Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We just moved out and our previous property management company came up with a various unjustified charges. We left the place absolutely spotless. We sent a letter back asking for clarification and paid contractor bills and all charges were dropped but cleaning, carpet cleaning, and a $70 admin charge. The total is over $350. Again, the place was left completely spotless and carpets were as clean as the day we moved in. We have picture proof of everything (the company was giving us trouble since we signed the lease, so we were prepared).
The lease specifies a mandatory cleaning free, mandatory carpet cleaning fee, and administration fee if damages occur and repairs need to be scheduled etc. Admin fee is $35/h, so we are getting charged for 2 hours.
After doing some research I found this:
FLORIDA RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD-TENANT LAW 2012
REASONABLE WEAR & TEAR: Normal wear and tear in light of the length of the tenancy does not constitute damages.
Definition of normal wear and tear: “the wear which the property undergoes when the tenant does nothing more than come and go and perform the acts usually incident to an ordinary way of life.” Tirrell v. Osborn 55 A.2d 727 (D.C. App 1947).
Examples:
Carpet cleaning, general cleaning of the house and driveway/patio, or painting, held to be ordinary wear and tear. BURLEY v. MATEO, (Broward County 2010) 18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 624a.
My question is, what prevails, the lease or the Florida law?
"There will be a mandatory charge of $100 that will be applied toward the security deposit. In addition to any cleaning charges or any other charges that are due under the terms of this lease, Tenant agrees to a mandatory minimum carpet cleaning charge of $100.00 if
applicable, a mandatory minimum unit cleaning charge of $175.00 and all fees associated with mailing claims forms by certified mailing, which is to be deducted from the security deposit.".
"In the event the Landlord make a claim against the security deposit, claims shall include, but are not limited to the administrative costs of the Agent’s work in preparing and processing the claim and coordinating any repairs at a rate of $35.00 per hour."
We just moved out... We left the place absolutely spotless.
We have picture proof of everything...
How long were you there?
Did anyone from management look at the place at the time you left?
Quote:
The lease specifies a mandatory... fee if damages occur and repairs need to be scheduled etc. "There will be a mandatory charge of $100 that will be applied toward the security deposit.
In addition to any cleaning charges or any other charges that are due under the terms of this lease,
Tenant agrees to a mandatory minimum carpet cleaning charge of $100.00 if applicable... ".
My question is, what prevails, the lease or the Florida law?
As the others have said (if consistent with law) the lease will prevail.
The question I see is in determining what cleaning is applicable (or not).
The actual language of the lease is at best vague and at least a bit contradictory.
"There will be a mandatory charge of $100 that will be applied toward the security deposit. In addition to any cleaning charges or any other charges that are due under the terms of this lease, Tenant agrees to a mandatory minimum carpet cleaning charge of $100.00 if
applicable, a mandatory minimum unit cleaning charge of $175.00 and all fees associated with mailing claims forms by certified mailing, which is to be deducted from the security deposit.".
"In the event the Landlord make a claim against the security deposit, claims shall include, but are not limited to the administrative costs of the Agent’s work in preparing and processing the claim and coordinating any repairs at a rate of $35.00 per hour."
The lease will prevail in this case. You made a contract and agreed to the terms. You should never have agreed to the part stating "all fees associated with mailing claims, etc." which is not disclosed to how much and what is incl. are they saying you have to pay for the envelope, gas to drive the envelope to the post office to get it mailed certified...?
The last part is talking about the LL and doesn't make any sense...are they saying the LL has to give up part of his part due to the hourly rate or do they want to charge the tenant for that?
You are not obligated to sign a lease and this lease has parts in it that I would never sign.
Last edited by bentlebee; 08-13-2013 at 07:33 PM..
playing cards as well as a lawyer? This statement doesn't mean what it appears to mean. In other words, a lease can prevail over the statutes under certain conditions. A lease cannot remove protections provided by statute. I have no idea what the "trump" word means as it relates to this situation.
Go to small claims court. Ask for your full deposit back plus court charges.
Not every situation requires going to court.
See if your court will waive court fees depending on your income.
Landlords put stuff in leases all the time that are not legal, in order to bully tenants.
SOME landlords do this; many others do not. SOME landlords put stuff in leases that is inappropriate or counter statutory law - not because they are bullying but because someone without legal training gave them bad advice.
OP, you signed the lease providing for mandatory carpet cleaning. It may be that you could win in small claims court; it may be that you would lose; or it might even come down to a court decision awarding half. The bottom line is that you did agree to this on move-in. If you have the ability to spend a day going to small claims court, it might be worth a shot - might not. You might also try to negotiate with the landlord based on the statute.
Just be careful where you accept your information/advice.
A lease cannot supersede the protections that are provided by law. That is one reason landlord-tenant laws are put in place, to put boundaries on both parties.
State law prevails but in this case I don't believe that any state law is being broken. Normal wear and tear is one thing but many leases contain a similar clause where cleaning is concerned. Carpeting picks up odors as well as deep dirt and a professional deep cleaning does a far better job than a home effort.
But the property management company definitely seems to be doing a lot of bill padding with the "mandatory minimum cleaning charge" and the "admin fees".
Entirely your choice but the bottom line is that you signed to this. I suggest you get back to the PMC and politely question the basic cleaning fee and the admin charges. They've already dropped some of the charges off your account so may drop off a couple more. I don't think you'll get anywhere taking this to Small Claims court and, taking into consideration the time involved and only a very remote chance of getting back the maximum of $350 and costs, it's probably not worth the effort.
Next time around, carefully read a contract so you fully understand what you're agreeing to. Good luck!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
