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I rent an apartment in a duplex in Charleston, SC and am wondering if there's anything I can do about my current situation.
When I signed the lease in July, the apartment was in great condition; however, when I moved in August, there were several problems.
1) The landlord didn't have a key for the garage door, we requested one and reminded him several times about it. It's now March and we still don't have a key. The landlord owns and lives in the other half of the duplex and has an automatic garage door opener, we don't.
2) The landlord has 3 big bathroom mirrors stored in our garage. He said he was working on getting them out of the garage and still hasn't done so. Again, we moved in August, it's now march.
3) The 1st floor consists of the kitchen and living room. There is one smoke detector "outlet" that didn't have a smoke detector in it. It's the only smoke detector downstairs and we have asked him to put one in but he still hasn't.
4) One of the bathrooms upstairs got major drywall damage from the previous tenants removing their shower head. It wasn't like that when we signed the lease but when we moved in there was damage. He said he'd fix it and still hasn't.
My question is this: Do I have any legal rights to request this stuff be taken care of? I signed a year lease and would like for some of the issues with this apartment to be taken care of before I move out. I just found out his unit is listed at $1350 and is 1400 sq ft and 3 bedroom 3 bath. My unit is $1300 and is 1150 sq ft and 2 bedroom 2.5 bath. I feel like I should be able to live in this apartment the way it was when I signed the lease.
Read around on this:
S.C. Code of Laws Title 27 Chapter 40 Residential Landlord And Tenant Act - www.scstatehouse.gov-LPITS (http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t27c040.htm - broken link)
I'm sure other states also have this in place, but in Florida the procedure would be:
Notify the Landlord in writing w/ certified mail.
He gets 7 days to address your concerns/make repairs/etc.
If he does not,
You go to the Clerk of the Court
You pay your rent ON TIME there every single month until this is settled.
They will give you a form to fill out as to why you aren't paying the Landlord.
They send a letter to the Landlord letting him know they are holding your rent until your concerns. have been address/corrected.
Once everything has been taken care of, the Landlord has to contact the court to get his back rent.
Many times, the judge will only give them a portion and give the renter the other money back.
Depending on the quality of life you have lost, sometimes the court returns ALL the money to the renter.
Again, this is how you take care of it in Florida. It is a simple process and I have done it.
Check for your state specifics, but it should be pretty much the same.
Anyone in the Clerk's office can help you.
As GloryB said, definitely check your state specifics. Those instructions will get you evicted in some states for non-payment of rent.
Some states allow you to fix and withhold costs from rent, others allow you to demand repairs and escrow rent with the courts, others make you go to small claims to get repairs done.
Idaho allows you to fix and withhold for smoke detectors only, everything else is notify then go to small claims. Any withhold or escrowing of rent is grounds for eviction.
I agree with GloryB. You have to write a certified letter and make pictures and hopefully you made some pictures when you moved in so you have proof (proof is the key to have succes in a court of law, if needed).
You clearly have to write that ever since you moved in you discussed all the issues and specify every item....and the LL agreed to take care of things and never did. The smoke detector is a violation and he is responsible to take care of it and to make sure there is one or you can call the fire department/county, to report it. First write the CERTIFIED letter a.s.ap.
I rented an apartment that did not allow pets. Well my son had brought a cat in after it became pregnant. Make along story short I moved and the cats did damage a small area. I since move and cleaned the apartment throughly and cleaned the carpets. i just received the amount tha I owe for the damage of the floor. I understand I should pay some but they are asking for $750 for carpet 300 for cleaning the floors, 200 for padding. I feel this is out radious. I know I was in the wrong with having a pet. Do I have a leg to stand on to dispute this?
I rented an apartment that did not allow pets. Well my son had brought a cat in after it became pregnant. Make along story short I moved and the cats did damage a small area. I since move and cleaned the apartment throughly and cleaned the carpets. i just received the amount tha I owe for the damage of the floor. I understand I should pay some but they are asking for $750 for carpet 300 for cleaning the floors, 200 for padding. I feel this is out radious. I know I was in the wrong with having a pet. Do I have a leg to stand on to dispute this?
Not really. You can dispute the charges in writing but if the damage was sufficient that the carpeted area couldn't be patched and the cats' (presumably) urine soaked through the carpet and the padding into the floor which had to be treated - and the LL has proper receipts for all of it - there may not be much you can do about it.
Does your security deposit cover the damages? If it doesn't, your LL may well take you to court for the balance due. "No pets" does, as you know, really mean "no pets".
I have to ask...what part of "no pets" did you not understand? You are responsible for the carpet, padding, sub-flooring, materials and labor. You may also be sued for the amount it costs to return the property into a non-pet environment. Did it ever cross your mind that the next tenant could be deathly allergic to cats?
Probably the easiest way to try and get some of your money back is to go to small claims court and ask the judge to determine what's fair. The landlord will have to show to the judge that your cat did the damage and show receipts, etc., to prove the costs.
You should start with a letter to the landlord asking for the LL to return whatever amount you think would be fair. When they say no, then you can file a small claims action.
The issue isn't whether or not the cat wasn't allowed, now that you're moved out, but is now only about damage. You did break your lease by having the cat, but your LL could have told you to get rid of it or move out - while you were still living there. There isn't any type of penalty you would have to pay just because you had a cat against the rules.
Landlords also can only charge you a percentage of the cost of new carpeting, if you damaged the carpet. For instance, the "life" of a carpet may be 10 years. If the carpet was already 5 years old when you moved in, and the landlord had to buy a new one, he could only charge you for 1/2 the cost of the new carpet - because the life of the old carpet was already 1/2 over.
You could mention that in the letter to the landlord. Say you think you should only have to pay x amount of dollars because of the age of the carpet. And, if you don't think what the landlord does is fair, then just go to small claims court. You don't need a lawyer. Just say, "Yes, your honor, I did have a cat against the rules, and I'm happy to pay what's fair regarding actual damages. But, I think what the landlord is asking for damages is not fair, and I'd like you to decide what's fair. Thank you."
That's all you really need to say. The judge will be fair. Good luck.
I rented an apartment that did not allow pets. Well my son had brought a cat in after it became pregnant. Make along story short I moved and the cats did damage a small area. I since move and cleaned the apartment throughly and cleaned the carpets. i just received the amount tha I owe for the damage of the floor. I understand I should pay some but they are asking for $750 for carpet 300 for cleaning the floors, 200 for padding. I feel this is out radious. I know I was in the wrong with having a pet. Do I have a leg to stand on to dispute this?
How old was the carpet? How long did you live there? What was the value of the carpet(estimate)?
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