I had a company do the same with me. The property manager did a walkthrough with me, then a month after moving sent me a bill for carpet cleaning. At
first I thought it was an oversight, but again, with nothing in writing they just kept pushing. That was maybe 11 years ago, and I don't even remember how
I resolved it.

I was allowed to break a lease due to a leaking ceiling which flooded my apartment about a year later. Then, a year after moving out, I got a summons
to pay 6 months of rent along with other fees. Someone else had signed a
lease on that apartment right after I moved out and repaired the ceiling. The cost to fight it in court was as much as it was to fork over the money, so
all I did was drag it out until I could pay it.

When you're a tenant, they've got you by the balls and try to get as much out of you as possible. Their business isn't providing service or housing, it's just to make money -even it means screwing you over.


*** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
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Re: Re: ASCII world map
By: poindexter FORTRAN to TheNerd on Tue Jun 04 2024 09:14 am

Not to mention the fact that when you do move, it's sometimes a struggle to get your security deposit back. Showing the place looking better than when you move in and having the landlord try to deduct repairs/cleaning would be entertaining!

Years ago, when moving out of an apartment, someone from the leasing office did a walk-through with me and said it looked okay. I did all the paperwork & things and moved out, and a month or so later, I got contacted by that apartment saying they were charging me for carpet damage in a section of the carpet. They said it looked like pet urine. I didn't even have any pets when I was living there, and I didn't know what they were talking about. When I said I didn't have a pet, they apparently didn't believe me; they said I could have had a pet and not told them.

Nightfox
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On 05 Jun 2024, Nightfox said the following...

Re: Re: ASCII world map
By: poindexter FORTRAN to TheNerd on Tue Jun 04 2024 09:14 am

Not to mention the fact that when you do move, it's sometimes a strug to get your security deposit back. Showing the place looking better t when you move in and having the landlord try to deduct repairs/cleani would be entertaining!

Years ago, when moving out of an apartment, someone from the leasing office did a walk-through with me and said it looked okay. I did all
the paperwork & things and moved out, and a month or so later, I got contacted by that apartment saying they were charging me for carpet
damage in a section of the carpet. They said it looked like pet urine.
I didn't even have any pets when I was living there, and I didn't know what they were talking about. When I said I didn't have a pet, they apparently didn't believe me; they said I could have had a pet and not told them.

yeah.. renting is pretty crummy.. i learned from some friends to always document *everything* so i did. a bit strange to take photos every 6 months of your apartment or whatever - as if you're trying to list the place for sale or something - but it's definitely helpful when they try to come after you for "damages" .. they'll lie and say you kept your surroundings poorly or whatever.

a common one is definitely carpet.. i've had places tell me they "always replace carpet between tenants" and then try to charge for it after the fact. or say pet fees are for replacing the carpet afterwards and then attempting the same.. if you have that in writing they're toast regardless of what you did to it ;)

on the other hand, i knew someone that basically glued a carpet to the kitchen floor so it wouldn't move.. got away with that one because he was there long enough that the flooring was past it's useful life.. i guess even the best tenants (the landlord praised him for it a lot..) can do annoying shit ;)

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Re: Re: Renting
By: fusion to Nightfox on Wed Jun 05 2024 12:23 pm

Years ago, when moving out of an apartment, someone from the leasing
office did a walk-through with me and said it looked okay. I did all the
paperwork & things and moved out, and a month or so later, I got
contacted by that apartment saying they were charging me for carpet
damage in a section of the carpet. They said it looked like pet urine. I

yeah.. renting is pretty crummy.. i learned from some friends to always document *everything* so i did. a bit strange to take photos every 6 months of your apartment or whatever - as if you're trying to list the

I guess that wouldn't hurt to do. But I've lived in multiple apartments in my life and that was the only one that did that to me. That whole experience living there was odd, from the apartment to my job I had there, the town, etc.. That apartment complex was also the first one I'd lived in that charged extra for an assigned parking space (seriously? Most people have a car..) and charged extra for water & sewer (previously, apartments I lived at didn't do that; it was probably just part of the rent).

Nightfox
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Hello Nightfox!

** On Wednesday 05.06.24 - 08:55, Nightfox wrote to poindexter FORTRAN:

Years ago, when moving out of an apartment, someone from
the leasing office did a walk-through with me and said it
looked okay. I did all the paperwork & things and moved
out, and a month or so later, I got contacted by that
apartment saying they were charging me for carpet damage in
a section of the carpet. They said it looked like pet
urine. I didn't even have any pets when I was living
there, and I didn't know what they were talking about.
When I said I didn't have a pet, they apparently didn't
believe me; they said I could have had a pet and not told
them.

Or.. The building superintendant had a pet that did the dirty
deed, it was someone with a pet who went to view the apartment
after you left, and they decided it was easy to pin it on you.


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Re: Renting
By: Ogg to Nightfox on Wed Jun 05 2024 06:48 pm

Or.. The building superintendant had a pet that did the dirty deed, it was someone with a pet who went to view the apartment after you left, and they decided it was easy to pin it on you.

They should have kept a note that someone did a walk-thru of the apartment with me and didn't see damage like that. I thought that was the point of doing a walk-thru before a tenant leaves.

Nightfox
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On 05 Jun 2024, Nightfox said the following...

Re: Renting
By: Ogg to Nightfox on Wed Jun 05 2024 06:48 pm

Or.. The building superintendant had a pet that did the dirty deed, i someone with a pet who went to view the apartment after you left, and decided it was easy to pin it on you.

They should have kept a note that someone did a walk-thru of the
apartment with me and didn't see damage like that. I thought that was
the point of doing a walk-thru before a tenant leaves.

Never mistake what is right with what they can get away with.

Learned a long time ago that no matter how great the place was taken care of, if the deposit ever came back it was a bonus.

That attitude makes the sting of any unjust deposit withheld less painful.

In these days of super cameras in most cellphones, you gain a lot of renter's advantage taking videos and pictures before you move in. Been sending them right away to the landlord, both to document the situation and basically to put them on quiet notice to play fair.

The closer you rent to a University the landlords split into two types - some really fair minded people and the rest varying levels of shits.

Around universities watch out for the shitty management companies - people will tell you who they are. Unless you like fighting with expensive attorneys over small sums, they set out to abuse you like as if you were some sort of vassal in teh dark ages.

--- Steve K9ZW via SPOT BBS

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Re: Re: Renting
By: k9zw to Nightfox on Thu Jun 06 2024 09:49 am

Around universities watch out for the shitty management companies - people will tell you who they are. Unless you like fighting with expensive attorneys over small sums, they set out to abuse you like as if you were som sort of vassal in teh dark ages.

I've hear so many stories recently about security deposits suddenly becoming cleaning deposits, routine carpet replacement required despite the "normal wear and tear" legal assumptions, landlords saying they replace the carpet after *every* tenant...
As long as it makes financial sense and they're selling a necessary good (housing), they'll screw their customers over. One or two may send them to small claims court, and they'll grudgingly pay back a deposit (plus interest, oh, how they forget that!)

But, for every 1 who takes them to task, 9 grin and bear it.

What would it take for deposit grift to become financially untenable, I wonder?

...Am I any closer to finding what I'm looking for?
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On 06 Jun 2024, poindexter FORTRAN said the following...

Re: Re: Renting
By: k9zw to Nightfox on Thu Jun 06 2024 09:49 am

I've hear so many stories recently about security deposits suddenly becoming cleaning deposits, routine carpet replacement required despite the "normal wear and tear" legal assumptions, landlords saying they replace the carpet after *every* tenant...
As long as it makes financial sense and they're selling a necessary good (housing), they'll screw their customers over. One or two may send them
to small claims court, and they'll grudgingly pay back a deposit (plus interest, oh, how they forget that!)

But, for every 1 who takes them to task, 9 grin and bear it.

What would it take for deposit grift to become financially untenable, I wonder?

The difficulties are:

The paperwork is ALWAYS stacked in their favor.

You're moving and hence often disinclined to a prolonged fight at your old location/city/state/country..

Your ROI (Return on Investment) is often less than parity, like mayeb you
will spend 4-6 times what you will reclaim

Depending on where the Landlord can screw up your credit ratings, get you blacklisted (easy for them in some of the university situations) and other crap that is a form of economic blackmail

In all honesty just talking with a properly qualified attorney will burn all your deposit anyway.

--- Steve K9ZW via SPOT BBS

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Hello k9zw!

Depending on where the Landlord can screw up your credit
ratings, get you blacklisted (easy for them in some of the
university situations) and other crap that is a form of
economic blackmail

In all honesty just talking with a properly qualified
attorney will burn all your deposit anyway.

You can also take your case to the media at no cost. There are
several "fight for the consumer" programs (radio and tv) that
would be more than glad to have a sensational story about an
unreasonable landlord trying to pull some money-cheating theme.


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