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I'm being REAMED by my apartment complex (EDIT: Now With Mean Letter)

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Originally posted by: LostHiWay
Originally posted by: BillGates
Take 'em to court - there are renter's laws that you might be able to use to help you win.
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That's where they get you. It would cost more to hire a lawyer and sue them. Argue with them about the charges and getting them dropped...even threaten to take them to court. If they still don't budge tell them to F themselves and find a new apartment somewhere else.
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Possibly not; if he can do the research himself, in many jurisdictions this would be a small claims issue (under $2k), and consequently wouldn't need - or, in the case of many areas - allow - lawyers for representation. Of course, IANAL.

Rob
 
Originally posted by: KEV1N
The manager said she'll call me back when she's available. PFF! Quick question. I know she can keep my entire deposit but is it illegal for her to charge me beyond that?
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It isn't illegal as long as the charges are legitimate; your security deposit isn't a license to destroy the place 🙂

With respect to your earlier post, mandatory 2 year refurb != wear and tear. If they want to repaint, recarpet, re-whatever every 2 years, that's their problem. If necessary, go to small claims court, you can represent yourself. Did you keep the note they sent you?
 
I also lived off campus at UC Davis @ the Greystone Apts, graduated and moved out a year ago. Despite living there for 3yrs, we weren't charged for carpet and paint. I believe that anyone who resides over 2yrs doesnt have to pay for carpet and paint. We had fun there anyways...indoor baseball anyone? 😉
 
Please see the letter I just wrote to her. I hope it works, she's still not calling me back. And,btw, we are clean guys and left the place pretty spotless.
 
I wouldn't pay them anything more than the carpet cleaning fee. Everything else is normal wear and tear and you should not have to pay a dime for it.
 
just for reference, i spilled black paint on my old apts carpet and cleaned it up as best i could but there is was still an obvious spot. I ened up getting the entire security deposit back with no deductions.
 
Thank you for your replies and helpful links, everyone. AT is an invaluable resource. I guess the icy, vicious beehotch known as my apartment manager is going to take lunch before I go in and lay the smack down. Either that or she's out systematically fux0ring other tenants
 
Originally posted by: KEV1N
Thank you for your replies and helpful links, everyone. AT is an invaluable resource. I guess the icy, vicious beehotch known as my apartment manager is going to take lunch before I go in and lay the smack down. Either that or she's out systematically fux0ring other tenants
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i'm guessing the latter rather than the former.
 
Oh man, I love stuff like this.

I am behind you 100%.

PLEASE... let us know what they say.

I hate companies that try to pull this poop!:|
 
Man, that hurts. I lived in Davis for 6 years, 2 years each complex, and always received something back from my deposit. I never paid as much as you did for 2 rooms because I'm poor, but I have a cat too 🙂

Anyway, you should have taken pictures and notes when you moved in. If not, go to small claims court, where it's your argument against theirs. If you go that route, do your homework first, maybe even find a lawyer friend who can help you out with terms, definitions, etc. and use google to find rentlaw sites like

http://www.sfaa.org/magazine/archives/2002/0702/columnist/0702.legalqa.html
http://www.rentlaw.com/normalweartear.htm
 
Originally posted by: KEV1N
Thank you for your replies and helpful links, everyone. AT is an invaluable resource. I guess the icy, vicious beehotch known as my apartment manager is going to take lunch before I go in and lay the smack down. Either that or she's out systematically fux0ring other tenants
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Make sure the other tenants know how she's trying to screw you. I wouldn't want my neighbors and such getting the shaft either.
 
That's a good letter. I would break up the end part into paragraphs for readability but that's about it.

The "right" way to send that to the mgr is via certified mail w/return receipt if you think you'll need to prove you sent it later. That might happen if you don't pay, they sue you, and say later that you never tried to work it out with them.

Oh I forgot: what's with all this 3 business days business? In California, landlords are allowed 30 days after you move out to return the unused portion of a security deposit to you. They are under no obligation to give it to you sooner.
 
Thank you. I lost some formatting when I pasted this over from Word.

Certified Mail? Hmm. I'm a 15 second walk from there. Should I just make the receptionist sign or stamp it? And give me a receipt?

Originally posted by: PipBoy
That's a good letter. I would break up the end part into paragraphs for readability but that's about it.

The "right" way to send that to the mgr is via certified mail w/return receipt if you think you'll need to prove you sent it later. That might happen if you don't pay, they sue you, and say later that you never tried to work it out with them.

Oh I forgot: what's with all this 3 business days business? In California, landlords are allowed 30 days after you move out to return the unused portion of a security deposit to you. They are under no obligation to give it to you sooner.
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I dunno if your letter will hold water either legally or informally, but it is brilliantly worded, IMHO.
Nice work, and good luck!
 
You've got the right idea, and quoting statutes and court cases is wonderful. However, I think you are being overly reasonable by offering to pay for -any- paint or carpet. I would remove the lines pertaining to prorated payment for the carpet life, etc. If you accepted a $95 cleaning fee in your contract, then this is all you should pay. If your landlord has $592 of your money as a 'wear and tear' allowance plus a $400 deposit, then you should ask for $1192-$95 or $1097 back. It is unacceptable for him to charge you for normal wear & tear, whether he previously withheld funds for that or not. You should send this as a certified letter, preferably with a required signature from Ms. XXXX for delivery. Your effort to request a verbal compromise is a nice good faith effort, but not really practical as it implies that you are willing to accept less than the full amount owed to you. Go after it, it's your money!

I had a similar situation three years ago. I had a walkthrough when I moved in with one of the employees to verify the condition of the home. When I moved out the owner wanted to keep my deposit because of 'normal wear & tear' issues and I refused. When I pointed out that all of the items he had discovered were present upon my move-in, he told me that the employee that had done the walkthrough no longer worked for him and therefore he couldn't account for anything that had transpired then. I was livid, basically getting into a shouting match and threatening court, which finally made him back down and he gave me the deposit back. Learned a lesson then & there to make sure to take pictures/video in the future when moving in and when leaving.
 
Originally posted by: KEV1N
Thank you. I lost some formatting when I pasted this over from Word.

Certified Mail? Hmm. I'm a 15 second walk from there. Should I just make the receptionist sign or stamp it? And give me a receipt?

Originally posted by: PipBoy
That's a good letter. I would break up the end part into paragraphs for readability but that's about it.

The "right" way to send that to the mgr is via certified mail w/return receipt if you think you'll need to prove you sent it later. That might happen if you don't pay, they sue you, and say later that you never tried to work it out with them.

Oh I forgot: what's with all this 3 business days business? In California, landlords are allowed 30 days after you move out to return the unused portion of a security deposit to you. They are under no obligation to give it to you sooner.
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The reason for USPS Certified with Receipt is so that you have a legal record. It's just something that is acceptable in a court as proof that you send the letter when you said you did.

If you want it resolved quickly, send one copy directly to her, and notify her that you will CC her an additional copy of the letter by USPS Certified Mail. That should work, I think.

Rob
 
Thanks, I found that! She hasn't called me since I called her this morning. Hmm. I think I'll just go deliver this thing to her right now (and CC a copy via certified mail).

Originally posted by: tenchim
In sum, I refuse to pay the I refuse to pay the $395.59 I feel has been applied in bad faith.
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Well, short of another proofread before sending the letter, that's some good stuff. 🙂
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I also think you should remove the stuff about prorating the carpet/paint life. Probably don't want to be so specific about all the small claims court stuff either. I personally wouldn't offer to work out any kind of compromise from the beginning. You just need to put the ball in her court, it'll be up to her to accept your terms or decide to work towards some kind of compromise.

Good luck! 🙂
 
Thank you so much. Your links helped a lot, Bullhonkie. The reason I included the compromises was because I was trying to maintain good faith between her and I, seeing's how I still live there. The relationship is a little too close right now to totally strain. I guess I may be too nice. I hand delivered her the letter just now and I'm at work now. I'm going to send a CC via certified mail later on per everybody's recommendations. I really don't want to go the small claims route.

Originally posted by: Bullhonkie
I also think you should remove the stuff about prorating the carpet/paint life. Probably don't want to be so specific about all the small claims court stuff either. I personally wouldn't offer to work out any kind of compromise from the beginning. You just need to put the ball in her court, it'll be up to her to accept your terms or decide to work towards some kind of compromise.

Good luck! 🙂
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