apartment deposit return issue (Cary: 2015, leasing, credit)

[ningi]

Location Cary NC
I was leasing this apartment from 2011-2015.
I gave my 2 month notice and handed over the keys on 31/10/14.
There was no note provided by landlord (apt management team) during the pre-moveout inspection.
The apartment was never repainted nor carpets were cleaned by apartment leasing co. during this leasing period, while I did clean the carpet regularly and seasonally (using rug doctor from HT).
The last 1 month I lived there was month to month (I am not sure if it matters).

12/21 I get a fwd letter (dated 12/12/14) from the leasing office . This letter is a table of account showing the rent I paid few adjustments and then charges for replacing some carpet, 200$ for removing child proof locks from kitchen cabinets etc. They took the 300$ deposit and say I owe them 200$ more.

I was reading specific law for NC, and it says that a landlord has to refund the deposit or explain charges within 30 days, if the charges for repairs cannot be ascertained within 30 days then an interim explanation is still due within 30 days and a final detail by 60 days. Is my understanding correct?

What are my chances of taking this to the Small Claims court on grounds:
1) no explanation/communication or deposit return within 30 days
2) the letter that was prepared 42 days later has no details other than a line for charges and adustments
3) no bills or work orders provided
4) no written advance notice of damages and estimates

Thank you for reading this and advising.

[JONOV]

Originally Posted by ningi

Location Cary NC
I was leasing this apartment from 2011-2015.
I gave my 2 month notice and handed over the keys on 31/10/14.
There was no note provided by landlord (apt management team) during the pre-moveout inspection.
The apartment was never repainted nor carpets were cleaned by apartment leasing co. during this leasing period, while I did clean the carpet regularly and seasonally (using rug doctor from HT).
The last 1 month I lived there was month to month (I am not sure if it matters).

12/21 I get a fwd letter (dated 12/12/14) from the leasing office . This letter is a table of account showing the rent I paid few adjustments and then charges for replacing some carpet, 200$ for removing child proof locks from kitchen cabinets etc. They took the 300$ deposit and say I owe them 200$ more.

I was reading specific law for NC, and it says that a landlord has to refund the deposit or explain charges within 30 days, if the charges for repairs cannot be ascertained within 30 days then an interim explanation is still due within 30 days and a final detail by 60 days. Is my understanding correct?

What are my chances of taking this to the Small Claims court on grounds:
1) no explanation/communication or deposit return within 30 days
2) the letter that was prepared 42 days later has no details other than a line for charges and adustments
3) no bills or work orders provided
4) no written advance notice of damages and estimates

Thank you for reading this and advising.

Your understanding of the law is good. Your would almost certainly win the entire amount back, especially as the "damages" are pretty minimal. In addition to the letter, keep the envelope it came in with the postmark on it. Keep in mind that they can then countersue you for the $200, although that is extremely unlikely. Before I went to small claims court though, I would send a demand letter, certified read receipt, to the property manager/landlord, disputing the charges, highlighting the lack of invoices/receipts for work completed, and demanding my $300 dollars back, or you would be forced to file in small claims court, and per NC Statute, would be entitled to the entirety of the deposit.

Do you have your original lease? My lease says that there is a fee for carpet cleaning at the end of the lease. Also, keep in mind, that if its five year warrantied carpet (the LL has to document what kind of carpet it is, he can't put in cheap stuff, replace it with nice stuff at your expense) then he can only charge you for 20% of its value.

[ningi]

Originally Posted by JONOV

Your understanding of the law is good. Your would almost certainly win the entire amount back, especially as the "damages" are pretty minimal. In addition to the letter, keep the envelope it came in with the postmark on it. Keep in mind that they can then countersue you for the $200, although that is extremely unlikely. Before I went to small claims court though, I would send a demand letter, certified read receipt, to the property manager/landlord, disputing the charges, highlighting the lack of invoices/receipts for work completed, and demanding my $300 dollars back, or you would be forced to file in small claims court, and per NC Statute, would be entitled to the entirety of the deposit.

Do you have your original lease? My lease says that there is a fee for carpet cleaning at the end of the lease. Also, keep in mind, that if its five year warrantied carpet (the LL has to document what kind of carpet it is, he can't put in cheap stuff, replace it with nice stuff at your expense) then he can only charge you for 20% of its value.

Thank you JONOV,

I have the envelope with me, the postmark date on it is not readable however the forwarding label from USPS has a date on it. The letter itself is dates 12/12/14 which is more than 30 days after the lease ended.

I may not have the original lease and apt mgmt may have charged me a portion for the carpet but their explanation does not give me much information.

I have the demand letter ready and will mail it thru a certified letter with a read read receipt.

Thank you again.

[ningi]

So After I mailed a caertified demand letter dates Jan 8th, I got a reply from the landlord dated 1/23 postmarked 1/26.

I challenged the LL that they never returned deposit or notification of charges/estimated charges within 30 days of lease end. Hence I should get my deposit back.

Their reply is essentially:

"We have spoken to our attorney, and he stated that we have 60 days to refund or send a statement of actual damages of the apartment. We normally do have statements out earlier however, there was a glitch on your account...." and so they had to wait for their IT dept to fix it before they could fix the glitch and send a correct statement.

I was reading the 18_NCTenantSecurityDepositAct pg3 from "SECURITY DEPOSITS:YOUR RIGHTS AS A TENANT
IN NORTH CAROLINA" published by NC AG office revised May 2000 and it says following on deposit return:

"When the Deposit Must be Returned -- The landlord must return the deposit to the tenant
within thirty days of the end of the rental period. If the landlord makes charges against the
deposit for damage to the property, or for unpaid rent, those charges must be described to the
tenant in writing, and the writing (also referred to as an accounting) plus any portion of the
deposit still due to the tenant must be delivered within that same thirty-day period."

My understanding is a LL may take 60 days for refund or charges but they still owe an estimate at 30. They cannot just ignore 30 day time limit without sending any estimate. Unless "IT Glitch" is a listed reason.

2 question

1. They are requesting $222 charge to be paid by 2/28. Can I pay that "under protest" to prevent my credit getting tarnished and still take them small claims court for full deposit refund?

2. If and under what circumstances not paying a deposit or sending estimate charges within 30 days after lease end (and vacating property) be OK?

Thank you for reading this wall of text. I appreciate any experienced user's input.

[JONOV]

Originally Posted by ningi

So After I mailed a caertified demand letter dates Jan 8th, I got a reply from the landlord dated 1/23 postmarked 1/26.

I challenged the LL that they never returned deposit or notification of charges/estimated charges within 30 days of lease end. Hence I should get my deposit back.

Their reply is essentially:

"We have spoken to our attorney, and he stated that we have 60 days to refund or send a statement of actual damages of the apartment. We normally do have statements out earlier however, there was a glitch on your account...." and so they had to wait for their IT dept to fix it before they could fix the glitch and send a correct statement.

I was reading the 18_NCTenantSecurityDepositAct pg3 from "SECURITY DEPOSITS:YOUR RIGHTS AS A TENANT
IN NORTH CAROLINA" published by NC AG office revised May 2000 and it says following on deposit return:

"When the Deposit Must be Returned -- The landlord must return the deposit to the tenant
within thirty days of the end of the rental period. If the landlord makes charges against the
deposit for damage to the property, or for unpaid rent, those charges must be described to the
tenant in writing, and the writing (also referred to as an accounting) plus any portion of the
deposit still due to the tenant must be delivered within that same thirty-day period."

My understanding is a LL may take 60 days for refund or charges but they still owe an estimate at 30. They cannot just ignore 30 day time limit without sending any estimate. Unless "IT Glitch" is a listed reason.

That sixty days argument is generally meant for massive damages, like tenants who run a meth lab, or Animal House level destruction. Carpet and childproof locks don't cut it. An "IT Glitch" doesn't cut the mustard either. Please, they didn't have Word or a calculator?

Originally Posted by ningi

2 question

1. They are requesting $222 charge to be paid by 2/28. Can I pay that "under protest" to prevent my credit getting tarnished and still take them small claims court for full deposit refund?

As far as I know, they have to take you to court and get a judgement against you, for your credit to be dinged. I COULD BE WRONG, but I don't think they can arbitrarily damage your credit/sell you into collections for that, as it isn't a debt that you agreed to or that the court agreed you owe.

[Myghost]

Originally Posted by JONOV

As far as I know, they have to take you to court and get a judgement against you, for your credit to be dinged. I COULD BE WRONG, but I don't think they can arbitrarily damage your credit/sell you into collections for that, as it isn't a debt that you agreed to or that the court agreed you owe.

Definitely check that one out. I "think" that any ******* can turn you over to a collection agency for just about anything, and even though it's "wrong", it's still your headache.

I once had Duke Hospital turn me over to a collection agency when I had a CREDIT balance (they owed ME money!!!). I caught it ASAP and cleared it up, but it illustrates how much you need to check it out.

I am about 99.44% sure you (OP) are in the right in every way, but much less confident that you can prevail without a lot of hassle. Good luck, you deserve your entire deposit back IMO.

[Ed_RDNC]

+1 about the above concerns for your credit history.

It sounds like the OP is a smart and methodical person, but they should make a very strong effort to document all communications, keep papers, print out emails, with all communications in writing (no phone or in-person conversations).
The more details and credible your records, the better your chances at convincing a small-claims judge, and ditto a credit record review board.