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Carpet Damages
wakkawa
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Well, today I just recieved a notice saying that we (my old roommates and myself) owe 1350.00 because the carpet in our old apartment had to be replaced. The reason why it had to be replaced was because of my roommates damn ferrets. I didn't want one in there but they went and got one anyways. Needless to say, it pissed and shit everywhere in the master bedroom and main room. It was a 3 bedroom apartment, with me and my girlfriend taking the 2 small rooms and my other 2 roommates taking the master.
Now, we are all on the lease but I also don't want to pay for their pet's piss. I'm not on talking terms with these 2 people (mainly for shit like this) but was wondering if there was any way to get them to pay for the damages. I sent a letter to the landlord (I live in FL, landlord is in NJ) asking for the responsibility to be shifted to the pet owners, but I have a feeling that isn't going to go far.
I can't confront the pet owners either, as they will probably run from me or get really angry and not listen. She is pretty thick headed and avoids confrontation. The best I could do is send email's and messages through the various social sites they frequent.
So yeah.
Now, we are all on the lease but I also don't want to pay for their pet's piss. I'm not on talking terms with these 2 people (mainly for shit like this) but was wondering if there was any way to get them to pay for the damages. I sent a letter to the landlord (I live in FL, landlord is in NJ) asking for the responsibility to be shifted to the pet owners, but I have a feeling that isn't going to go far.
I can't confront the pet owners either, as they will probably run from me or get really angry and not listen. She is pretty thick headed and avoids confrontation. The best I could do is send email's and messages through the various social sites they frequent.
So yeah.
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On the bottom of the letter it says my objections or arrangement for payment can be sent to the landlord within 15 days. I sent the letter out today already, but there doesn't seem to be a phone number or any other way to contact the landlord. We have people that work the local offices, but they didn't seem to help all that much.
No offense, but are you sure? That doesn't make one damn bit of sense to my simple brain.
Wouldn't that just beg to be abused?
Nah, landlord has the right to charge any and each tenet any amount to come up with the sum required.
It actually makes perfect sense and can suck at the same time.
The land lord didn't contract with Bill for one room, Susie for another, and Jimbo for the master bedroom. He leased an apartment to Bill, Susie, and Jimbo.
The landlord isn't a referee. He can't dole out 10% responsibility here, 40% there and so on. It's none of his business. He wasn't there. Everyone on the lease is responsible.
You're all equal parties to the lease, so to the landlord you are one legal entity. There's no differentiation between separate tenants on a single lease.
Does it say on the form that the carpet needed to be replaced due to damage from the ferret? If so, that will lend some advantage to any small-claims case that would (will, in all likelihood) need to be filed against the two roommates.
You'll need to get in touch with them via a more official means than Facebook though.
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Yeah I figured the lease would kill us over a little bit. Though, they did have one of their family members do a co-sign for it, so I don't know if that means anything.
The notice does say "Less charge for carpet replacement due to pet stains and damage", and I also took pictures of the master bedroom stains just in case this would happen when we moved out.
I'll have to hunt down the other roommates when I am on campus. They never answer their phones though.
It means that family member can also be liable, and if I were you I'd be getting their attention. Especially if it's one of their parents: "Hey, your dipshit son/daughter fucked up the carpet in the apartment. They're charging us back, and if I have to pay I'm going to be suing him/her." It may even mean that you could sue them for reimbursement as well.
You've got some good ground to start on then. Did you take pictures of your two rooms to show that they were fine, and not just as bad? You also probably should have addressed your concerns with the landlord before you moved out though, but sometimes they're not entirely receptive to that idea, also hindsight being 20/20 etc.
I'd go with trying to get in touch with the ex-roommates directly. Give them a chance to Do The Right Thing and pay up - if they try to dodge it, then go nuclear option.
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Wait.
This is what your security deposit should be for. Are they charging you in addition to the security deposit?
Not everyone pays a security deposit when they rent. I've never paid one.
I've paid last month's rent, but that doesn't work to cover damages if the landlord does his walk through on my last day of tenancy--when the last month's rent has been used up.
it sounds as though you are just suddenly receiving a notice that you owe money for damages long after you've actually moved out. In many places, the landlord cannot simply show up later and decide you owe money after a certain period.
My suggestion would be to simply forward the bill to the roommates whose pets did the damage and tell them to get on it. I would be a little surprised if the landlord contacted you only.
This is news to me. I've never had a landlord not require a security deposit, private or community. Nor do I think any of my friends beyond my sister (who just kind of crashed in some guy's backyard for a year during her drunk days) have had this happen. I figure that you would be better protected by a security deposit for instances like this, at least there is a cap on what they can charge you, and in all likelihood unless you have roommates like the OP you get it back.
@Wakkawa: Depending on the state/country, there are laws concerning collections and housing damages. Generally, the Landlord must contact you (and actually contact you with a complete breakdown of expenses and how they are going to be spent) no later than 30 days from your move out date. In Florida, they cannot charge it in its entirety to one single roommate, as all on the lease (co-signers as well) are liable. This means that you will probably have to pay, but no more than your percentage of the entire deal 1/5th, if there is only one parent co-signing in addition to the 4 roommates.
If the landlord is insisting that you, and you alone must pay, go get a lawyer to look at the claim and the lease.