Our landlord and us having been issues over the past two years. We have asked her multiple times to make repairs, plumbing issues, a dying tree in the yard to be removed, outlets not being grounded, no working fire alarms, a back doors that does not lock, making it easy for people to break in... so we have some safety issues here that violate our safety, and she refuses to fix them. So, when she extended a renewal lease to us, we accepted with the provisions for these issues to be addressed. She aggreed, then she emailed us that she "changed her mind and wanted us out in 30 days". (We were month to month by that point and about to renew our contract).
Later, she called us back asking if we would stay IF we aggreed for her to not fix anything. We had already found a place and didn't want to live in her unsafe, filthy house, so we left. We were excellent renters, took great care of the property, never made a late payment, no major issues, there for 2 years.
So, now, she is going to charge us $700 to fix (this is from our security deposit)... get this NAIL HOLES IN THE WALLS. She said there are 160 small nail holes and three larger holes (that we patched up, dings from moving furniture and stuff, nothing larger than about 3 inches.) However, according to rental contract, this is normal wear and tear for a reasonable amount of small nail holes and we shouldn't have to pay for that. Also, the house paint job was old and there were holes and screws in the walls when we moved in, but she wants us to pay to have the whole house "professionally painted."
My husband is worried that if we contest this, she will retailiate by nitpicking other things and we will have to pay more money. Like a broken toilet lid (it was a cheap, touilt that cracked when it was getting fixed), and a few other things like a small burn mark from an iron that fell on the floor (however the carpet was already badly damaged when we moved in, with gapping holes and tears in it, that I did document when we moved in). Also, our dog did some slight scratching damage to one side of an interior door, but we paid a $350 pet deposit and she claims she doesn't have ot use that money to fix the damage from the pet?!
However, according to Texas Tenant's rights, a landlord cannot retaliate against a renter for requesting things that contribute to safety and harm of the tenant's to be fixed. Wouldn't one consider her kicking us out b/c we requested very serious items to be addressed as retaliation... then to charge us a hige fee for a simple paint job?
Just to note, this house was filthy when we moved in, rotting wood in the bathrooms, rotting shower wall that had to be replaced, slime, mold and grime on all the surfaces we scrubbed for days (I put all that on the walk-through sheet upon move in)... we left it in wonderful, clean condition aside form the minor issues I stated above.
Does anyone know how I can fight this.. or if it is even worth it? She said she is being generous in offering us $300 of our deposit back,... but if we fight her, she won't give us ANY back. We asked for an itemized detailed list for the repairs... but she will just have her corrupt 'handy man' family members make stuff up. I know she is breaking the law, but she is such a slimy person, we worry that she would make stuff up or try and get us for something we didn't do.
We challenged her. She consulted her lawyer who told her she was wrong, and we could actually sue and get a lot more money back for retaliation. We are getting almost $700 back instead of the $300 she was going to give us.
Just take the $300 and move on. If you moved into this pig sty from the get go, then what did you expect? She sounds like a slum lord.
is she only charging $700 for you to move out....cause that is not much for living their 2 years. Carpets to clean, walls to paint...cleaning to do...ya it sucked living there but you still did for 2 years..
She may be telling you that it is for fixing the nail holes in the wall but you still have to clean carpets, paint (whether it was new paint when you moved in or not)
Take her to small claims court. She cannot just say she won't give you anything back if you fight her. I took my previous landlord to court because we only lived there 8 months on a month to month basis and he was such and a$$ when we moved out. He tried to pull something like this. Needless to say he went down in court and I got my rightful refund!
Hope you took pics of everything when you moved in and when you moved out. Then you should have a solid case and a slam dunk win. Even sue her for your filing/attorney fees. We can do that in CA, not sure about TX. Just by how she sounds, I'd take her to court just for the chance of sheer satisfaction of seeing her lose. I despise slumlords, good luck!
Kiss the deposit goodbye and let it go.
You are out of her rat hole and that is what's important.
We had HORRIBLE landlords the last time we rented, and they lived right next door. Ugh. It's funny though because I meet other people who know them, especially the wife, and they tell me how horrible she is to them too - I just didn't stand for it and we didn't leave on good terms. She was psycho in my eyes.
My husband scrubbed the house clean (and he does a good job when he puts his mind to it), repainted the entire house, and made it look better than when we moved in. She did the same thing yours is doing. She said it was filthy (not true we had pictures), she told us one fan was dusty (he may have forgotten it, but that doesn't make a filthy house), she said the paint job was bad (he has painted our new house and I can guarantee you he does a good job), etc. Just stupid things.
When my husband met with her husband to get the remainder or our deposit, he increased it and gave us what he thought she wouldn't notice coming from the account, and he APOLOGIZED for his wife's behavior. Funny. We thoguht about taking her to court, but opted not to. It wasn't worth our time or effort to fight for the money back. So we sucked it up. I suggest you do the same - and I know how bad it sucks!
I would call the local Realtors board and ask them. I would not pay a penny of it. Let her take it to court, every piece of paper you have requesting repairs will go in your favor, if you took pictures of the house when you moved in it would help too.
Also, there should be local attorneys that specialize in real estate, they may be able to send her a letter stating that she needs to refund your deposit and cease contact with you or he will follow through with XXX, XXX, and XXX. Sometimes standing up to a bully like this person is all that it takes to get them to back off.
Did you happen to take pictures upon moving in that documented the conditions? Did you notify her via certified mail of the issues that were unsafe and unhealthy? If you have all that in order and any emails, texts, etc, printed out then go file small claims. My husband and I successfully sued a previous landlord for a similar situation. But we had gone through and painstakingly documented every single thing. Every call, every flaw, every penny we had to spend on our own. Come court date, we had a 2" binder full of evidence, and they didn't even show up.
Chances are if you go and file, she won't fight back but if you're that worried, get a free consultation with a lawyer and go from there.
Good luck!
I think your 'losing' area will be that even tho the house was unsafe you still stayed there for 2 years. If you take it to small claims the judge may throw that back to you. Especially since you didn't install smoke detectors or try and fix the door yourself. Those things you could've taken back to her and gotten it to balance out the security deposit.
You might be able to get her to go down to $400 - 500 dollars for the repairs, but you'd have to talk nicely to her. Otherwise, give her the $700, chalk it up to things to know for next time and be rid of her.
Did you sign off on a walk through sheet when you moved in? I use them from time to time to document that my rentals are clean and in move in condition.
She sounds like a piece of work and I am not sure it would be worth it to fight. You will end up in court and those costs would be higher. She does have the right to keep the pet deposit if your dog left scratches or did any other damage. But as far as nail holes this is something a landlord must expect and it is considered ware and tare (Next time use those 3M products, they work great and don't leave marks).
I would call or write a letter to the housing authority and make a complaint about the condition of the home. It sounds like there are many safety issues and maybe they can help make her do the repairs or direct you to someone that can help. They may also be able to help your situation it doesn’t hurt to ask.
In your next home, do a walk through with the landlord and write down the condition of the home (also take pictures) and both of you sign it, this way when you do move out you have a signed document and pictures. You should also do another sheet when moving out with both of you there.
I can’t stand slumlords like her, it gives good landlords a bad name. My husband and I will not rent out anything that we wouldn’t live in ourselves. Everyone deserves a safe and clean home where everything works properly.
Yes-gather all your facts and pictures and file a claim:
http://www.co.fort-bend.tx.us/getSitePage.asp?sitePage=7349
When she did not address the electrical problems, smoke alarms and the door issue-she "constructively" evicted you in my opinion. Not familiar with Texas landlord/tenant law, but in my state-she'd be toast. It is worth it to get back your deposit, and it sounds to me like you will-but, again, have everything written out/itemized when you file your claim-including dates-the more documentation you have, the stronger your case will be. Be careful how you word your filing, for instance, if the back door didn't have a working lock, then no one is "breaking" in-they're walking in. Present the material facts/defects and let the judge draw the conclusions. If you have any receipts for the purchases you made to do any repairs, whether it's a credit card statement, bank statement, etc-make copies to attach to your filing. Make copies of everything-don't rely on the court to safeguard your evidence. Good luck-hope you win!
I would make copies of all of the emails, video etc. send her a copy and ask who her lawyer is as your lawyer wants to send the filing info as your filing in small claims court. She will send you a check as it will cost her more for a laywer than what she is having to give you
Small claims court is the place for that. And have all your ducks in a row when you do file. Emails, receipt of deposites, pictures ( I hope you took some at the time of moving out) and communications you had with her about rent, deposites repairs ect. Good luck !!
I think $700 is CHEAP to be free from this idiot, don't you?
On the other side, if she's too cheap to do basic repairs & safety fixes while you were there, she'll probably be too cheap to take this any further....
Take the $300 and be rid of her. Moving in you should have taken pictures and of all the other damages. I'm surprised you stayed as long as you did.
I agree with Sherry. Make a file, take copies of the videos from your walk throughs. Make sure you have anything written that told her about the safety issues. She may not make a stink if she would open herself to violation fines due to lack of basic safety like the fire alarms. It sounds like she just does not want to spend any money on maintenance or upkeep. And if she still refuses, you could file a claim against her, asking for court cost reimbursement as well.
I don't know the law. I guess I would tell her that she has to give you the $300 first, and THEN you will give her $700. I'll bet that if you give her $300, she won't give you $700, and then you are out $1000.
I'd rather be out $300 than give her anything.
I think I'd just walk away from her, period, and not talk to her anymore at all. She will have to pay money to try to take you to court, and you have more than enough evidence to counter-sue her.
Dawn
You have to consider how hard it would be to prove this is retaliation. If you are month to month either of you have the right to 30 day notice. She gave you a 30 day notice. You admit there is damage and burns from an iron, scratches and the like are not considered normal wear and tear.
Thing is she sounds like an awful landlord but in the grand scheme of things you won't recover enough to make the process worth your time.
Is what she did wrong, sure, it is profitable to go after her, no.
I am not saying your landlord is right, it is just after running kids through rentals for college they know just how far they can push it so that you proceeding against them is not worth your time. It is sick and sad but there is little you can do.
Renters laws are different in every state, but in CA the landlord has to give you a written, itemized list of the things they repaired and the cost along with the balance of your security deposit. They are not allowed to charge for things like painting as that is considered normal wear and tear and the landlord is expected to paint in between renters.
You said she claims there are 160 holes in the walls. That is a bit excessive, so she MIGHT be able to keep some of the deposit for repairs for that, but that would be extremely minimal.
Also in CA, they can't charge you for labor if the landlord did the work themselves. Now, if they hire say a painter, but are perfectly capable of painting themselves, I don't know if they can charge you for the labor of the painter.
I would wait to see what she does and then decide whether or not it is worth it to take her to small claims court. Don't "agree" that the $300 offered is a full and final payment. She may not want to give you more back, but you very well may be entitled to more and she won't know if you're going to fight her on it until she tenders payment. If she does, accept it but also hand her a document that says you are accepting this payment as a partial repayment of the security deposit.
If you have it in writing that she offered to renew the lease ONLY IF you didn't insist that she make repairs, that could be your smoking gun. If not, it will be your word against hers. That could go either way.
If you have pictures and documentation (with details, dates and times and especially email trails of what what said and when), then take your chances in small claims court against her.
With my former slumlord we lived out our security deposit because of a super clogged kitchen sink and a front door that would stick so bad we couldn't get in or out of the house without great effort.
I knew she had no intention of giving us our security deposit when our relationship went sour with her over repairs she should have done but refused.
Also in my state the landlord is legally obligated to place the security deposit in an interest bearing account and if they can't prove they established that account the judge could award a level of interest that would make even credit card interest bow down and pay homage.
You could attempt to take her to small claims court. But like the previous poster has mentioned, you'll need everything documented...otherwise it is a case of she said, she said.
As a landlord myself, I couldn't imagine not fixing things like plumbing and the fire alarms. Your husband is right, to some extent she could decide to nit pick things. But again, that won't be an issue if you have all the documentation, like the walk through papers signed by her.
If you have the documentation and pictures, I'd fight it. If not, I'd probably let it go. I would suggest a few things in the future. Take pictures and video during the initial walk through and the day you leave. We take video when we walk tenants through. Then if something comes up, we have a point of reference. Sometimes it covers our butt and sometimes it proves us mistaken.
You should have time to fill out the paperwork. So test everything in the house...everything and have in written down. THen have the landlord initial it too, so it's documented.
Finally, if a house is filthy when you move in. Don't move in until the landlord makes it right. No matter how good the rent or location, if it's disgusting, there is no way I'd move in. Deposits don't get paid until you sign a lease and leases don't get signed until the landlord is ready to give you the keys.
Good luck!
ETA - You're correct, nail holes and such are considered normal wear and tear and she shouldn't be charging to repair that. But if she can "prove" or manipulate things to show that the damage is excessive, she can charge for the repairs. So she could be charging you for the damages that were already there, plus the damage you caused. The holes you patched, if the patches are noticeable, she could attempt to charge for those. The iron burn, yes, she could charge you for that. She may not be able to charge for all new carpet, but she could charge for a patch to be put in the carpet.
She doesn't have to do a walk through with you. But she does have to refund any security deposit within 30 days, If any of the deposit is withheld, she has to send you an itemized list of repairs. If she is withholding money and you sue, I believe you are entitled to something like $100 plus three times the security plus court costs and attorney's fees. And if she never sends an itemized bill she gives up any rights to hold ANY of the deposit.
If you have pictures and evidence, spend the money and take her to small claims court!!
