On March 26, 2017, my girlfriend's sister moved out of an apartment in Manassas, VA. She had many issues with the apartment and was relieved to move out after two years. She checked her mail on the 26th, the day that she was supposed to give them back the keys, and found that a walkthrough she was never told about in any other capacity was scheduled for later that week. If she hadn't checked the mail, she would have had no idea they needed or scheduled a walkthrough. Based on all the problems she had while living there, it seems the apartment complex had a habit of sending items after the fact. Unfortunately, the day the walkthrough was scheduled something came up at work and she decided to just rely on the pictures and videos she took after cleaning the apartment before she turned the keys in.
When she moved in two years prior, she had originally paid $1175.00 for the security deposit. The complex decided to keep $93.96 for rent and $135.00 for the carpet cleaning. She was fine with these charges because she knew about them both ahead of time. They also charged her for cleaning the oven and microwave, which she admitted she forgot to clean when moving out. However, they also charged for things she disagreed with, $3.71 for an ice tray her refrigerator never had and $9.78 for a ceiling cover being gone; she distinctly remembers having no issues with any ceiling panels. It was also part of her lease that she patch the holes before she moved out, which she did, and even sanded them down for the apartment. They ended up charging her $26.10 for the walls finish sanding. Finally, she was charged $197.20 for her bedroom and bathroom smelling like smoke. They claimed the $197.20 was for the sealer paint on the walls. Her boyfriend had smoked, but not in the apartment, and it was in the designated areas that the apartment provided. She had planned to fight some of these items but she had to travel for work and lost track of time. She ended up just depositing the remaining $641.05 of the security deposit check they mailed her. Really she was so relieved to finally cut ties with the apartment complex after having so many problems with them during the couple years she lived there. She estimates she received the security deposit check around April 8.
When she got her mail last week, she was surprised to find a letter from the corporation who owned the complex, requesting even more money back from the security deposit. As far as we're aware, we don't think she needs to cover these additional security deposit requests, since they returned the security deposit and the request exceeded the 45 day period. The letter they sent is dated for June 27th, but somehow, even though she didn't move very far from her old place, she received it at the end of July. This time the apartment was asking for $1846.20 by Friday, July, 28th or otherwise they threatened to turn information over to their attorney. They said they needed the money because they still haven't rented the apartment out to new tenants. They said that potential renters are saying that the apartment smells like smoke so no one wants to live there. From their request for money, it looks like they are just recharging her for the items she already paid for. Based on what we could find in Virginia law, it seems like it's too late for them to be requesting additional money. She also tells me no one ever smoked anything inside the apartment, just outside. Also, she's afraid if she pays them anything now, they're just going to keep coming back for more money in a couple months. Does the apartment complex have any rights to ask for this money after they've mailed the security deposit back and months after she's moved out? Although it appears they're asking for payments to items she's already paid for, is it possible they could get a collection agency to go after her and/or ding her credit? We appreciate any advice you have for this situation.
Also, when trying to research her rights, she read a few times that she should have gained interest on her security deposit since she lived there more than 13 months. Is this true? Although we both don't think it's worth hiring a lawyer for this amount of money, it'd be nice to counter their letter with something they've done wrong.
Submitted August 05, 2017 at 05:52PM by brickmania http://ift.tt/2ucY6US legaladvice
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