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I live in Florida and finally left this terrible apartment complex after a year lease. The charges they ended up sending me were ridiculous..
Carpet cleaning
In the last week of our lease, they were tearing out everyone's carpet in my building and replacing with wood floors. I convinced them to do our's after we left, since it'd be hard to work around them. Yet, I am being charged $120 for carpet cleaning. It had been vacuumed, and we didn't stain it. There is nothing in the lease about this, and it doesn't make a lot of sense to me to clean the carpet and then tear it out...
Tub damage
Now there was some tub damage we reported on the initial walkthrough for move in, but they were really old in general. The manager came and inspected everyone's tubs a few months after we moved in. I assumed it was for replacement. She acknowledged they weren't in good shape. Now we're being charged $150 for "repair/replacement" of both tubs.
Kitchen cabinet, sink, floors dirty. Bathroom floor, mirror, sink, toilets dirty
Our apartment was in the middle of a complete remodel the month we moved. Those things listed were all replaced in one day by a really sloppy crew just about 2 weeks before we moved. We didn't even really get a chance to use them. But you know, we didn't leave terrible amounts of sawdust and stuff everywhere. $75
Shower curtain rod
This did fall down a few days before we moved, and I put a work order in for it before I turned in the keys so we weren't charged.. and was assured I wouldn't be. Still charged $15.
Every time I've left an apartment I've gotten my full security deposit back. We weren't even able to do a walkthrough with the manager because they were so busy with all this remodeling stuff, but I figured it'd be fine because we didn't mess up the apartment at all. Unfortunately they did send me this notice exactly 30 days after we moved, and I have to get a dispute letter out by the end of the week, but I don't even know where to start...
What is in your lease and what do you have in writing from the landlord acknowledgeing the condition of the tub?
Was everything dirty? Did you not clean up after the remodeling crew was there? Do you have photos of the room before they were there and after they left?
Do you have a copy of the work order you submitted for the shower curtain rod?
Do you have in writing that you would not be charged for the repair of the shower curtain rod?
What is in your lease and what do you have in writing from the landlord acknowledgeing the condition of the tub?
Was everything dirty? Did you not clean up after the remodeling crew was there? Do you have photos of the room before they were there and after they left?
Do you have a copy of the work order you submitted for the shower curtain rod?
Do you have in writing that you would not be charged for the repair of the shower curtain rod?
Nothing in writing regarding the condition of the tub. Except for the initial walkthrough we did where we noted there was some damage. They were doing a lot of audits and inspections during our lease (I'm guessing because a new management company ended up buying), and she came in and checked them out and left. But I mean the condition they were in, we cleaned them but they still looked kinda bad. Worse than 1 year of wear and tear.
No everything was actually pretty clean. The carpet was ripped up in some spots from the crew, but we did vacuum and dust off the cabinets and clean out the fridge. No photos of after they left.
No copy of shower curtain rod work order. They don't give us a copy until they come and do it and we left after we gave them the keys. Nothing in writing about this work order specifically. We were always told to get our work orders in before we moved out so that we weren't charged.
There is no law in Florida that says that they have to do a walk thru before you leave, if I recall correctly.
I hope you took pics before you moved in. Last place I rented had what looked like big chunks of chipping pain in the bathtub. The super said he didn't know how to fix it, I said I would have to put in a shower mat. He didn't want that, I said there was no other way so he said fine., after 3 years the paint chips were bigger and worse, but the bathtub was still usable. They just had not refinished it correctly because they were cheap. I reminded them that it was preexisting damage.
There is not much you can do but to document what you have and tell them you are going to sue them in small claims court if they keep any of the deposit that they are not supposed to.
I live in Florida and finally left this terrible apartment complex after a year lease. The charges they ended up sending me were ridiculous..
Carpet cleaning
In the last week of our lease, they were tearing out everyone's carpet in my building and replacing with wood floors. I convinced them to do our's after we left, since it'd be hard to work around them. Yet, I am being charged $120 for carpet cleaning. It had been vacuumed, and we didn't stain it. There is nothing in the lease about this, and it doesn't make a lot of sense to me to clean the carpet and then tear it out...
It doesn't matter what makes sense to you. What did your lease say about carpet cleaning? Many leases contain a clause that the carpet must be professionally cleaned. It doesn't need to make sense.
Tub damage
Now there was some tub damage we reported on the initial walkthrough for move in, but they were really old in general. The manager came and inspected everyone's tubs a few months after we moved in. I assumed it was for replacement. She acknowledged they weren't in good shape. Now we're being charged $150 for "repair/replacement" of both tubs.
This one is odd
Kitchen cabinet, sink, floors dirty. Bathroom floor, mirror, sink, toilets dirty
Our apartment was in the middle of a complete remodel the month we moved. Those things listed were all replaced in one day by a really sloppy crew just about 2 weeks before we moved. We didn't even really get a chance to use them. But you know, we didn't leave terrible amounts of sawdust and stuff everywhere. $75
You should have cleaned it all. Dirty toilets, sinks, mirrors, etc. This is a small charge.
Shower curtain rod
This did fall down a few days before we moved, and I put a work order in for it before I turned in the keys so we weren't charged.. and was assured I wouldn't be. Still charged $15.
Why did it fall down? Did you damage it?
Every time I've left an apartment I've gotten my full security deposit back. We weren't even able to do a walkthrough with the manager because they were so busy with all this remodeling stuff, but I figured it'd be fine because we didn't mess up the apartment at all. Unfortunately they did send me this notice exactly 30 days after we moved, and I have to get a dispute letter out by the end of the week, but I don't even know where to start...
I do agree--charging you for things they plan to replace anyway is ridiculous, but if it's in the lease they can do it.
I do agree--charging you for things they plan to replace anyway is ridiculous, but if it's in the lease they can do it.
There isn't anything in the lease about having the carpet cleaned.
We did clean everything, but like I said, everything was brand new.. about 2 weeks old. It didn't even have much time to get dirty in the first place.
The shower curtain rod itself didn't break.. it just fell off the wall one day when I was getting in the shower. The little plastic anchor thing on the wall kinda cracked.
They gave you a proper itemized list the best you can do is take it to small claims if you don't agree. Burden of proof is on you as to the state you left it in as I am certain they have the proof they need to make those deductions.
There isn't anything in the lease about having the carpet cleaned.
We did clean everything, but like I said, everything was brand new.. about 2 weeks old. It didn't even have much time to get dirty in the first place.
The shower curtain rod itself didn't break.. it just fell off the wall one day when I was getting in the shower. The little plastic anchor thing on the wall kinda cracked.
Most large complexes here in Florida give a "move out " checklist about 30 days before you move. It gives you step by step what you need to do and what cleaning needs to be done. Some places also offer a complete unit clean for x amount of dollars which would mean you're off the hook for cleaning, but still on for damages (if there are any)'
It also lists what you'll be charged for cleaning..item by item right down to replacing drip pans.
Without paperwork or photos, its your word against theirs, but if you feel it's unfair, take them to court.
Don't go straight to the court option. Look up what your state's procedure is. For example, in my state, the tenant sends a letter of objection to the landlord. The landlord has 3 days to respond. If a tenant in my state tries to sue for deposit refund and they haven't done that, they won't win in court. So look up the rules first and make sure you follow them.
As a landlord, I would have a problem charging for carpet cleaning on carpets that were just due to be replaced anyway. It may be legal, it may not, but I find that unethical.
$75 is a very small cleaning bill. I did 6 security deposit refunds today, and 4 of them had cleaning charges more than $75.
Tub damage shouldn't be charged if it was noted on your walkthrough paperwork. Send a copy of that paperwork in with your objection letter.
Curtain rod is a minor charge, and no way to know what caused it to fall down. I probably wouldn't argue that one.
So if it were me, I'd look up your state law, and then follow that and object to the tub and carpet charges.
In Florida a tenant has 15 days to reply to the certified security claim letter but that doesn't mean that the LL has to agree to the objection.
The tenant then has the choice to do nothing or to go to court unless both sides come to an understanding.
We never gave into any objection as we only deduct what is fair and what we can proof in court as that is always how we look at any deduction that we want to make sure if a tenant will fight it we will not loose the case.
We had some tenants file complaints left and right and all of them were dismissed as we have documentation and when they mention that the place was left clean we will post as a reply to any website or agency the pictures with time and date showing what the place looked like and that has always been enough to get any remark removed online and even if it wasn't removed we wouldn't mind as the tenant would look like what they really are and in all these objection cases the tenants left it not as on move in for which we also have pictures with date and time.
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