Please advice - MI (lease agreement, tenant, rental, deposit)

[nobody79]

hi,
my situation is that i was renting a place, with the lease that was supposed to end on 3/15/15. However, we bought a place earlier this year and moved out from the rental on 1/31/2015. that said, i continued to oblige by all my tenant obligations - rent, utilities, etc, but handed over possession of the property to the landlord. The understanding with the landlord was that he would clean up the place and re-rent it, and give me a deposit back. Now, the issues that have come up are -

1. Landlord did not inform me at the time the place got re-rented. I found out myself when i noticed that the listing had been removed from Zillow. When i called the Landlord he claimed that that it only happened the day before, but i have no way to confirm that. Can i legally ask the landlord to give me a copy of the new lease agreement he has with the new tenant.

2. Landlord gave me back my deposit (less $500 to cover cleaning,etc), along with a copy of a check in the amount of $500 made out to a contractor. But did not provide any receipts for the work done. How can i validate if he actually paid $500 for all the work?

3. While i paid for the utilities (gas, electric, water), obviously since i moved out, we had minimal usage (heat set at 45). But the landlord had carpet cleaners, painters, cleaners and obviously the real estate agent showing the place. I requested the landlord to share the cost of the utilities (50% each), but he refuses to do so. Do i have any legal options to get him to pay for the utilities (maybe even all of it)?

4. Landlord claims that he will refund me the pre-paid rent, now that he has a new tenant, but as in point #1, how do i know if he is using the right dates to calculate the refund - move in date vs. possession date.

Thank you for looking.

[STT Resident]

Originally Posted by nobody79

1. Can i legally ask the landlord to give me a copy of the new lease agreement he has with the new tenant.

2. Landlord gave me back my deposit (less $500 to cover cleaning,etc), along with a copy of a check in the amount of $500 made out to a contractor. But did not provide any receipts for the work done. How can i validate if he actually paid $500 for all the work?

3. While i paid for the utilities (gas, electric, water), obviously since i moved out, we had minimal usage (heat set at 45). But the landlord had carpet cleaners, painters, cleaners and obviously the real estate agent showing the place. I requested the landlord to share the cost of the utilities (50% each), but he refuses to do so. Do i have any legal options to get him to pay for the utilities (maybe even all of it)?

1. Yes.

2. Landlords are required in most states (you'll find your state laws linked in the first "sticky" on this forum) to provide itemized deductions. A copy of a cancelled cheque isn't sufficient. Read your state mandates and then tell him you need an itemized breakdown.

3. My gut reaction is yes. If you turned over the keys and he started doing work on the place there's no reason why you should pay for utilities his contractor is using. If nobody here can give you a specific answer, suggest you get a legal opinion. Good luck!

[NY Annie]

Nothing more to add. STT covered it and I agree.

[nobody79]

Originally Posted by STT Resident

1. Yes.

2. Landlords are required in most states (you'll find your state laws linked in the first "sticky" on this forum) to provide itemized deductions. A copy of a cancelled cheque isn't sufficient. Read your state mandates and then tell him you need an itemized breakdown.

3. My gut reaction is yes. If you turned over the keys and he started doing work on the place there's no reason why you should pay for utilities his contractor is using. If nobody here can give you a specific answer, suggest you get a legal opinion. Good luck!

Thank you.