Apartment damage at move out

[EllieAB]

My family moved out of an apartment at the end of September. The lease ended in August and we paid on a month-to-month basis. The apartment was infested with mice and roaches. The maintenance workers placed steel wool in cracks to prevent the mice from coming in. The exterminator placed bait. I was responsible for my own traps. The mice never went away. We saw 12 mice and caught about 6. When I called to complain about the mice (before the exterminator came), I was told, "Well, you live on the first floor." Then they sent the exterminator. Upon seeing the sixth mouse, I called the afterhours number and left a frustrated message asking the manager to please tell me what they were going to do to get rid of the mice. No response.

I argue that this is not a safe and healthy environment, a condition that the manager is supposed to provide, in accordance with the contract.

Now, after we've moved out, I'm being charged for "damages" like carpet replacement. I know that the carpet was not new or clean when I moved in (and I noted this on the move-in checklist). And I know that there were a few marker stains from my kids. But, I don't understand why I would be charged to replace the entire carpet. There are water damage and mold stains from where the AC unit leaked under the carpet, a condition the manager knows about and says is not my responsibility. I think they are charging me for entire carpet replacement because of the mold, not the marker stains. I'm pretty sure marker can be shampooed out.

Is there any way to fight the carpet charges on the basis of the landlord breaking their part of the lease that requires a safe and healthy environment? I mean, could I argue that I am not responsible for the damages (my part of the contract) because the manager didn't hold up their end of the contract (safe and healthy environment)?

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Actually, from your own posting, it would appear that management did make an effort to hold up their end of the contract by responding to your concerns regarding the vermin. An exterminator was called in and maintenance men made the effort to seal up openings for mice to enter the rental unit.

Carpets always seem to be a real issue between ex-tenants and landlords. The general rule is that a rental unit should be left in the same condition as when the tenant moved in. If the markers were not present on the carpet at move in, they should not be there at move out without someone having to clean the carpet or replace it if needed.

It would have been in your best interest if you had the carpet professional cleaned before the move out.

You can argue about the unsafe living conditions in the home but the judge is very likely to ask 1. if conditions were so bad why you continued to live there not only through the end of the lease but for one month longer and 2. what did the landlord/management do (and how long did it take them to respond) to your notification about the pests in your rental.

Gail

 

[EllieAB]

Actually, from your own posting, it would appear that management did make an effort to hold up their end of the contract by responding to your concerns regarding the vermin. An exterminator was called in and maintenance men made the effort to seal up openings for mice to enter the rental unit.

Carpets always seem to be a real issue between ex-tenants and landlords. The general rule is that a rental unit should be left in the same condition as when the tenant moved in. If the markers were not present on the carpet at move in, they should not be there at move out without someone having to clean the carpet or replace it if needed.

It would have been in your best interest if you had the carpet professional cleaned before the move out.

You can argue about the unsafe living conditions in the home but the judge is very likely to ask 1. if conditions were so bad why you continued to live there not only through the end of the lease but for one month longer and 2. what did the landlord/management do (and how long did it take them to respond) to your notification about the pests in your rental.

Gail

Thank you for your advice. I received photos of the damage from the manager and one of the photos shows a large spot of mold where the AC leaked (it was under a heavy piece of furniture). I have documentation from the apartment from earlier in the year that states I would not be liable for the mold. Now they are telling me that I am responsible for paying for total carpet replacement. I argue that I should be held accountable only for the carpet that had the markers on it, not the molded carpet.

THey are also telling me that I am responsible for an "iron burn" on the master bedroom carpet. I filled out a move in checklist and submitted it. Then, a week later, I submitted an addendum listing items I did not notice upon move in (the matted down carpet--which they are calling a burn--peeling paint on the bathtub, inoperable phone jacks, and phone/cable jacks separated from the wall).

The business office has a history of losing documentation (I submitted a notice of move out but when I checked on it, they said they had no record of it and photocopied my copy). I'm concerned they lost the addendum to the move-in checklist. If I have the only copy of the addendum, do I have any leverage against these damage charges?

Further, they are charging me for trash on the patio that is not mine (a bathroom rug that belongs to a neighbor that has been there for months, cigarette packs, and styrofoam cups). None of these are mine and I know for a fact that people smoke around the patio (which is next to the back door of the apartment building).

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

If this goes to court (and these cases are typically tried in Small Claims Court) it is to your benefit that you have all of the documentation from them that you are not liable for the mold on the carpet from the dripping air conditioner.

The same thing with your copy of the addendum you sent them.

As in many of these cases it comes down to a "he said, she said" issue and the judge is far more likely to swing toward the person with the most documentation to back up their claims.

Gail