Actually, fellow creditnetters this is for my niece who I have been helping with a problem she has been having with her landlord. Now I know that a Landlord is not handled in the same way an OC or CA. Let me tell you what she and I have done so far. My niece's lease was up in June, She gave her notice to the apt building that she would be moving. June 30th is when she vacated the apt. She left in good standing, perfect rent payments each month. 30 days after she moved she recieved a letter and a partial check from the apt building. The check was for $43.00. They took the rest of the $844.00 escrow funds for replacement of the carpet's and cleaning. the discriptions were vague at best on the damages that they claim. example: the letter states "carpet's/stains, then the discription for cleaning was just that "cleaning- 4hrs", which is ridiculous because she cleaned the hell out of the apt the last day she was there, she also did a very smart thing and took pictures and had two witnesses there while she took the pictures and during the cleaning of the apt. We sent a letter (CRRR) to the apt company saying that she disputed their claim about the damages. and that essentially the burden of proof is on them to prove the damages according to the unconsolidated pennsylvania statues real and personal property title 68 landlord tenant act. she obtained, after she rec'd the letter a copy of the damage report, which is in total conflict with what they stated on the letter, she requested her balance of the escrow back and a response from them within 30 days (not required, according to the above act). She has not rec'd any response what-so-ever. She called last week and left a msg no response, called again this past monday, again no reponse. need some advice on this situation. she is fully prepared to take them to court. She wants me to type up another letter regarding the no reponses and send it CRRR. but before I do this I wanted to get the board advice !! Please if anyone can help me with this it would be very much appreciated. any and all opinons and suggestions welcomed. kathy
I'd say she's given them enough opportunity. Tell her to file in Small Claims court. I hope she doesn't have too far to travel; I'm sure they're counting on that. I had a LL do this to me in MA, and I won triple damages. Of course, they then screwed around for 6 months, declared BK, and sold the assets to one of about 15 shell companies that had been playing that game for about 20 years. But that's another story.
Reddevil, In PA you can sue double the damages in the amount that they withheld. No, Travel time would not be a problem. They are located right over the bridge in Jersey. I'm sure she would be filing a small claims in PA right ? or would she have to file in Jersey, were their corporate ofc is ? kathy
Hi Kathy I'm a landlord (don't hate me, I'm the good kind! & even though I am in California now, (I've had properties in MD, DC, VA, LA & AL), most landlord-tenant laws are similar, so I'll offer my opinion here. First, she received her Statement of Security Deposit Accounting (called a SODA in the industry) 30 days after her move out? Most states require the SODA to be sent within 21 days of the actual move out date. Violation of this law is an automatic return of the full security deposit plus an additional amount added as a penality. The penality amount is state specific, so look it up for PA, but can be 1/2 the deposit amount up to 2 times the deposit amount (IE: if she had an $800 deposit & they are in violation, the least amount of penality should be $400 & the most $1600). Second, if you sent one letter & they ignored it then file in small claims court. That will get their attention. I, as a landlord, will at all costs avoid small claims court because the amounts being disputed are small ($800 for a property management company is small potatos) and it is so time consuming (however, listening to the "Jerry Springer" type of cases can be amusing). When I receive them, I usually settle to avoid going to court. I may not give the entire amount in dispute, but I make it so everyone is satisfied. Filing in small claims is easy. Call your city's courthouse (or city the apt. building is in, you don't want to get the case in the wrong venue) and ask how to do it. Usually about $25 - $40 to file and then there is a fee to have them served. The good thing is you can ask for court costs in your claim, so if you win, you'll get that money back. Once, a date is set & they don't try to settle before that, be prepared for them to try to settle at the courthouse before the case is heard, just so they don't have to go before the judge. If your case does end up being heard, just state the facts (don't argue with the landlord or judge), bring your witnesses & show the pictures. I know some landlords who are very sloppy in record keeping and don't take pictures to prove the work they have completed or bill for things that are not even done (IE: do you have proof that they really replaced the carpet or did they just clean it & bill you for a replacement?) One last piece of advice check out the PM company's background. Do they have a history of being taken to court? Overbilling? Valid points in a small claims case! I am a person who have been both a Plaintiff & a Defendant in these types of cases, so fight for what you know is right. Good Luck!
Valgal, thank you very much this was very insightful. and no I don't hate you because you are a landlord. Not all landlords act rotten. anyway I do have just a few questions for you as to were I can find some of the information that you had stated. How would I find the Penalty amounts for PA. SODA - where can I find this information for PA (weather Pa allows 30 days or 21 days or if you know for sure PA is 21 days?) How can I go about finding and looking into the companies background? I know that she does not know for sure weather the carpets were replaced or just cleaned. She did have a conversation with the leasing agent after she rec'd her SODA and the leasing agent stated to her that she could not believe that they replaced the carpet because she did not think that anything was wrong with them. which I did add this conversation in the letter I typed up for her. anyway. I really do appreciat your insight. you have raised some very good questions for her to consider and look into. kathy
Valgal, thank you very much this was very insightful. and no I don't hate you because you are a landlord. Not all landlords act rotten. anyway I do have just a few questions for you as to were I can find some of the information that you had stated. How would I find the Penalty amounts for PA. SODA - where can I find this information for PA (weather Pa allows 30 days or 21 days or if you know for sure PA is 21 days?) How can I go about finding and looking into the companies background? I know that she does not know for sure weather the carpets were replaced or just cleaned. She did have a conversation with the leasing agent after she rec'd her SODA and the leasing agent stated to her that she could not believe that they replaced the carpet because she did not think that anything was wrong with them. which I did add this conversation in the letter I typed up for her. anyway. I really do appreciat your insight. you have raised some very good questions for her to consider and look into. kathy
Valgal, thank you very much this was very insightful. and no I don't hate you because you are a landlord. Not all landlords act rotten. anyway I do have just a few questions for you as to were I can find some of the information that you had stated. How would I find the Penalty amounts for PA. SODA - where can I find this information for PA (weather Pa allows 30 days or 21 days or if you know for sure PA is 21 days?) How can I go about finding and looking into the companies background? I know that she does not know for sure weather the carpets were replaced or just cleaned. She did have a conversation with the leasing agent after she rec'd her SODA and the leasing agent stated to her that she could not believe that they replaced the carpet because she did not think that anything was wrong with them. which I did add this conversation in the letter I typed up for her. anyway. I really do appreciat your insight. you have raised some very good questions for her to consider and look into. kathy
Your neice should have requested a walk through of the apartment with a representative of the property. Although she took photographs, the apartment community has more than likely taken photograhs and will use them for verfication.
It looks to me like it's 30 days in PA. I'd think you would file where the apartment was; it makes no sense to file in NJ when it's PA law that would apply, but I'm no lawyer. Try calling one of these for your questions (or get some free consults from the Yellow Pages - the lawyers hate that, but they'll answer in the hopes that you'll keep them in mind if you ever want to PAY an attorney!): ---------------- Consumer Protection Offices Office of the Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer Protection Strawberry Square, 14th Floor Harrisburg, PA 17120 717-787-9707; 800-441-2555 Publications: Apartments; Pennsylvania Landlord Tenant Act ----------------- STATE FAIR HOUSING AGENCIES Human Relations Commission 101 South Second Street, Suite 300 Harrisburg, PA 17105 717-787-4410
That is what she is hoping they did, because what she shows on the pictures that she took and what their damage report states are in conflict not to mention the report is also in conflict with the SODA. They did'nt even disclose to her the full damages before taking her escrow. kathy
Reddevil, Thanks so much for the information. I will talk to her tonight and have her start working on these phone calls and questions. and again thank you for your help. I will keep posted to what happens. kathy
I agree with reddevil. You can also go to a search engine like google.com and type in PA landlord-tenant law and see what comes up for the state. You can find the local Apartment Association in the city the company is in, because they are more than likely registered. This is one way to find out their background. You can also check the BBB to see if they have complaints or do a court record search to see if they have been sued before & the status of those cases. Each state is different, but do your homework & I'll bet your niece comes home with more than they originally gave her (if not all). PS - you said it was in an escrow account, did they account for the interest on the deposit (apply it to the balance or return it)? Legally, it belongs to tenant.
update: I spoke with my neice today regarding this situation. She told me she got a call today for the company and they told her that the inspections dept is reviewing her dispute on damages and that as soon as they have finished their review and gathered their proof, she will either be sent a letter or contacted by phone. Probably the letter route is how they will respond. I asked her did she ask them how long this process with take them and she said she failed to ask them that, but she states that if she does not receive an answer from them by the end of september she is going right to filing a small claims suit against them. Valgal, Thanks for the response. Yes, they did include the interest in the partial check that they send her of the escrow. That was the first thing I checked when she handed it to me. also, I will her check out some of your suggestions, maybe I'll just do that for her as well. save her some time. thanks again kathy
It's a good sign that they are "reviewing the dispute" a common landlord practice for "we may have made a mistake, so lets make them wait awhile to make them think we are doing something". Your niece will probably just get a check in the mail sans an explaination letter. Keep me updated when you hear.
I'm moving from an apt in the end of the month and I was going to video tape my apt right before I turn in the keys. I have two cats and they made a point to say, "If your animals soils the carpet it will all have to be replaced at your expense". Sounds like they were trying to set me up! But I'm ready for them. I've purchased a light to help find any mishaps (which should not be) but I will videotape everything in case they try to pull that crap on me.
You are actually better off requesting a move out walk thru inspection. The landlord should be able to provide you with any charges she/he intends on billing during the walk thru. **Make sure you get a receipt** If they don't honor what they told you, you have a receipt stating what was agreed upon and can take it to small claims. If the landlord denies you a walk thru, know that they legally cannot charge you a penny. In those cases, ask them to put it in writing that they cannot or will not do a walk thru and you're all set! Congratulations on the house!
Valgal one more thing I forgot to mention. during the conversation with my neice they stated to her that they deal with the dispute to damage letters as they come in. essentially, one at a time. we are both assuming here ,and only assuming that they have gotten quite a few. can't prove it. but that's what it sounded like. kathy also sweet n sass -- congradulations on your new house !!!
