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dkramer1960 · Nov 3, 2008, 02:09 PM

I vacated a one bedroom apartment with a paint stain in a 5 year old carpet. The landlord wants to charge me $300 to fix but I have phoned around and gotten quotes for the process they are saying they will perform in the $125-$150 range. I only had two days to move (moved to another apartment in the complex) and didn't find the stain until I moved furniture.

Can I tell the landlord I will have the stain fixed and pay the contractor directly? Or can I refuse to pay them $300 to fix it (I suspect they will use their maintenance staff) and only pay them reasonable charge of $150 (I suspect they are padding the cost on my... real disappointing since I have been a good tenant and still am).

Not deliquent ever on rent and have been a quiet/good tenant.

StaticFX · Nov 3, 2008, 02:16 PM

Did you make the stain?

Anyway, I would tell them you will have it cleaned. See what they say. Only problem is what if its not to the landlord satisfaction? They still may want to charge you.

dkramer1960 · Nov 3, 2008, 02:32 PM

Well, someone who was helping me paint made the stain (then parked a TV stand on it... jerk!) so yes, basically I did it.

I understand that it would have to be to their satisfaction, but I don't want to get taken advantage of. My other concern is that they may have already had it taken care of although I just got the notice.

Can they "mark up" the cost of the repair (looking like in this case its twice what I can do it for)? From what I read the charge to repair needs to be reasonable and in line with the damage... them using their own folks then charging me 200% doesn't seem reasonable to me.

homebirthmom · Nov 3, 2008, 02:43 PM

I would look into your state's landlord/tenant laws first off. I believe in most states the landlord must put up the cost of having the carpets professionally cleaned before moving in a new tenant. Also, this is what damage deposits are for, in case of stuff like this. So, if you paid a damage deposit when you moved it, your landlord is probably within his rights to withhold part or all of hit to pay for the repair of the carpet, though I could be mistaken.
Your local housing authority should have a copy of the laws for you, and will probably have a mediator that you can talk to that will be able to help you in this situation.

dkramer1960 · Nov 3, 2008, 03:09 PM

The Missouri Law says "A landlord can only withhold for damages only amounts that are deemed reasonable for the damage claimed." I have a $100 deposit that they have nickel & dimed me out of already, this is on top of it.

My question is can they charge me $300 for something I could get done for $150?

Fr_Chuck · Nov 3, 2008, 03:34 PM

Well first, did you give the landlord a 30 day notice to move.
Or pay for the next month of rent, since you moved out with less than 30 day notice.

You will owe for the payment of a 30 day notice.

If you made a paint stain, I really doubt it is going to clean, I am surprised they are not charging you for a new carpet.

But you should have arranged for the cleaning or you are at the mercy of their contractors,

You can require them to provide a itemsed list of the damages.

dkramer1960 · Nov 3, 2008, 03:39 PM

I moved from a one bedroom to a two bedroom apartment in the same complex, so the notice is not the issue. They only allowed an overlap of 2 days on the move and once I found the stain I had no time to arrange to have it repaired.

Their itemized list says "bleach and dye carpet" and I do have two quotes from contractors in the area for this service, again at half the cost the landlord is trying to charge me.

And my feeling is that they are overcharging me but I guess in your opinion they can.

rockinmommy · Nov 3, 2008, 05:24 PM

Have you gone into them with your quotes and talked to them? It seems like you shouldn't have to, but you may have to actually point out to them, "Hey, I'm a good tenant, I'M STILL LIVING HERE, and I'm not very happy about this!"

Any damage you "leave behind" they can fix however they see fit (within reason - I'm sure). As long as they can produce a receipt or something to back it up if you were to take them to court, there's really not much you can say about it after the fact. I understand your point completely, but I've also been the landlord in this situation. Yes, I charge a tenant who has moved out more to clean and repair stuff than they could have done it for themselves... well, they should have done it themselves if they don't like my prices. I'm running a business, have to get stuff done quick, etc.

dkramer1960 · Nov 4, 2008, 07:18 AM

Trying to continue to be a good tenant but again, didn't know the stain was there until I moved the furniture (jerk who helped me paint two years ago hid it from me) and at that point I had little time to deal with it as landlord only gave me two days to get moved out and into new apartment. If I had known it was there &/or had time certainly would have done it myself.

Its just I've seen lots of folks come/go from the complex, lots of eviction notices on doors, and I would expected them to be fair to a good tenant... but yes I know, sometimes the world isn't fair. Fact is they have me over a barrel... I've signed a one year lease so they know they've got me for a year... and my parents didn't raise me to renig on my commitments.

Thanks mechisopa1234 for the cleaning suggestions... have not, have, and really? I'll give those a try on the new place as there are spots in the carpet I DIDN'T put there (and yes, I noted them on the move-in checklist... lol).

Thanks to all for great conversation. Think I'll just chock this one up to "lesson learned" and focus on the good stuff... sometimes that's the best you can do ")

rockinmommy · Nov 5, 2008, 04:23 PM

Well, have you talked to them about this? It's at least worth asking.

They do have you over a barrel, ultimately, but if I were you I'd at least make my position known. I, personally, wouldn't be able to add it my list of "lessons learned" until I had stated my case and pointed out to them that I KNOW I'm a good tenant, and that I considered their lack of "customer service" to be deplorable. I'd tell them that I would adivse everyone I came into contact with that it's a crappy place to live.

Do you always deal with the same person? How many people are in the office? How large of a complex is it? It might be worth getting to a manager-level person to talk to.

By the way, hairspray works on ink, sometimes. It can also make a bigger mess that any good that it does. For future reference.

dkramer1960 · Nov 6, 2008, 10:24 AM

You are right and yes, I work with one gal and she HAS heard from me. She said they have new ownership and the new owners are budging... I told her to let them know that in a year they WILL loose what might have been a longterm reliable tenant and take the luck of the draw with the next one...

Thanks for the hairspray tip... it sounded kind of messy to me but luckily the stain is small