Hi, my name is Bridget and myself along with my 4 children ages 18, 15, 14 and 3 rented a house for 1 year. My deposit was $600 and upon moving out, they charged me for lawn cutting, scrubbing the floors and other simple cleaning and extermination. It mentioned that the extermination was my responsibility, but is it mandatory? I thought that was if I needed it I would have to call and handle it myself. They charged me for lawn trimming and lawn cutting which came to almost $200 right there! I agree with some of the charges, but I think I was supposed to get at least $200 - $300 back! Can someone please guide me through my lease agreement!

--Bridget , Single mother and don't want to be jipped!:eek:

Laws are different in various parts of the country, so knowing what State you live in would help. There are often Legal Aid lawyers who will give you a little free or low-cost time to quickly review your lease - and a lousy landlord (or property mgmt. company) will often back off a little if they know you have an attorney. This does sound extreme, but without reading the lease I can only guess at what is actually taking place.
Good luck to you and the kids...

Hello green:

I would file a small claim lawsuit against them and let the judge sort it out.

excon

Thank you for your help.

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Originally Posted by AltaVista

Laws are different in various parts of the country, so knowing what State you live in would help. There are often Legal Aid lawyers who will give you a little free or low-cost time to quickly review your lease - and a lousy landlord (or property mgmt. company) will often back off a little if they know you have an attorney. This does sound extreme, but without reading the lease I can only guess at what is actually taking place.
Good luck to you and the kids ....

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Ok, when a tenant moves out, the landlord has to make the premises rentable again. Some normal wear and tear would be the responsibility of the landlords, but certain expenses would come down on the tenant.

If the landlord found a significant bug problem that did not exist when they rented to you, they would be within their rights to call an exterminator. If you were responsible for maintaining the grounds and you left the grass unmowed, unkempt and the ground unmaintained, they could bill you for clean up.

If you did not do a walkthru with a rep of the landlord and/or did not take pictures when you moved out, you are unlikely to win if you take them to court. They will bring in contractors who will testify that the grounds were unkempt, there was a signigicant bug problem, the floors were filthy and scratched, etc.

I'd chalk it up to experience and the next time you move, clean up yourself and do a walkthru before you hand over the keys.