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We rented an apartment for 5 years, the place was a dump when we moved in, and over the years it got worse, the floor in the kitchen was collapsing (the sills were completly gone) the carpets were disintigrating. we even had to replace the carpet in the livingroom with a good laminate floor because the carpet was in such bad shape. recently water started pouring in from the ceiling, the landlord's patch job didn't hold and water kept coming in, the wiring was old, every time the hot water heater would empty, it would blow the fuse and we'd have to replace it.
Our landlord had always had us pay double rent from June 1st through November 1st, and no rent the rest of the year. plus collected an $850 security deposit.
We purchased a house in January, and moved out Jan 31st we had the rent was pre-paid for Febuary and March, so he owes us that 2 months.
We've been trying to get int ouch with him since febuary, we recieved no letter stating he was keeping our security deposit (as tennants at will in Maine he is required to either send us our sec dep back in 21 days, or send us a letter stating that he is keeping it for damages) we finally got him to call us back today, and he says his father (who owns the building) does not want to give us the $1,975 back for the pre-paid rent. we are not even asking for the $850 security deposit back, just the pre-pay, he now claims that when they went in to look at the apartment, it was not even broom clean (which it was) and there was junk left, well the only junk left, was what was in the apartment when we moved in. They are now claiming that we left the apartment in bad shape, however we may have trouble proving otherwise, as they have torn the building down (rumor around town is that it was condemned)
My question is, Is it worth suing him to recoup the money, since i really have no proof as to the condition of the apartment (other than about a dozen people who will testify as to its condition).
From what i gather, it's very possible the place was condemned or condemnable the entire time we lived there.
No it is not really worth it . More hassle than it is worth . I hate ppl like that sounds like a slumlord to me. florida is full of them. good luck and hope you got a good deal on your house.
Yeah, they are a bit slumlordish, we spoke to him today and he's going to let his dad know that we are serious and are talking legal, and maybe we can just get the rent back, Like i said, i'm happy to let them keep the $850 security to cover damage, but most of the damage was caused by their own poor repairs.
As for the house, we did get a good price for the area, and a 5% fixed rate on the mortgage, and consideringthey were talking 6.359% when we first started the paperwork, I'm very happy, and now if my landlord is a slumlord i only have myself to blame! lol, thanks for the advice, it is appreciated.
Hmm, I would argue that pre-paid rent is not extra security deposit. Regardless of the state the the apartment, unapplied rent should be returned to you. If they feel your security deposit does not cover the damamges, then they should bill you for it. As far as the rent goes, you hav a clear advantage in court. As for keeping the security deposit to cover damages, what damages? They if the tore the building down, what did they have to pay to fix? Security deposists can only go toward actual work in getting the unit back to rentable condition. If the tore the building down instead of re-renting it, I am not sure how they keeping the money for "damages".
You know, I had not actually thought of it that way... We are definately hoping that the threat of legal action will get them to cough up the dough. but if not, i will definately ask our lawyer about that. Thanks!
I would definitely pursue getting your money back including the deposit. If they did not send you an itemized statement of the "damages" along w/ proof that they repaired things (such as a receipt for an item, or a bill from a carpenter, painter etc) then they don't have much to stand on especially now that the building has been torn down! Try small claims court; your costs there are minimal and you can add the filing fees and process serving fees to the judgment if you win.
Obviously if you have an attorney, he could write a demand letter to the landlord and that might be enough, too. Good luck.
[SIZE=3]I would never ask nor would I except rent in advance. I have turned down a year in advance it can be more problems than you know. Good luck with you new home.[/SIZE]
I never allowed prepaid rent. It can get very messy! Provided you gave the proper 30 day written notice, you're entitled to every bit of your pre-paid rent. Is it stipulated in your contract that you were to pay like that or do you hopefully have receipts? Just want to make sure there's a paper trail that you've actually paid it to the landlord and it was for the rent.
There was no written agreement/lease, but i do have a "Schedule of payments" from him showing the rent is to be paid June-November, I dont' have reciepts, he never gave them, but i can get copies of all the checks from the bank showing that he deposited them.
The Pre-Paid rent was a blessing and a curse, we live in a tourist town, and our business is only open in the summer, so we make all our years income from may-november, so having the rent taken care of early was nice, but if we wanted to move out, we knew we were going to have trouble getting it back. plus he should have been paying us interest on the money "Deposited" with him for the extra rent. Honestly, i just want the pre-pay back, even if we dont get the Sec Deposit back, look we were there for 5 years, i'm sure there was some damage, of course since they tore the building down... He swears that we'll hear back from him one way or another within 2 days, then we'll decide what to do, i've already spoken to everyone i know who'd been in the apartment, and they are all willing to either come to court or give a sworn affadavit of the condition that it was in. I just hate having to go to court for it, especially as even if it is small claims, i have to sue for lawyer fees because i will have to have a lawyer there for me, as i said above, we run a tourist business and I absolutly cannot take off time in the summer.
You were renting in a building that probably should have been condemed halfway through and possibly from day one that you started renting there.
You have been nicer than alot of people would have. If Code Enforcement would have come in there at any time, the owner would have been asked to make repairs on demand and you would probably have been advised to leave given the kind of violations you've described. I'd find out if in fact the building was condemed. That joker owes you the $1975.00.
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