My landlord has just forwarded a debt to collection agency

It is true that the invoices prove that new purchases have been made but it does not prove that you have made the damages.

Law is the same for all. If you will be asked to prove that you have not done the damage, the landlord will also be asked to prove that you have done the damage. Anyone having the proof will take the stronger position.

Search for something even if it is minute and make your position stronger.

This is an exellent example of why when you move out of a rental property (be it house or apartment) You should always ask for (insist) on a walk through with the landlord or their rental agent. That way there are no suprises. All parties know what the condition of the property was, and what repairs if any will be deducted fro the security deposit.

It is also important to remember that NORMAL wear and tear and cleaning are considered part of the landlords costs, and can not be deducted from your security deposit.

Whenever I left a rental, I always made sure to leave it at lease as good a shape as it was when I moved in, if not somewhat better.

Clay makes some good examples. My mother was accused of doing damages of $1200. And the thing is that she moved in at the exact same moment (and I mean exact moment) as the girl was moving out. My mother was in a bind, and new the owner (who was the one who taught her how to drive 35 years ago) and there was no problem. The issue now is, that they state there is this and that, that needs to be replaced.

Luckily my mother called the police (she got evicted on bad terms) when she found out someone (the landlord) broke into her apartment on the last day. She up until midnight to be out, and it was 10:00pm. She asked the police to document the complaint, and basically the condition of the apartment. Although there was papers, and a few misc items left---the apartment was not damaged in anyway.

Luckily the police report got her out of this. The door that the person came through was only accessible through a owner occupied entry. The owner was in default for breaking in, and thus dropped the claim...when they found out my mother was pressing charges for breaking in. The landlord had no right to come in until midnight.

-Mike

I had a land,ord accuse me of damages i didn't make and try to charge me for the cost of repair. If the ll has no pictures of the damages it will be more than likely thrown out. there has to proof of damages. If you have any pictures of how the place looked when you left the property I would get them together.

I had a landlord that I skipped my lease and they were coming after to me for money they even have a judgement agaisnt me.But the landlord I have now I have water damage ion my roof and they havent been out to fix it yet and I have made written complaints and verbal complaints and they still didnt come out and fix anything yet!

Anytime you have to break a lease, you can pay 1.5 times the amount of rent you pay, and that can terminate your lease. Not sure of the term, but it is known with most apartment complexes. This is usually after you have moved out. Depending on how much time you have left, this may be a good option. Apartment complexes do have a right to collect the remaining months rent from you, because a lease was signed.

One excellent option is to consider sublettting the apartment. You'll more than likely lose your deposit, by giving it to the new leasee-- but at least you would have found someone to take over your lease. You could perhaps charge the new person your own depsoit, and maybe take let them move in on a month you've already paid. Subletting is becoming more and more common these days, and avoids breaking any lease.

-Mike

ch if u have damages and told them about it over and over again and especially in written documentation (make a copy of that) and she has not replied u have the right to have it fixed send the bill and subtract it from your rent

i leased a house and iused my security as my last month rent and told them i was doing that because i knew i was not going to see my security and there was no damage he took me to court during my last month and the judge ask him how much i was behind he said a month i spoke up and told the judge i used my security and why and long story short it was thrown out he told the landlord stop wasting his time. LL these days do not give your security back

You were lucky in that case. Most judges would have ruled against you, only because the security deposit is simply that. Some places require first and last months rent and a security deposit to move in. When you give your 30 days, you use your last months rent---and you get your security back apon moving out. You could have easily tore the place up after your last day, and he could (the landlord) have come after you again.

There are a lot of tenant/landlord laws that need to be checked up about certain rules that each are allowed to do, and not do. Such as giving notice of something that is wrong in the apartment. Although some say you are allowed to withhold rent, until this is fixed...that is a myth (from what I've been told). However, as someone mentioned, you are allowed to fix it out of the rent money (if enough time has been given to fix the fault), and deduct that from your rent payment.


-Mike

I understand from all the posts here that while the agreement deed is prepared between the landlord and the tenant, a list of all the items available in the apartment along with the visible damages should be penned down in a piece of paper. Watch out for small, small things in the apartment along with the landlord and get it signed by him. This is a proof of how the apartment was handed over to the tenant and a copy of it should be kept with each of them till the lease expires. Thus, no one will be blamed later.