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Posted by TenantNet on November 11, 1996 at 19:26:14:

In Reply to: Wrongful Deposit Deductions? posted by Richard Koneval on November 11, 1996 at 12:59:56:

: My wife was renting an apartment before we were married. She just recently
: recieved the letter back from the landlord with the deposit back. In the
: letter it said what deductions were made for any damages. One was the garbage
: disposal which cost $150.00 for a new one he said. He had stated that the
: motor had burnt out. When she moved in, it did not work right and he knew it
: did't work. Does he have the right to charge for this even though he has no
: clue how old it is and that it did not work properly when she moved in? Another
: charge was for a garage door which broken when they moved in and he knew it because
: the people upstairs from her broke it the year before, and not to mention
: that it fell on two people and luckily there were injuries. Does he have the
: right to charge for the garage door since she was not the one to break it
: in the first place and he never had it repaired in the first place?

You're a victim of security deposit scam... invented damages, which is
always why it's a good idea to do a walk-through of a unnit when you
move inn and whenn you leave. Many tenants don't pay the last month's
rent to avoid this, or at least put the owner in the position of coming
after the tenant. Your remedy, depending on where you are, is to file
with your local Attorney General's office, consumer frauds office or
small claims court. Make the owner prove the damages were caused by your
occupation and not part of normal wear and tear. Proof on both sides can
sometimes be hard and keep in mind whose burden it is to prove what.
He's banking on you're being too lazy to make the next move.

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Comments:
: : My wife was renting an apartment before we were married.  She just recently
: : recieved the letter back from the landlord with the deposit back.  In the 
: : letter it said what deductions were made for any damages.  One was the garbage
: : disposal which cost $150.00 for a  new one he said.  He had stated that the 
: : motor had burnt out.  When she moved in, it did not work right and he knew it 
: : did't work.  Does he have the right to charge for this even though he has no
: : clue how old it is and that it did not work properly when she moved in?  Another
: : charge was for a garage door which broken when they moved in and he knew it because
: : the people upstairs from her broke it the year before, and not to mention
: : that it fell on two people and luckily there were injuries.  Does he have the 
: : right to charge for the garage door since she was not the one to break it
: : in the first place and he never had it repaired in the first place? 

: You're a victim of security deposit scam... invented damages, which is
: always why it's a good idea to do a walk-through of a unnit when you
: move inn and whenn you leave. Many tenants don't pay the last month's
: rent to avoid this, or at least put the owner in the position of coming
: after the tenant. Your remedy, depending on where you are, is to file
: with your local Attorney General's office, consumer frauds office or
: small claims court. Make the owner prove the damages were caused by your
: occupation and not part of normal wear and tear. Proof on both sides can
: sometimes be hard and keep in mind whose burden it is to prove what.
: He's banking on you're being too lazy to make the next move. 


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