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So I am moving out of my apartment and I have 3 issues coming up with it. All of this seems to stem from the fact that my landlord is doing everything he can to keep from having to give me back my security deposit:
1) I moved out on the 20th to help him get a head start on some renovations. I am paid through the 1st. I told him I still needed to clean. He told me he has already done it and is going to be charging me for it. He did this cleaning against my wishes before I was able to do it myself while my lease was still active.
Also, he has people renovating my apartment right now. I would like to have carpet cleaners come in. He refuses to stop the renovations so I can clean the carpets, and is telling me that he will be billing me for the state of the carpets.
2) He has also claimed that I have late fees that have piled up over the course of my tenancy and that will be coming out of the deposit. Late fees do exist in the lease, and I did pay late (usually on the 3rd or so). However no mention was ever made that that he was enforcing the late fee clause (he never said 'hey, you owe me 100$ in late fees'), and to this day he still will not provide me with a bill showing what the itemized late fee charges are.
Even with that I am willing to accept that those late fees are something he can charge me for, it may be unethical, but its probably legal as its in the lease.
However, what may not be legal is the amount of the late fees. The lease states that they are 50$ + 50$ per day. This will through the course of the month add up to 1500$, which is 130% of the rent itself. This is important because of the clause in Texas Property code
[quote=Section 92.019 of the Texas Property Code](2) the fee is a reasonable estimate of uncertain damages to the landlord that are incapable of precise calculation and result from late payment of rent
...
A landlord who violates this section is liable to the tenant for an amount equal to the sum of $100, three times the amount of the late fee charged in violation of this section, and the tenant's reasonable attorney's fees.[quote]
The wording of this clause is vague, however, in this situation I believe it may apply. From the few mentions of this clause I can find online it looks like the standard accepted rate is 25%. Personally I would even be willing to accept 50%. In this case, however, we are looking at 130%.
That aside, the patterns represented in the deposit dates of the checks make it clear that the actual damages reported are nowhere near what these late fees claim. Generally, whether I gave him a check on the 3rd or on the 1st, he would deposit it on the 6th. Therefore I have difficulty seeing how damages could go beyond the slight uncertainty of getting paid and administrative issues.
Right now, since I am pressing the matter, he is threatining to come after me for 4000 in back late fees. If this was a legitimate damage, why did he not mention it before? Or come after his money? This brings me to my last issue.
3) I don't want this to go to court. If I understand the law correctly he may be liable to me for 12,000$ for this, and I don't want that money. All I want is 1/2 my deposit. However talking to him and trying to be reasonable about it has led to threats of additional charges and general verbal abuse as well as him threatening to sue me.
Talking to him is effectively impossible.
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I'm thinking I may not have much choice but to hire a lawyer at this point, but I can't imagine it's worth it for the money at stake here. The other possibility is to simply fold to his request for the rest of the deposit, and then when I see an itemized bill take him to court.
Landlords get away with screwing tenants because tenants don't want to go to court or otherwise make a big deal of it.
I'm not licensed to practice law in Texas, or knowledgeable about Texas law, but I would encourage you to talk to a lawyer about whether it is worth it to sue him for the way he is grossly overcharging you. Your law may have a provision that requires him to pay not only damages and punitive damages, but also your attorneys' fees. It could be a valuable learning experience for him.
First you say there is no late fee clause in the lease. Then you say the fees are $50. plus $50. However, you also do not say what is the amount of the deposit you are worried about. Is it enough to get a lawyer and spend time and effort going to court and also getting all the documentation you would need to prove your argument?
I seriously doubt the LL will try to bill you for thousands of dollars in late fees. It's a bluff to make you go away. Decide if the deposit amount is enough to go through all the hassle.
I've decided to simply drop it (the deposit is 1150.) If he charges me a reasonable amount on the deposit then that will be that. It is amazing how stressfull stuff like this is, it makes you want to......smash.
Also, I don't really follow the last post. I stated the late fees were in the lease.
I would say if he just keeps your deposit, I would write it off and walk away. If he tries to bill you for additional, I would consult a lawyer.
I'm not following where $4000 in late fees came from. If you regularly paid only 2 days late, that would be $150 a month ($50 for being late and $50x2 days), you would have had to have been late 26 times for that to add up. How long did you live there and were you late that often?
Also, I assume since you didn't mention it, that there was no "grace period" in your lease. While you were technically late, the 3rd is often included in leases as being within the grace period and having late fees waived.
If you do go to court, a note on Point #1. Note, I am not an attorney, but as a LL, my personal opinion is that if he took possession back without allowing you to clean anything, then he needs to give you credit for those days of rent. From your numbers provided, I would guess that rent is $1150 a month. If you vacated on the 20th, he owes you for 1/3 of the rent, or $383. So if you are figuing how much was fair to be charged, that is something to take into account. Just a thought.
Did you end the lease early, on the 20th, or did you simply move your belongings out? It makes a difference, because either the landlord owes you 1/3 of that month's rent back, or the landlord gets to clean your place for free. He can't clean your home and charge you for it if you still live there.
So I am moving out of my apartment and I have 3 issues coming up with it. All of this seems to stem from the fact that my landlord is doing everything he can to keep from having to give me back my security deposit:
1) I moved out on the 20th to help him get a head start on some renovations. I am paid through the 1st. I told him I still needed to clean. He told me he has already done it and is going to be charging me for it. He did this cleaning against my wishes before I was able to do it myself while my lease was still active.
Also, he has people renovating my apartment right now. I would like to have carpet cleaners come in. He refuses to stop the renovations so I can clean the carpets, and is telling me that he will be billing me for the state of the carpets.
I agree with JS1's take on this. It's one or the other...not both.
Quote:
2) He has also claimed that I have late fees that have piled up over the course of my tenancy and that will be coming out of the deposit. Late fees do exist in the lease, and I did pay late (usually on the 3rd or so). However no mention was ever made that that he was enforcing the late fee clause (he never said 'hey, you owe me 100$ in late fees'),
Several issues here.
1) Does your state have any sort of grace period established by law?
2) Even with that vague law you quoted, I don't see $50 a day passing a judge's smell test.
3) It would be very easy to argue that since your landlord obviously accepted your rent check and didn't pursue the late fees that he implied that they were waived and as such has lost the right to claim them. Going after any late fees older than a month or two will likely get him laughed out of a courtroom.
Quote:
I don't want this to go to court. If I understand the law correctly he may be liable to me for 12,000$ for this, and I don't want that money. All I want is 1/2 my deposit. However talking to him and trying to be reasonable about it has led to threats of additional charges and general verbal abuse as well as him threatening to sue me.
Talking to him is effectively impossible.
Sue the bastard. It's pretty clear this guy is an unethical ***** and needs to be taught a lesson. Texas is a one party state (meaning you can record phone calls without the other party's consent or knowledge). If you get recordings of his verbal abuse and threats of going after fees he may legally be entitled to it will certainly help your case as well as potentially open him up to criminal charges.
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