Excessive Move Out Fees (apartment, rentals, credit report)

[Paulmania1234]

I am seeking advice on how to resolve my situation with my ex landlord. My roomated had two dogs she didnt take care of them very well and they peed us out of house and home. The landlord had to replace the subflooring and tear out the carpet but they replaced the carpet with hard wood flooring and now want me to pay for it. I know I only have to re inverse them for their actual loss and not for the renovation but the landlord is refusing to provide me the the receipt for the original carpet install.

In addition to that my landlord wants all the money up front and I dont have 4000 dollars laying around. I tried to work out a payment arrangement but he wouldn't have it. Now the claim is in derogatory status on my credit report and it appears to be collecting interest. Should I just sue the landlord to force a settlement or do I have any other options.

Thanks,
Paul

[CSD610]

Seek advice from an attorney who specializes in this type of situation.

[Metlakatla]

Now the claim is in derogatory status on my credit report and it appears to be collecting interest.

I'm not sure how this could happen unless a court found that you were liable for the costs. It's my understanding that something like this won't show up on your credit report until and unless a court judgement has been obtained. If that's the case, you had your chance get a lawyer and blew it.

If your name was on the lease, you're responsible. Your landlord has to provide you with receipt of costs pertaining to the damage that occurred during your tenancy; I don't think that they legally have to provide you with a receipt of the cost of the original carpeting.

You admit that the animals "peed you out of house and home." No wonder responsible pet owners have trouble finding rentals in certain parts of Oregon.

I could be wrong, but how can something show up on your credit report without an official judgement?

[Minervah]

These are not "move out fees" excessive or otherwise. These are damages sustained by dogs living in the landlord's property while they were under your care.

The only thing you can do is get an attorney if you are going to try to force a settlement but frankly my sympathy lies with your landlord. He shouldn't have to had shelled out $4000 to replaced a subflooring or the flooring. Hardwood or no hardwood nothing would have had to have been replaced if the dogs hadn't peed you out of house and home.

I wonder after this experience if your landlord will ever again rent to people with pets.

[Terryj]

If this is on your credit report then your landlord got a judgement against you for damages and it has gone into collections. You are just as much at fault as your room mate, maybe more so if the lease was in YOUR name. Repairing damages to a home is expensive and I'm sure your "pet deposit" didn't cover the damages the pets caused. Yes, you are liable for any and all repairs needed to fix the damage, this is not normal wear and tear on a rental. I would say you got off easy with only having to pay 4000.00 since the owner had to replace the sub-flooring, which was needed to remove the smell of urine.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Sorry, no sympathy from me, either.

The landlord does not have to provide you with a receipt for the carpet that was ruined. You are responsible for the ruined carpet and subfloor. That is very expensive to repair.

Personally, I think the landlord should have charged you for the damage plus the equivalent cost of replacing with carpet, not the full cost of wood flooring. However, there is not much difference in the cost, once you add in padding and the rest of it.

I doubt that he billed you for the full cost of wood flooring, because the bill doesn't seem high enough, unless it was tiny apartment.

I also suspect that the $4000 isn't for nothing but flooring damage, because normally, if a dog and tenant does that much damage to the flooring, there is additional damage as well.

Who you need to sue is your roommate who allowed the dogs to remain un-house trained. That is on the roommate, not the fault of the landlord. The roommate should be reimbursing you for the amount of damage.

[Silverfall]

Did your landlord send it to collections or did you get a small claims judgement against you?

[rdickers]

Paul. The landlord can go directly to a collections agency, or get a court judgment against you. However, from what I see, you should make every effort to make restitution, and then as someonelse recommended, sue your roommate.

Often, your relationship with a landlord becomes the major consideration when and if you decide to borrow a lot of money for any reason.

Unofficially, in many communities there is such a thing as a "headache" list among landlords. It can make renting difficult or cause deposits to be substantially increased.