Rented a house for 5 years from LL who's only rental was this one. $895 Security deposit, monthly rent @ $850. LL never did a move-in inspection. We had many problems over the years that we fixed ourselves such as an ant infestation, skylight leak, stove not working properly, broken window (looked like an attempted robbery). Some we did not fix like the overhead microwave sparking, the dishwasher seal breaking causing leaking & flooding in the basement that occurred after every rain to where we had to walk on wooden planks & buckets to get to our washer & dryer. We were told the basement flooding would be repaired, but never was, and we stupidly accepted it.We also were not smart enough to inform LL in writing, but we DID tell her every time something occurred.
LL and her hubby were divorcing @ the end of our lease term, so they tried to sell the house. We had many, many calls for showings & an open house, and we were always cooperative and kept the home in showroom shape. LL decided to keep the house instead, and keep us on as month-month tenants. We installed nice trees in front, landscaped the rear, and always did the lawn trimming & snow removal. LL really never had a reason to come by unless to get the rent. We took care of the home as our own, and just disregarded the above problems. LL put the house up for sale again, and again, we were very cooperative with the cleaning & the showings ALL hours of the day & night. We were getting calls nearly every day & weekends. Spouse and I both work FT, and have 4 children, so it wasn't easy either time. LL started making statements about not using our security as last months rent, even though we had never broached the subject with her. we gave her our 30 day notice, but when the time came, we still hadn't found a house, and she still hadn't sold, so she agreed to let us stay another month. spouse's business had been failing, and we were having a hard time making rent. Though we always managed to pay including the $25 late fee before the next month rent was due. So, come our last month, we hadn't made rent yet, but continuously called LL to let her know if/ when we could make it. We found a place at the last minute at the last month (July), and called LL to let her know someone would be calling, which would be good news for her because she wanted us out so buyers could close Sept. 15. No call back from her. We moved a couple days later (Aug. 1), and I took a personal day off work on Aug. 4 to go back & clean house from top to bottom, because we hadn't made rent & were ensuring no damages & no cleaning for the LL in good faith. Spouse had called LL on Aug. 3 to inform her what was happening & asked her to please use security as last month, and we would super clean house the following day & leave keys. Still, no call back. On Aug. 17, we got a Non payment notice in mail, that had been delayed due to the move, but the court date had been that day! We called LL to find out what was going on, and she complained that she felt she was owed MORE than our Security! She agreed to settle out of court, and would call us back. Again, no call. Found out the case had been dismissed, LL never showed up either. Got a summons at my workplace 5 months later! Went back to old home to speak to new buyers, LL never cleaned or repaired anything! Went to court, LL claimed major damages $5000! Including the eviction that had been dismissed, and major damage to the house! Luckily I had taken pics at move out. LL admitted in court that she had "exhausted" the SD during the years for "late fees" and "utilities" and such, so she could not apply it to the last month rent! She had a print out from a home computer that could have been printed the night before! I told the judge that was an illegal conversion, and she was not to commingle the security, or use until the END of the tenancy! I don't know if the judge heard me, but she didn't really have the need to see much of my evidence, and only asked if we agreed that we owed the last month rent, which I agreed. She didn't really even ask me if I refuted certain things the LL was claiming! I'm not sure what is going to happen, but this LL is goofy! I even had a email from the new owners stating that she had not done any work! If anyone has any advice or an opinion as to how this will turn out, PLEASE post or email me!!!! Thank you!!!