so here's the scenario, in Montana a landlord has 30 days to notify a tenant after their departure of any damage done to the premisis. I just got off the phone with him and he informed me that he sent a letter out stating I wouldn't get anything back and why. He said he sent it on the 1st of this month (sure the post office is always open on a holiday...) Anyway here's the catch, I moved out the last day of November, that puts the count at 32 days. He claims there were some scratches on the Fridge, Scratched linoleum, a stain on the carpet, a leaky sink and a leak under the house that we never notified him of none of these items are quickly noticeable. In fact he did a walkthrough with me and said it looked good he even asked me where I wanted the deposit mailed to. Now, I was aware of some of the things he brought up but not all of them... Regardless of which during the time I lived there a few issues arose and he never fixed them and I always paid on time. So all of that being said I'm fairly certain I could take him to court and win but should I?

(P.S. I'm off for the weekend so I may not respond until Monday but I'd like some feedback)

 

Dang right get your money.[>:]
The sink leaks-property owner's problem to fix.(especially if you were living there when the leak started.)
Plumbing leak-see above x2.
Carpet, Linoleum, wallpaint, wallpaper, countertops and appliances are all subject to wear and tear from daily use.

That said, if yer woman hucked a heineken bottle at you and hit the fridge instead....[8D]still get the money back.
Tenants should inform the property owner if they see a problem, but the tenant is not a property manager and does not have to perform as such. THAT IS YOUR MONEY.
Good luck sir.
ps-How much loot we talkin' bout? Attending court sucks, just make sure it is worth your time/angst.

 

I was taught to assume that your not going to get your deposit back. And very often, you dont.

Judges almost always run on the landlords favor too... its just not worth it.

 

Unless you have about a $1000 deposit coming back, then I would let it go..not really worth the agravation to you plus the time with lawyers and the courts..

 

Lawyer? Just go to small claims court if you are interested in fighting it.

How long have you lived at that residence? If the landlord had before and after pictures with what he said is "wrong" good luck fighting it. If not maybe you can get some back? Who knows. Do you happen to have any pictures of the place when you moved out? If you do go to court, proving what is normal "wear and tear" can be a real gray area. End up being he said she said. Who is the judge going to side with? Who knows. Let's just hope he doesn't have rental properities himself. Most of the time the rules protect the tenant and not the land lord. So you got to ask yourself if it is worth your time, money (filing fee if you lose) and aggravation.

Everything I said could not apply since he didn't follow the rules according to you in regards sending your letter on time. Maybe that alone will win your case? Does mail show a date when the post office picked it up? Wow that sounds stupid, but I really have no idea if there is a date lol.

Good luck with whatever you do and keep us updated.

 

there is usually a date.

 

I voted "go to court" meaning small claims court where you represent yourself.
When I was in college, my landlord claimed he took video camera footage of the house before we moved in, and again after we moved out. I knew I wasn't getting my deposit back anyway. I won't go into that story though.
If the things you listed are all the landlord is claiming were wrong, he hardly has the right to withold the deposit. When I moved out of my apartment with my wife, I definitely had to make some repairs. We watched her parents dog once and she chewed the crap out of one of the door frames. There were also some stains in the carpet that we cleaned as best we could. My repairs on the door were not flawless by any means and the carpet was not flawless. However, we got every penny of our deposit back. Our apartment complexlandlords were very nice I guess you could say.Your former landlordsounds like a real scumbag. Find out what you need to do to file a suit in small claims court. I bet you have a good chance that he will not want toface you in court, he will just give your money back.
I know you are in a house now, but this should be a lesson to anyone who is about to start renting a place. Get a video camera and take video footage of the condition of the house/apartment on the move in day. Make sure you have a newspaper in one of the frames so you can clearly read the date. Do the same thing the day you have gotten everything moved out, make sure you get a newspaper showing the date in that one too. If no damage can be seen on the tape, that is pretty damming evidence for a dirty, money grubbing landlord.

 

The deposit was $500 and when we moved in it was brand new carpet/linoleum. According to the laws the stuff he with-held for is legal However, I'm not certain that everything was directly our fault. We moved out on the 30th of Nov., New tenant moved in 1 Dec. Landlord did a walkthrough with me on 1 Dec. (before she moved her stuff in). said it looked good and asked me where I wanted the check mailed. Then I call him on the 4th and he tells me this crap. Legally speaking if he isn't within the 30 day period it's an open/closed case. I have to pick up the letter from the post office then I'm going to check the date on it and if his time period lapsed I think I'll file with small claims.

From the Montana Code Annotated:

(2) "Damage" means any and all tangible loss, injury, or deterioration of a leasehold premises caused by the willful or accidental acts of the tenant occupying same or by the tenant's family, licensees, or invitees, as well as any and all tangible loss, injury, or deterioration resulting from the tenant's omissions or failure to perform any duty imposed upon the tenant by law with respect to the leasehold.

1) Every landlord, within 30 days subsequent to the termination of a tenancy or within 30 days subsequent to a surrender and acceptance of the leasehold premises, whichever occurs first, shall provide the departing tenant with a written list of any rent due and any damage and cleaning charges, brought after the provisions of 70-25-201 have been followed, with regard to the leasehold premises that the landlord alleges are the responsibility of the tenant. Delivery of the list must be accompanied by payment of the difference, if any, between the security deposit and the permitted charges set forth in 70-25-201. Delivery must be accomplished by mailing the list and refund to the new address provided by the tenant or, if a new address is not provided, to the tenant's last-known address.

Any landlord who fails to provide the departing tenant with a written list of damage and cleaning charges as required by 70-25-202 shall forfeit all rights to withhold any portion of the security deposit for the damages or cleaning charges.

 

I think honda97valdeez said it perfectly..

If it's less than 1000 bucks, maybe even 2000, I'd say let it go.. it's not worth the fight.. Plus if all is wrong as they said, they'll be spending more than that fixing it anyway...

How long did you live there? The scratches and what not are easily considered standard wear and tear, especially if you lived there for a while.

In TX, there is a law that appliances MUST be replaced every 7 years, and carpet every 5; and often if there is something wrong with them you can easily persuade them to swap them sooner.

 

I lived there just over a year and a half. The scratches on the fridge were so minute that neither my wife nor I saw them when we scrubbed it down. Not to mention the new tennant was living there for over a month before he "noticed" all these problems and notified me. For him to prove that I did everything would be difficult to say the least.