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AnotherHawkeye · Dec 26, 2007, 08:50 AM

I live in Georgia. I was renting a townhome for barely 4 months. I paid all the rents on time and didn’t bother the landlord about any of the minor issues we had with the property. I broke the lease after giving 2 month notice, instead of the required one month notice. I even showed the house to prospective buyers though it was very inconvenient, one time within an hour notice.

Since I broke the lease mid-term, the landlord is not going to give the security deposit back (1 months rent, about $1800). The landlord is now coming up with what I believe fictitious damages and asking me to pay him money to fix them. He is asking money to clean the house of pungent smell in the kitchen ($400), replace the stove, replace the microwave vent, recaulk from the bathroom, etc. We have lived in the house for all of 4 months and we usually keep the place clean and livable! We have rented apartments for over 7 years, without any issues, with clean rental history. This is the first time we are renting from an individual owner and I’m in shock after receiving information about all the damages.

It looks like the landlord is going to extract several hundred to few thousand dollars from me over and above the security deposit. I’m wondering what course of action I have.

I appreciate all/any help.

N0help4u · Dec 27, 2007, 04:51 PM

Those damages sound like wear and tear and you are not responsible for normal wear and tear. I would let him try and take you to court cause no matter what you say he will not see your point of view. Your security deposit is suppost to cover damages and it would be up to him to prove in court that you exceeded the amount owed over your $1800. Deposit.
Tell him you want an itemized list that accounts for damages, costs and what goes towards breaking the lease.

Often landlords don't want to be bothered taking tenants to court because even when they win many ex tenants still do not pay up.

Fr_Chuck · Dec 27, 2007, 05:49 PM

Will address the first issue first, if you had a lease, it was nice to give notice, but unless he sells or rents it to someone else, you have to keep paying the rent on it. So as long as it is sitting empty in Georgia you are liable to pay the rent on it, according to the terms of your lease, the notice has no effect, since it is not at the end of the lease.

Next, at the time you left, you are suppose to do a walk though and have the landlord sign off, At this point you refuse to pay, he sues you, and then the judge will decide what is real damage and what is not.

ScottGem · Dec 27, 2007, 06:29 PM

Doesn't matter how much notice you gave. Assuming your lease was for one year, you owe rental until that year is up or until the landlord rents the property again. They do have to make a good faith effort to rent it though.

Most states allow a landlord to keep the deposit to cover unpaid rental. So, if the unit remained vacant after the last rent you paid, then you are not entitled to the deposit back.

If you didn't do a walk through then you may have a hard time proving the charges are bogus. The landlord will have the workmen who cleaned up the alleged mess testify.

The good news is they will have to sue you if you refuse to pay. At that point you can have your day in court to refute the charges.

s_cianci · Dec 27, 2007, 06:33 PM

Go to small claims court and ask for your deposit back. Be prepared to refute these damages that he's claiming.