I live in Oregon. I recently moved out of a shared home after residing there for around 1.5 years. My landlady was also my roommate, she owned and lived in the house and rented out rooms. There is damage to the hardwood floors, but there will likely be an argument about what spots existed before I moved in. My landlady says she just goes by memory- she claims to just remember where every spot was before. I was naïve and didn't take photos when I moved in and neither did she. Who has the burden of proof for damages due to discoloration or worn down finish? Am I responsible for the entire cost of refinishing floors that hadn't been finished for several years before I moved in and already had some spots on them? Can she try to charge me for a wall crack that is clearly caused by the window settling and not anything I did?

I hope to reach an equitable agreement with her, since I acknowledge some damages are my fault, but in case she takes me to court, is it possible to countersue for an extremely hostile living situation? My landlady has done everything from crawl in the window of my private living room (I had even locked the door to the hall after she repeatedly entered the room when I was out) to having full psycho meltdowns where she instructed me to lie to the police for her (followed by streams of yelling profanity until I closed the door in her face). It got bad enough that I rarely left my private rooms, disliking even using the bathroom for fear she would be waiting with complaints or rants. Just before I was to move out, I went to use the bathroom at 12:30am on a Saturday night, and I opened the toilet lid a tad loudly on accident- Within seconds, my landlady was down to confront me about how late it was and how I had better not be packing and making more noise. Life has been miserable for several months due to this type of hyper vigilance where I felt almost stalked in my own home and was griped at for every tiny thing (like being called a slob for soaking a pan in the sink overnight).

I am afraid, with her mental conditions (she recently spend some time self-committed to a psych ward) that she will try to charge me outrageous sums for minor damages or damages I didn't cause. I want to know what I can do to defend and protect myself.

As far as charging you "outrageous sums", if she charges you for any repairs, you can demand to see invoices to support those charges. If she has the floors refinished then she needs to provide an invoice from the refinisher. As for proving the damages, if you fight the charges in court the burden of proof will be on you.

I agree with Scott's comments above. She can charge you (or withhold from your security deposit) for any damage over and above normal wear & tear. But, she can't charge you for refinishing the floor if she hasn't actually had it done, for example. Well, she can attempt to charge you, but she would have to have proof to show the judge that she actually paid that amount.

As far as the unpleasant conditions that existed while you lived there... it does sound awful, but that is a separate issue. You could attempt to sue her if you felt you could show damages, but it doesn't offset any physical damage (or proposed damages). Most judges (this should be a Justice of the Peace - small claims court) won't take that into account when hearing a case for damage to a property.

HTH.

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Originally Posted by rockinmommy

... she can't charge you for refinishing the floor if she hasn't actually had it done, for example. Well, she can attempt to charge you, but she would have to have proof to show the judge that she actually paid that amount. ...

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Additionally, she would have to prove that it was damaged by you. Since you were rooming with her and not renting an apartment, I believe a court would probably be reluctant to consider any damages she could prove to be your responsibility.