Hello all,

My wife and I started renting an apartment in Virginia back in August on a month to month basis.

We never had a check list from the landlord to assess the condition of the apartment. Among other things, the carpet was in bad shape and it also smelled bad.
Before we moved in, the landlord sent some e-mails; one stating that she will replace the carpet and then in another one saying that she had it deep cleaned and that it smelled “wonderful” she also mentioned that if the odor returns, she will pull the carpet. I still have those e-mails.

In late March or beginning of April, we got new jobs in a different side of town, gave a 30 day notice since we verbally agreed to that even though the lease states 14 days notice. We had already paid April’s rent which made our official move out date April 30th. But we emptied and cleaned the place by the second week of April.

During the month of April, the landlord started doing some work in the apartment; I guess it was the perfect time for her to remodel the apartment while rent was already paid but nobody living in the apartment.. My wife got an e-mail from the landlord stating that the carpet was pulled up and that there was fresh cat pee. If our cat had peed on the carpet. We would have noticed, we had this cat for so many years now, and he has never peed anywhere else but in his litter box. Not knowing how that will affect the deposit, we decided to just wait and see if the Landlord will deduct anything from what is due back to us.

According to the lease we should have gotten the deposit back by June15th, we waited and waited. Finally we sent an e-mail inquiring about the status of that deposit. The landlord replied rather promptly, stating that it took all of the deposit ($550) to pull and replace the carpet. In the middle of April, we stopped by and we saw that the carpet was pulled out and the hardwood floors underneath had a fresh coat of polyurethane. Which makes me think there was no new carpet put in.

I am not about to let this go, I need some advice as to how to approach this situation.
Thank you in advance for your help.


P.S. The landlord omitted to mention that the apartment was notorious for being the hood’s dealer’s home. Needless to say I was not happy nor felt safe when people came knocking at my door at odd hours.

I'd first forward those emails and remind the landlord that the carpet is not your responsibility. If he does not return the deposit you can take him to small claims court.

For future apartments, see this.

Do I need to notify the landlord in writing about my intention to go to court if she doesn't comply? How much time do I give her to respond?
My other question is. I will be traveling overseas next month, should I just wait until I come back to tackle this issue. I am concerned that if I get everything started now I won't be here for the court date.
Thank you

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Originally Posted by pixelmaster

Do I need to notify the landlord in writing about my intention to go to court if she doesn’t comply? How much time do I give her to respond?

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Neither is important, but you do want to stress that with the proof that she took responsibility for the carpet, that you will pursue it in court, with the state attorney general, or whoever you need to to get her to do what is right.

I'd give her a few days at most.

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Originally Posted by pixelmaster

I will be traveling overseas next month, should I just wait until I come back to tackle this issue. I am concerned that if I get everything started now I won’t be here for the court date.

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I'd get the letter to her immediately. Don't let her know you will be gone. You don't have to file in court immediately, but you definitely want your demand to her right away.

Do you know where I can find a sample letter to use as a start point?
Or if anybody else can add any inputs.
Your help is very appreciated.

Be short and simple. This is off the top of my head:

"Ms. X, attached is the communication [include a copy of her email] from you confirming that the carpet was damaged when I moved in. In now claiming that I was the one who damaged it - and retaining my security deposit for it - is unlawful.

Return my full security deposit immediately or I will pursue this to the fullest extent of the law, including more, as the law may provide"

{I added that last part as some states grant that double the deposit must be returned if it is unlawfully retained.}

This is the letter I prepared to send to the landlord, tell me what you think.
Thanks a lot for your input.

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July 27, 2006

Mrs Landlord
123 Anywhere St.
Anytown, VA 23XXX

Re: Deposit for 321 Somewhere Ave. Apt #1, City, VA 23XXX

Mrs Landlord,
First of all, we have more than one reason to believe that our cat did not pee on the carpet as you described. Whether it was an honest mistake on your part or otherwise, it is irrelevant at this point.

We would like to remind you that you acknowledged the need to replace the carpet before we moved in. You opted to have it cleaned and at the same time you also understood that the odor might come back, in which case you would pull the carpet.
We do have e-mails from you that support this.

Furthermore, you failed to comply with Paragraph 3 of the lease agreement (which is also found in Section § 55-248.15:1 of the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act) by not providing us with an itemized list of deductions taken from our security deposit within 45 days of the termination of the lease.

We are demanding full return of our deposit in the amount of $550 no later than 5 business from the receipt of this letter. If full deposit is not received at that time, we will take this matter to court.

Sincerely,

Pixelmaster

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It seems like you posted a reply while I was composing my latest question. :)

I would replace the first paragraph with:

In reference to your claim of withholding our security deposit due to alleged damage by our cat, we would like to remind you...

I would then add after the E-mails to support:

Besides our cat is well trained and there has been no instances of him not using his litter box.

Scott,
I appreciate the input, great suggestion.

The letter was sent out, I will keep you guys posted.

Ok, Taking it from the top: Your landlord by her own admission has stated that she had removed the cat odor and the carpet now smell fantastic. I take it that was true, or you would have complained and had the carpet removed on move in. So, it is definitely possible that your cat did pee on the carpat. Though you may think that it is not possible for your cat to pee elsewhere, whenever a cat gets an urinary track infection they generally pee elsewhere. Your argument for your deposit does not ly on whethere you are responsible for the cat damage, but whether the landlord gave you a proper accounting of how much you would be returned within the state mandated period. Check your Va Landlord Act for the period the landlord must notify or return the security deposit to you. If she failed to comply with state law, then she may owe you twice the amount of the security deposit.

You should contact your local realestate commissioners office and speak to someone, there are laws governing landlords. I hope you kept those emails you will need them.

Brooks,
Thank you for joining this thread.
The Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act states "The security deposit, any accrued interest and any deductions, damages and charges shall be itemized by the landlord in a written notice given to the tenant, together with any amount due the tenant within 45 days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession."
The landlord failed to comply. I wasn't able to find anything about owing twice the amount.

admartin,
Yes I still have those e-mail! And I did attach them to the letter I sent to the landlord to refresh her memory.
I shall check with the local realestate commissioners office. I want to know if Virginia has that law about doucle the deposit refund, I am not greedy but I have reasons to believe she did NOT put any new carpet and she is trying to use my deposit for refinishing the hardwood floor.

I should have mentioned it before, but it is not relevant what she used the money for. What is relevant is the value of the carpet at the time that she replaced it. If the carpet was there for 10 year or more, then the value would have been zero dollars and she would have been wrong to charge you for cost of the carpet. In other words she is required to depreciate the carpet and then charge for the value of the carpet.

UPDATE:

My former landlord received the letter and sent us an e-mail. She is saying that she paid $750 and she attached a word document.
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Pull up carpet soiled with cat pea- bedroom
Sand floor to try to eliminate stain
Poly floor
Total cost: $750.00
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The landlord also stated that she is not interested in pursuing this further with us. But we will consider countering for $200 and court costs. And that she has ample evidence. Then she asked to let her know of our decision.

Do I reply to this e-mail to let her know our demands did not change? Do I just wait and see if she will change her mind?

Any advice on where to take it from here?

Thank you all very much.

By not pursuing the matter, what did she mean? That she used your $550 and is eating the additional $200? Was this Word document from her or from a contracter who did the work?

If you are going to pursue it to recover your $550, then go ahead. I wouldn't offer any settlement.

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By not pursuing the matter, what did she mean? That she used your $550 and is eating the additional $200?

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That is what I got out of of it too, which makes me doubt her claims even more.
The word document was from her, it doesn't have a date, name of contractor or any contact info. She just put that together and claims she has receipts and pictures.