Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Oregonwoodsmoke - I was screened, I was added to the lease, paid a deposit, and all that. I don't understand how getting added to a lease could make you retroactively responsible for anything that's ever happened since that lease was signed. You're probably right, which is disheartening, and to me, a sign of what's wrong with our legal system.
I took the "easy short cut" because finding a place to rent in this town is a 6-8 month ordeal, and it was the quickest way to get into a place. Don't assume too much about someone because of a label - i.e. felon - I'm not a shady schrifter.
Felons are just about the only group of people that complete discrimination is still perfectly legal. I am not the same person I was in 1999 - and you seem to assume that I am. I do appreciate the plate of crow you're trying to offer me for dinner, but I ate a LOT of that during my time in prison, in a retaliatory boot-camp, my 5 years probation, while I paid back all my restitution, never violated or had police interaction other than minor traffic issues, and spent the last 20~ years proving to everyone I interact with that I'm not a lowlife... Thanks for the reminder that regardless of my actions since a lot of people will judge me based on something I did when Clinton was our President. Never gets old. )sigh( The only reason I brought up my history was to give some context, not to defend my actions as an idiotic teenager.
Sorry, OP, but you just assumed the lease, so you assumed responsibility for the lease back to the day it was first signed.
If you had the manager write a new lease, charge for all previous damage, and take new security deposits at the time you moved in, you wouldn't be in this situation. You took the easy short cut (because you are a felon and didn't want to be screened?) And now the payment for not doing things the right way comes due.
The requirement to have the carpet professionally cleaned is reasonable.
Your prior manager who accepted different checks at different times for the rent was lax. Maybe that's why she lost her job. Most landlords want all the rent in one check, not separate checks coming in whenever; that makes it too hard to keep track of what rent is paid.
Seems like the OP was screened, did pay a deposit, and generally did all the things you assume he didn’t.
I’d hire a lawyer ASAP if I was the OP
Carpet life is generally ~10 years. Asking a tenant to pay for a professional carpet cleaning on a 10 year old carpet is not reasonable. The carpet needs to be replaced, and not at any tenant expense at this point. Unless the LL can prove that the tenants caused more than wear and tear on a 10 year old carpet, which is incredibly unlikely
What world are you living in? It's cheaper for him to pay to fix half the damage or whatever they say he's responsible for than to pay for a lawyer.
Are you sure? Do we know what the cost of the floor would be? At the very least, consulting the lawyer to examine where you stand and where they stand legally is important.
I know he common theme on this forum from what I’ve seen is “ just pay it” etc, but I think it’s generally good to consult legal counsel when someone is demanding money from you. Crazy concept
What world are you living in? It's cheaper for him to pay to fix half the damage or whatever they say he's responsible for than to pay for a lawyer.
That is not true in the majority of cases especially when you have no idea what the actual costs of damage are or will be. Many states have nonprofit or not-for-profit tenant advocates and/or tenant resource centers where you can get free or very reasonably priced assistance. One just needs to do their due diligence on finding them. And if there are none available to them then that is when they can many times find the information on their own by reading and researching their state's rental statutes and asking questions. Last resort, if none of the aforementioned are available or useful, would be to then, and only then, weigh out the cost of paying the money for an actual attorney as opposed to just paying the cost of damage to resolve the issue however, this last resort should end up being extremely rare in the majority of cases.
I am contacting Legal Aid of Oregon. They have an office here. I should at least be able to get some advice on what I can and can't do. If anything I am prepared to talk with management about the arbitrary timing, the lack of inspections over the last few years, as well as holding tenants accountable for the cost of updates that haven't been made in a decade, the increasing cost of rent every 6 months with no investment in the property other than bare minimum maintenance. I am prepared to show that they are holding me accountable for what amounts to their past negligence.
I know it's no legal argument if the lease says I'm liable. I still have yet to receive a copy of the lease since I signed it given my work schedule and the management's turnover and apparent forgetfulness as I've requested a copy multiple times prior.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
