I recently moved out of a rental home in Michigan after living there for 2 years. This week, the landlord informed me that there is a dent in the refrigerator, and is planning to charge us for the cost of a new fridge ($1300).
The dent is on one of the doors, and is about the size of a quarter, so it's purely cosmetic. Although I'm unsure how the dent was caused, there are before and after pictures that show it happened during my lease.
The owner of the property informed the landlord that the dent will negatively impact the resale value of the house when he decides to sell it, and the landlord cites this as justification for the cost of a new fridge. He has very specific criteria for this new fridge, and will not deduct the value of the current fridge from our charges. A replacement for the door is unavailable, local repairmen will not do this type of work, and the landlord seems very reluctant to allow me to try and repair the fridge myself (the house already has another renter living there).
My questions are:
1) My lease contract says the security deposit will not be taken for "typical wear and tear" damage. Would cosmetic damage like this be considered "wear and tear"?
2) Can I be held legally responsible for the full value of the fridge, or only the value of the damage?
3) If the money is taken, and I file for replevin, what should my claim be? Should I estimate the value of the cosmetic damage, or the value of a comparable used fridge without damage?
I've had polite conversations with both the owner and landlord, and they don't seem like they're willing to budge. Any help you could provide would be much appreciated.
Submitted September 28, 2017 at 05:19AM by penguino_al_fresco http://ift.tt/2wWvL6u legaladvice
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