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We live in Nebraska. My husband and I rented a house for 4 1/2 months. We moved in on Oct. 1st and set our rent to be due on the 15th. We paid a deposit of $200. We didn't sign a lease (now I realize we should have). The landlord said that since we both knew it was a short term thing until we purchased a home she would not require one. We bought our new house with a move in date of February 1st, and gave 30 days notice and paid full rent on January 15th. She allowed a new tenant (my sister, who I don't really get along with) to move in before our move out date, the 15th of February. We had most of our stuff out on the Feb. 2nd but still have some items in the house and the garage. The utilities were taken out of our name on Feb. 11th, but when I went to get a car load of stuff today my sister had not only moved in but completely unpacked and set up (pictures and decorations were on the wall) which suggests that she has been there for more than a night. I do know she moved some belongings in as far back as Feb. 5th. My big question is, is it fair of me to request a refund on the rent? Someone else moved in with our stuff and moved my belongings and used my utilities to do so, I feel I am owed something for the inconvenience and cost of the utilities. I don't know if I should ask for the rent to be refunded from the day the utilities were switched or as far back as the new tenant moved things in? The daily cost of rent based on 30 days is $12.83/day. So from the 11th to the 15th is $64.15 I over paid, and from the 5th to the 15th is $141.13. Or do I not have a legal leg to stand on since we did not sign a lease?
We live in Nebraska. My husband and I rented a house for 4 1/2 months. We moved in on Oct. 1st and set our rent to be due on the 15th. We paid a deposit of $200. We didn't sign a lease (now I realize we should have). The landlord said that since we both knew it was a short term thing until we purchased a home she would not require one. We bought our new house with a move in date of February 1st, and gave 30 days notice and paid full rent on January 15th. She allowed a new tenant (my sister, who I don't really get along with) to move in before our move out date, the 15th of February. We had most of our stuff out on the Feb. 2nd but still have some items in the house and the garage. The utilities were taken out of our name on Feb. 11th, but when I went to get a car load of stuff today my sister had not only moved in but completely unpacked and set up (pictures and decorations were on the wall) which suggests that she has been there for more than a night. I do know she moved some belongings in as far back as Feb. 5th. My big question is, is it fair of me to request a refund on the rent? Someone else moved in with our stuff and moved my belongings and used my utilities to do so, I feel I am owed something for the inconvenience and cost of the utilities. I don't know if I should ask for the rent to be refunded from the day the utilities were switched or as far back as the new tenant moved things in? The daily cost of rent based on 30 days is $12.83/day. So from the 11th to the 15th is $64.15 I over paid, and from the 5th to the 15th is $141.13. Or do I not have a legal leg to stand on since we did not sign a lease?
Does your problem here stem more with the fact that "you don't get along with your sister"? Or are you really sweating the money? Because it reads to me more like you wanna cause trouble for your sister than anything else..
Either way, you don't have a lease, so I don't think you have a leg to stand on.
No, they should not have allowed your sister to move in. How can they determine what part of the security deposit to withhold since another tenant has already moved in?
A $200 deposit was dirt cheap, though. So long as you get a full refund of the deposit I would let it lie. You would normally have to have the carpet cleaned and spend several hours cleaning (or pay someone to do it for you) in order to get your deposit back.
You might not care much for your sister, but this is pretty petty to start family drama over.
I only included that I do not get along with her because it has added to the stress of getting our stuff out of the house. I am no longer able to come and go as my schedule permits but have to work around her. We are strapped for money, that is why we lived in a house that cost us $385/month and only a $200 deposit.
Our $385 rent got us what we were told was a 3 bedroom house, it is not. There is one small bedroom our daughter used, another room we used as an office because the furnace was in it, and an attached garage that was enclosed which became our bedroom. The garage/bedroom windows were supposed to be replaced and weren't which meant that during a blizzard my husband and I spent two nights in the living room, with me on the floor. We also had electrical issues. The entire house, except the 220 outlets and my daughters bedroom, was on one circuit. This also was never fixed. I know these are completely separate issues but think that maybe people can be less judgey if they know what we have dealt with, because that is what we could afford.
Without a lease I understand that I would be going only with a verbal agreement which no one can validate. So it is a "he said, she said" type situation. I plan to meet with the landlord on the 15th to get my deposit back. She did a walk thru without even notifying me and said she was not going to give back the deposit because we had not finished cleaning. I have no idea when this was done, but in my opinion she can not with hold my deposit based on a walkthrough done before we were moved out.
She did a walk thru without even notifying me and said she was not going to give back the deposit because we had not finished cleaning. I have no idea when this was done, but in my opinion she can not with hold my deposit based on a walkthrough done before we were moved out.
No, she can't. In most states, landlord tenant laws mandate that a security deposit must be returned to a tenant within 30 days of the end of the lease term/quit. Nebraska state laws are probably linked in the first "sticky" on this forum page. If the deposit isn't returned in full, any and all deductions must be accounted for in writing within that time frame.
It doesn't matter legally that you didn't have a written lease. You had an oral agreement. Your LL cannot double-dip on rent, and your LL cannot keep your security based on a walk-through conducted prior to your agreed-upon move out date. If I were you I'd get all my ducks in a row and simply and politely present her with the facts and the legal requirements. If she baulks or argues, just tell her nicely that if she doesn't both pro-rate your rent from the time the new tenant moved in and return your full security deposit, you'll just have to file a claim in small claims court. If it comes to that, then put that all in writing and send it to her return receipt certified mail. Remember that (if the 30 days applies in your state) she has until March 15th or thereabouts to return your deposit. Good luck.
I don't see how you can win - you should have immediately had the police there to remove the trespasser (your sister)
you may not have had a written lease but a M-to-M is still legally binding (though a garage as a BR?, furnace in an office?)
for the cost of the court fee you would however come out on the losing end.
double dipping is what your LL did .. I would ask for the money back..
I would as well...I would also ask where the $2,700.00 was that was in the envelope in the kitchen drawer you went to retrieve that is now missing...LL totally responsible for anything stolen from you in this instance. He provided the key to your home.
Koale
I'm a little confused. While you "set" the rent payment date of the 15th, you moved in on the first; so while paying on the 15th, you were paying for that month, correct? So, while you paid rent on January 15th, that money was for the month of January. Did you pay anything for February?
If not, you owe your LL rent. I'm pretty sure that doesn't give him the right to move someone else in (but it may), but he certainly doesn't owe you anything. You didn't pay him for February. You shouldn't have been there.
Koale - I agree I would come out losing in the end if we went to court, but maybe the threat of court will help sway the LL. And how could you possibly have known about the envelope or the exact amount it contained?!?! lol
spencgr - We paid a extra one month so we could move the payment date to the 15th, because it worked better with our paychecks.
I know it is probably not worth it to go in and even ask for my money. I just feel like the LL has several properties around town and probably treats all her renters this way, and it is a principal thing. I hate when people assume that just because you are desperate and willing to tolerate the crappy living conditions it means they can take advantage and walk all over you.
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