After renting a duplex for 5 years we gave our landlord 30 days written notice of our intent to move out on October 1st. 3 days after moving out I came by to pick up our mail and our landlord happened to be there working on the unit. I asked him how he felt about the condition of the unit and he said was very happy with how we left the it and thanked us for cleaning the place so thoroughly. When I responded that I'd love to talk about what we can expect back from our security deposit his demeanor immediately changed and he started listing off excuses that I shouldn't expect it back ranging from he no longer has the money and can't afford to pay me, to he had to replace the hvac system and the rotting wall in the shower while we were living there.
After explaining that these were not legal reasons for him to withhold my deposit, he huffed and puffed a little but said if I gave him some time he'd work out something "fair". I spoke with him 3 more times after the incident and each time he indicated that he didn't have the money yet and still needed more time.
He rented the unit out to a new tenant on November 1st and when I still hadn't received my security deposit on November 21st, I sent him a demand letter through certified mail outlining my complaints and my intent to sue if he refused to return my deposit. I received a letter from him 12 days later with an itemized deduction of what he says he used the money for however he included things he's not (to my understanding) legal allowed to included as well as some out right lies. These include:
*Cleaning pet stains and hair out of carpet: We vacuumed the CRAP out of the place however after 5 years with 2 cats there was still going to be some hair so this may be legitimate. There were no stains from our animals but certainly some darker shading in the high traffic areas.
*Broken bedroom door: The door sticks a little in the door jam and the (50 year old) door's glue is starting to fail causing the door wood to separate a little. Nothing was broken, just old and separating.
*Threshold seal on front door: That big medal thing that you step on as you walk in the front door. Not broken in any way shape or form. 100% functional, simply showing it's age.
*Patch and sand nail holes from pictures: No large holes. Just small nail holes.
*Missing refrigerator parts: When moved in one of our drawers was missing and he asked if we could live with it. I said sure but didn't make a note of it on my lease so I'm probably up the creek on this one.
*Painting: Approximately 3 years into living in the house we asked if we could repaint our living room. Since he was already having someone work on our bathroom at the time, he also had them do the painting for us. We didn't paint or pay for the paint but he's claiming we owe $1,350 for repainting the house because we didn't get written notice to paint the living room a different color. He included the receipt for painting however it included the doors and window trim and those were never painted at all.
*THE BIG ONE The house is on a hill and the side of the house has always had a tendency to flood a little when it rains. While living there I placed about 15 stepping stones to walk on when it floods and removed them when I left and filled in any indentations with some fresh dirt. He's claiming it my fault that the side of his house floods now and is saying it will cost hime anywhere from $500 - $2000 to fix it.
My questions: My landlord failed to supply me with an itemized list of deductions and never put our deposit in a bank account as required by TN law. Does he have a legal leg to stand on?
Can he sue me for property damage to the side of his house after I sue him for my deposit? This is a completely baseless claim and I can't prove it flooded before we moved but I know he's just trying to push me around so I'll drop the deposit issue. What can I do?
Submitted December 10, 2014 at 05:22AM by Lubs http://ift.tt/1B3STYI legaladvice
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