your fault, then I wouldn't be offering any of those things. I would remind the landlord that the apartment was not in proper condition when you moved in, and I would expect the entire deposit. Just make sure the rental is clean when you leave.

[litebrite]

Will you give your future tenants a background check or a credit check?

[Kim in FL]

Originally Posted by lkmax

If none of the damage was your fault, then I wouldn't be offering any of those things. I would remind the landlord that the apartment was not in proper condition when you moved in, and I would expect the entire deposit. Just make sure the rental is clean when you leave.

They can 'remind' all they want, but if this ends up in court they need proof..not just 'he said she said'.