Landlord drama, part 2: security/pet deposit

[muddywings]

I was having problems with my landlord as I was about to move out into our new house and he was selling his rental that we were in per my earlier thread:

http://www.ar-15.co/threads/113705-L...estion-opinion

Then he went and one-upped himself even more with my security deposit.

I gave 1 month (+3 days) notice in email in late July for an August 31st move out date.

On August 29th (the day 2 Men and a truck were moving us out of his craphole), he advises me in email, that the house must be cleaned to the following standards:

1. Professional deep cleaning of the whole carpet and wooden area due to pet allergies and absorbed dog odor. House buyers indicated that they have pet allergies and requested that deep cleaning must be done.
2. Clean walls and wash drapes due to pet dander.
3. Clean vents for removing dog hair and odor. Might need to do HVAC duct work behind and beneath the appliances
4. When cleaning is done, the buyer will use led UV flashlight to detect whether there is no hidden dog urine. That means due diligence must done before the fact.

Of course, his lease doesn't have anything in there saying that the house needs to be cleaned to that level. So I advise him (in email) that I'll clean it to the standard in which I took possession of it as a renter. On the 30th, I vacuum, carpet clean (rented from Lowes), cleaned behind the oven/fridge, cleaned the inside of both, vacuumed the drapes and cleaned some spots of the walls. I also tell him that we both should adhere to CRS 38-12-102 (in hopes that he'll grow some common sense).

He responds that he agrees that we should both follow CRS but wants to know about his points above. I respond as such:

Professional deep cleaning of the whole carpet and wooden area due to pet allergies and absorbed dog odor. House buyers indicated that they have pet allergies and requested that deep cleaning must be done.

Please provide documentation that the house was professionally deep cleaned with both the carpet and wooden areas prior to our move in Feb, 2012. I have cleaned the carpets as per how they were we we took over as renters and there is nothing in the lease agreement stating that I have to return it to a higher standard than I received it as the renter.

* Clean walls and wash drapes due to pet dander.

I have never heard of a request to clean walls. I am not sure what you are asking me to do to the walls. As for the drapes, since we no longer have our washer and dryer out the rental, I have vacuumed them.

* Clean vents for removing dog hair and odor. Might need to do HVAC duct work behind and beneath the appliances

I vacuumed out the vents but I will not hire an HVAC tech for any additional work unless you can provide documentation that similar work was accomplished prior to our move in.

* When cleaning is done, the buyer will use led UV flashlight to detect whether there is no hidden dog urine. That means due diligence must done before the fact.

Since there were pets in the house prior to our move in, I do not know how you can validate which stains are from my dog (which is 10 year old and well trained) and any prior pets that were in the house. Do you have documentation of similar tests done prior to our move in?

breakbreak

I left him the rent check for $1100 for the month of August in the house and told him to send the remainder of the $1000 security deposit and $500 pet deposit along with copies of any invoices for damages by Sept 30th. (He had to repaint his 8x8 deck because my dog would lie on it and when she would get up, she left some scratches in the paint; he painted it himself about 2 weeks ago. It should of taken about a half a gallon of paint)

First, am I off base here? My family/friends say he is wacko but I figured a non-bias answer would help.
Two, I figure I'll be taking him to small claims court if he hires an HVAC tech and professional carpet cleaner. The place wasn't cleaned to that level when I moved in, nothing in the lease says anything about it and he didn't give me the notice when I gave him 30 days. I figure his agreement with his buyer has nothing to do with me. Wrong?
Tell me I'm the asshat here or tell me your experience with small claims court....

PS: in case you didn't know, you can sue your landlord for 3 times the amount if the security deposit is held without merit

[speedysst]

Actually you can sue for 3x the deposit if it is not returned in 30-days (or no longer than 60 days if its in the lease) or the landlord provides reason for withholding any portion of the deposit in writing, sent to the last known address of the tenant. I went through the same crap about the deposit about 8 months ago. Plus, seriously, the new owners are going through with an UV light? Yeah, unless that kind of cleaning was done before you moved in, the landlord cannot go after you for normal wear and tear.

[Wulf202]

UV lights don't really work, I have one at work and it's useless. I pull the carpet back and take pics of the stains bleeding thru the back and the padding.

Do you have documentation of conditions when you moved in? Otherwise small claims is his word against yours.

Your landlord has 30 days from move out to get you the disposition/refund (assuming they're in state) as long as you've given them a forwarding address before you can consider a lawsuit.

[Wulf202]

Actually you can sue for 3x the deposit if it is not returned in 30-days (or no longer than 60 days if its in the lease) or the landlord provides reason for withholding any portion of the deposit in writing...

Kind of. 30 days if the landlord is in state, 60 days if it's out of state.

[ray1970]

Sounds to me like he made some deals with the buyers and thinks you should have to foot the bill for all of it. I'm damn sure no legal expert but I do like the fact that you requested proof that he had these services done prior to your moving in to the place.

I typically expect that when I provide a security deposit I will never see that money again anyways. Seems like no matter how well you take care of the place or how clean it is whn you leave it, they always find some jack ass excuse to try to keep it.

Best of luck.

Thanks for reminding me why I am glad I don't rent or own pets.

[sniper7]

I'm no help on the issue but I would think if you returned everything to the way you received it with normal wear and tear and followed the lease instructions then you should be good to go. He is probably trying to suck some more money from your deposit

[speedysst]

The lease I had gave the property manager 60 days even though I never saw the lease. I moved out just as a new management company took over.

Kind of. 30 days if the landlord is in state, 60 days if it's out of state.

[TheBelly]

Joint inspection with documentation of condition upon move out. No more no less..... This protects you from his craziness. With his signature on a joint inspection saying that it is now the same as pre-move in condition, less fair wear and tear, is the gold standard.<br><br>Your landlord is retarded. He's got 30 days to make it happen.

[BuffCyclist]

The lease should have a clause in it regarding what the security deposit will be used for (such as steam cleaning carpets upon vacating the premises) and what damages you will be held liable for.

If the lease does not state those things that he is requesting you to get done, then he has no legal ground to stand on and will have to foot the bill himself. Furthermore, if he has a copy of those things in a lease, but it does not have your initials/signature on the page, he most likely created it after the fact and is attempting to force you to pay the bills.

In the 3 houses and 2 apartments I lived in while in Boulder/Northglenn, I never lost money to security deposits and once even MADE money (landlord put in a fixed interest rate, then sold the account to another landlord and he tried to keep that interest since it was a very high amount and compounded over 7yrs).

At the end of the day, he has 30/60 days to get you the security deposit and pet deposit back WITH an itemized list of deductions otherwise he forfeits all right to withholdings. This is a common practice and the last house I rented down here, I won the full security deposit because the landlord failed to return it to me within the state specified time frame (not that I damaged the house but he kept saying "are you realy going to argue over a few days time?").

If you have access to a friend who is a lawyer, or a lawyer in general, you could always bring the lease to them, explain the situation and have them draft a letter to the landlord stating that if he withholds any amount of the security deposit when he has no right to, then you will pursue legal action.

[Wulf202]

The lease I had gave the property manager 60 days even though I never saw the lease. I moved out just as a new management company took over.

Judges go by 30 days for those in state, 60 if the company is based out of state. In my experience. Since my employer is based in CA, we've always gotten 60 days.

Come to think of it I've never work for a CO based management company.