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I recently moved into an apartment and lived there for approximately one month having been assured it was a great place to raise a family. A little over two weeks in, there was a murder immediately in front of the building, and two days later there was another attempted shooting there. When I checked with local police, they told me that there had been FIVE assault w/ handguns on that block this summer alone, and that there was a drug/gang house right on the corner two houses down from me.
I told the landlord I wanted to break contract and move immediately on 9/26. On 9/27 she brought forms stating that she had waived the 30 day notice, I informed her that I was moving out the next day and proceeded to do so, including wiping down sinks, stove, etc (we had only been there two weeks, there was no mess except some fuzzies on the carpet). Before I left, I asked about mail pickup and was told to keep the keys until I was sure I had gotten it all. On 10/1 I moved into a new place and on the morning of 10/2 I met again with my old landlord to get any last mail and hand over the keys, at which point she wanted to walk through the place. She said nothing except "you didn't vacuum" and "looks OK" then we both signed a form that I assumed wrapped everything up. There was NO mention of damages or work needing to be done.
Fast forward to 10/23 and I get a check for $285 of $725. Charges include $39 for a fire hydrant that we never had or saw, $65 for cleaning a stove that was wiped down by hand before we left, $6 for "missing" sink strainers (like we'd steal the SINK STRAINERS?), $9 for "missing" curtain rings (same, lol), $65 for "damage" caused by the professional cable installation (by the company the landlord recommended), $156 for repainting, $83 for two days rent when we weren't even living there any more (and remember, she TOLD US to hold the keys) the list goes on and on.
I called the landlord, and she is now denying that we moved out before the end of the month, and also claiming no knowledge of the form that we both signed, or that she had said the place looked OK. She's raised the fact that she let us out of the 30 day several times, and I feel that this is pretty much a big money grab to make up for it.
What are my options? Is there a free group that I can turn to? Moving twice in one month really set me back financially and I desperately want to get the rest of this deposit back, but foolishly I don't have a copy of the forms we signed or pictures of the condition of the place.
This was all in Long Beach, CA. Thank you for the help, it's much appreciated!
I only have your side of the story. But at the minimum, I can tell you that you continue to pay rent until the keys are returned, so you owe that money for sure. It doesn't matter whether or not the landlord agreed to let you keep keys, you pay rent until the keys are returned.
I suggest that next time you contact the police and inquire about the neighborhood before you rent. You could have saved yourself a lot of trouble and expense with one phone call to inquire about crime in the neighborhood.
I didn't see the stove, but "wiping down by hand" is often not adequate to clean an oven. You admit that you didn't vacuum the carpet. If you didn't vacuum, you didn't do much cleaning. You weren't there long, but it sounds like you have children and children can cause a lot of dirt and damage in a very short time just because they are kids and play hard.
Do you have a move-in condition report that says the hydrant and sink strainers were missing? If they are not there, the landlord has to buy new ones. Do you have anything to show they weren't there when you moved in? I doubt that you would steal them, but people lose them and throw them away accidentally.
Did you damage the paint or leave it dirty? Did the kids run dirty hands along the walls? Splash food on the walls? Draw on the walls?
Your landlord is nicer than I am. I would have made you give a full 30 days notice and pay rent for all of that time. If you had signed a lease with me, you would have paid more than 30 days rent to get out. It looks to me like your landlord did you a big favor to let you leave so easily.
Your legsal rights? You can take the landlord to small claims court, but unless you have complete documentation, you won't get very far with it. Move-in condition reports, all rental agreements and copies of everything you signed, photos before you moved in and after you moved out.
Otherwise it is he said she said. Courts want hard evidence, not your opinion. Proof.
I suggest that you speak to your ex-landlord about it. It's possible he might adjust if you were charged for missing items that weren't there when you moved in. You can try.
Any damage to the unit while you are renting it is your responsibility. You are therefore responsible to fix the damage done by the cable company. You might try going to the cable company and try to get them to pay it. However, you should have made the cable company repair the damage at the time that they did it, which they would have done.
Your legsal rights? You can take the landlord to small claims court, but unless you have complete documentation, you won't get very far with it. Move-in condition reports, all rental agreements and copies of everything you signed, photos before you moved in and after you moved out.
Otherwise it is he said she said. Courts want hard evidence, not your opinion. Proof.
I suggest that you speak to your ex-landlord about it. It's possible he might adjust if you were charged for missing items that weren't there when you moved in. You can try.
Any damage to the unit while you are renting it is your responsibility. You are therefore responsible to fix the damage done by the cable company. You might try going to the cable company and try to get them to pay it. However, you should have made the cable company repair the damage at the time that they did it, which they would have done.
My problem is that I wasn't given a chance to fix anything. The landlord said "OK" and at the limit of the notice law (21 days) I got a long list of things. Aren't they required to give me a chance to fix/clean things?
You got HOOKED up in this case. I'm not sure you realize this.
Its not the LL fault that there is crime in the area. Its not the LL fault that you didn't do research prior to moving in.
The LL is letting you break the lease AND giving you money back in the end?? Remember, finding tenants and preparing an apartment for new tenants is expensive and time consuming, it only makes sense that you'd pay a share of the costs for breaking the lease.
Your legsal rights? You can take the landlord to small claims court, but unless you have complete documentation, you won't get very far with it. Move-in condition reports, all rental agreements and copies of everything you signed, photos before you moved in and after you moved out.
Otherwise it is he said she said. Courts want hard evidence, not your opinion. Proof.
I suggest that you speak to your ex-landlord about it. It's possible he might adjust if you were charged for missing items that weren't there when you moved in. You can try.
Any damage to the unit while you are renting it is your responsibility. You are therefore responsible to fix the damage done by the cable company. You might try going to the cable company and try to get them to pay it. However, you should have made the cable company repair the damage at the time that they did it, which they would have done.
Is the landlord not required to inform me of the damages/give me a chance to fix them before taking it out of my deposit?
I'd like to thank everyone for their advice here btw, as you can see I really know NOTHING about housing laws and apparently have quite a bit to learn still.
Is the landlord not required to inform me of the damages/give me a chance to fix them before taking it out of my deposit?
No, you're supposed to leave the place clean and whatever else is in the lease agreement you signed such as fill in small nail holes, replace burned out light bulbs, etc. When you are moved out and have that final inspection (operative word here - final), then your time is up.
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