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Hi I had a lease with a tenant in Portland for last 14 months.
After the lease ends, the tenant is upset because I need to deduct carpet damage and she threatens to sue me for entry without notification.
So I decide to deduct more from the security deposit.
Over the last 14 months, there are 9 months she paid the rent more than five days past the due date (16th of each month), according to our lease the tenant needs to pay the rent 16th of each month, if 5 days past the 16th the landlord didn't receive the rent (21th) then there will be late fee of $50.
But some of the late payment happened more than half a year ago, though I have the payment check with time stamp on them to show that the check is late, could I request late fee half a year ago?
Yes you can deduct. Just make sure your have proof of lates payments.
Also, she is likely bluffing on suing you since lawsuits are about damages. I seriously doubt she suffered any monetary damages due to your one time entry without notice.
I checked an attorney online, and the attorney said according to Oregon Landlord tenant law, even though there is no actual property damage or things missing, the tenant can still request reward of one month rent due to entry without notification?
I entered the property seven times, the first three times I did give notification by texting her and she agreed, and for the third entry in one of the text message she said if she is not inside I can go in, I misunderstood and thought she is allowing me to go in to show the place to future tenant when she is not inside in the future, so I entered without notification the forth time.
But she said the text message means I can go in when she is not inside at the time we agreed which is the third entry.
So for the fifth, sixth and seventh entry I did give her notification and entered.
There is no damage or property missing for the forth entry, but I forgot to lock the door the forth entry.
That was July, the lease ends Sep, because she is upset I need to deduct the carpet damage so she said she is going to sue for entry without notification.
So I guess she might not need to show any proof of property damage/missing to request reward of one month rent refund in Oregon?
All of your hemming and hawing over a couple of hundred dollars on this place is ridiculous. Refund her deposit, call it a lesson learned for yourself and move the eff on.
She did not pursue her remedy at the time of the unlawful entry, you did not pursue your remedy of late fees at the time they were incurred.
As a former landlord I strongly suggest that you don't want to litigate this. Reach some sort of agreement that you can both live with even if it costs you some, get it in writing and be thankful she is gone.
Oregon laws suck! I wouldn't give her jack. Let her sue. She doesn't have the stones to pursue this. In PA, I don't have to give my tenants any notice. I usually do 24hr notice as a courtesy but there have been instances where I would just stop by because I felt like it. How I see it, you didn't break any of Oregon's laws. I would pile on mentioning her late payments, etc. if it went to litigation. I have a strong feeling this person is all bluster.
Yes, you can. Take it out of the security deposit. You have the evidence. It is not unusual for a LL to deduct late fees from the security, after the tenant has left. What you cannot do is call the late fee unpaid rent, and have a cascade of late fees for subsequent months when the rent was paid on time. But it doesn't sound as if that were the case here.
Also, you need to give the tenant a final accounting of their security deposit and return the balance to them, in the manner and time specified by your state. If you're within that time period, go right ahead.
BTW, if the carpet was over 5 yrs old, a judge would consider it beyond its useful life, no award for damage. But if the carpet were fairly new, and you can document that it was undamaged when tenant moved in, and the damage was beyond normal wear and tear (cigarette burns, rips, big stains, etc. and not just slight wear in high traffic areas), then you are totally within your rights to charge them something for carpet replacement, prorated for how old the carpet was.
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