I had lived in a Nashville, TN apartment for about two and a half years. I signed 3 one-year leases with my mom on as a guarantor, and to move out sooner I broke the most recent lease 6 months in. Breaking the lease involves giving 60-day notice and paying a penalty equal to one month of rent. I ended up moving out around December 1st. Now here are the two problems.
On October 26th my mom (the guarantor) sent written notice of move out via email, giving me until December 26th to leave. This notice meant that I would pay rent for January ($1150) as the penalty for breaking the lease. The property manager responded to the notice by telling my mom that I (the tenant) had to give notice myself. I went to the property manager and told her that instead of signing a move out notice, I would find someone to take over my lease so I wouldn’t have to pay a penalty. She told me that this was “a good plan.” Fast forward to December and my mom is with me helping me move. The property manager now tells us that if I transfer the lease, my mom would still be on as the new tenant’s guarantor. Not only does this make little sense, but this was the first time she mentioned it. The new information meant that transferring the lease was a terrible idea, so I signed the notice then, meaning I would have to pay rent for two months that I wouldn’t be there. I recently sent an email to this lower-level property manager explaining that I was misled and that the guarantor sent written notice earlier anyway. She responded by pretty much ignoring my arguments and saying that December was the first time we informed them of the move, which is completely untrue.
The property manager did a walkthrough of the apartment recently and sent a list of ridiculous charges. She is essentially saying that wear and tear from normal use is actually damage caused by me, and that it’s my responsibility. For example, the porcelain bathtub is pitted from old age. It was like this when I moved in, and even though I cleaned it up some, there wasn’t much I could do. She is blaming me for this and charging for repair. Another example is the apartment recently had new a sliding patio door installed. The property manager found that the lock on the door doesn’t work, so again, apparently I broke it and need to pay for it. Of course, I never even used the lock, but even if I did, if something breaks from normal use how is it my responsibility when the manufacturer is to blame? For all I know it wasn’t even installed properly. What if the refrigerator had broken down while I was the tenant? Would I have to buy a new one simply because I stored my food in the one that broke?
So what is my legal standing here? The office property manager said transferring the lease was a good idea and didn’t mention the guarantor stayed on the lease until it was much later. My decision to not sign the written notice was based on her advice, but the guarantor gave written notice anyway. Then with the “damage” charges, they are clearly trying to nickel and dime me for things I used normally. So far I have only dealt with the lower-level manager, and not the company that owns the complex.
Submitted January 25, 2017 at 01:59AM by EndlessPontification http://ift.tt/2jbpWpP legaladvice
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