Landlord Violated Lease.. Do i have a case? (apartment, lease agreement, tenant)
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I along with 4 other have been renting a 3bdrm house for 2 years (since may 23rd 2008) We told the landlord a move out date like the one we have, the 23rd, was a difficult time to find a place. So we told the landlord in Febuary we will be leaving in April 2010 sometime during that month but we will pay rent on the 23rd of march to pay us through to April 23rd. All tenents moved by 4/11/10 and the walk through was done the same day. The lanlord siad she would go home and e-mail us about what needs to be done to get our full security deposit back. She didn't and so the one of the other tenants asked her to please provide what things she wanted to deduct from our sec. deposit. When she finally emailed us a couple days later she asked us to contact her boyfriend about that. Her boyfriend is not on the lease agreement or the legal owner of the house. SO we asked her to please provide us with the details she did. There are 3 or 4 charges that we can take care of before the 23rd and the other 3 she can take from our security deposit. The 3 we agreed to are clearly more then wear and tear and have owned up to it. When all of us went to start makeing the neccessary reppairs and cleaning we discovered on 4/12/10 that she (her boyfriend) had already started construction on the house with no warning to any of the current tenents. Our lease isn't officially up until 4/23/2010. Does this break the lease? Will she now be required to give us our entire security deposit back and pro-rate our rent to refund us for the week from 4/12/10-4/23/10 when she started construciotn to when our lease is actually up? Please let me know. I would like to know if i have a case before 4/23/10. I have taken extensive pictures of the property. Thank you!
It all depends on local ordinances. Based on the most common laws:
Usually the LL has a period of time--30-45 days most often--in which to send you an itemized list of deductions from your deposit. It is only after that period passes that the LL would forfeit the deposit plus penalties.
Most places have no requirement that the LL give you an opportunity to repair anything after the walk-thru. Their obligation is merely to provide the documentation. Your chance to make repairs was before the walk-thru.
Starting construction on the unit when you still technically occupy the space would probably earn you back a week of rent, since the unit was uninhabitable, but that doesn't break the lease. I can't imagine that one week's worth of rent would be worth fighting over. At the minimum, wait until the timeframe for getting the itemized deductions and deposit back have passed, before you file a complaint in court.
If the contruction of the house impedes our ability to do the things listed from the walk thru then what?
The landlord and the tenents did the walk through prior to the last day so we would have a chance to repair anything that was of concern. The landlord clearly stated in an e-mail dated 4/14/2010 "We did a walk through last Saturday and have had subsequent time to take a deeper look at the house and grounds and conclude that it is really up to you how much of the deposit will be returned. We are not sure how much additional waste removal and cleanup you were intending to do prior to the 23rd. For reference, I will list the items and approximate cost for fixing/cleaning or waste removal:
[SIZE=2]Let us know if you will be taking care of any of the items listed above. I don’t believe there will be any additional items, but would like to reserve the right to bring any additional items to your attention for discussion prior to issuing you the final refund amount of your deposit.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Again, we will make every effort to keep the costs to a minimum." [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2][/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]This email implies that they will give us a chance to fix the things that were listed before the 23rd when the lease is up. How are they giving us a chance to if they started construction on monday 4/12/2010? Two days after the walk through?[/SIZE]
The walk-thru is your last time in the apartment. It doesn't matter what the LL does after--construction, party, whatever. You don't get to go back afterwards.
The walk-thru is when the LL identifies what deductions will be made, and does it with you so that there is no (or at least less) dispute over what conditions were present at that time. Then you hand over the keys.
The walk-thru is NOT a pre-moveout service performed by the LL to point out all the repairs you need to make if you want your deposit back.
Doesn't this sound like they are giving us until the 23rd to make any and all reapirs if we so choose?
On of the things they listed was cleaning costs. How am i supposed to clean a house the is under construction and now has dust on all walls windows and floors?
Also a dump fee for item we left in the garage to pick up on or before the 23rd.
Landlords Boyfriend email:
We did a walk through last Saturday and have had subsequent time to take a deeper look at the house and grounds and conclude that it is really up to you how much of the deposit will be returned. We are not sure how much additional waste removal and cleanup you were intending to do prior to the 23rd. For reference, I will list the items and approximate cost for fixing/cleaning or waste removal:
List..........
[SIZE=2]Let us know if you will be taking care of any of the items listed above. I don’t believe there will be any additional items, but would like to reserve the right to bring any additional items to your attention for discussion prior to issuing you the final refund amount of your deposit.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]Again, we will make every effort to keep the costs to a minimum.[/SIZE]
Ok, i get it but we didn't turn in the keys. We still have them. The house is still legally ours and we still have stuff there to be puicked uyp on a later date. It may be vacant but we still have things there and until the 23rd when the lease is up to do anything WE want to or on the premises.
California most definitely allows the tenant to request a pre-move inspection so that problem areas can be identified and the resident has the opportunity to address landlord concerns.
Seems perfectly reasonable to count on the remaining time of your lease to tackle any issues.
I think the owner jumped the gun and would have a difficult time convincing a judge otherwise... I'm not a lawyer... just my opinion based on my California experience.
See how it goes... you will have to wait to find out what, if any, charges are deducted from your deposit and why.
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