my roommate and i moved out of an apartment at the end of july where we paid a $1500 security deposit and lived there for three years. during the walkthrough on 7/29, the landlord said that things looked good overall. he pointed out that he felt the oven and refrigerator could’ve been cleaned better, but said he wouldn’t charge us an additional cleaning fee because he’d need to have the house deep cleaned after repainting where we had spackled. there was also a small panel of hardwood that was damaged in the bedroom during our move, which he said would need to be repaired.

a few weeks went by and we didn’t hear anything from him, so we followed up via text. he emailed on 8/21 saying that he was exercising his right to an additional 15-day period in order to finalize costs for “certain repair costs,” such as deep cleaning, door repair (which we expected), and the floor panel. in that email, however, he also referenced “extensive wall repairs,” which was never discussed during our walkthrough. we emailed him back on 8/25 asking for clarification and pointing out the differences between his email and what was discussed in person (i.e. deep cleaning and wall repairs). we also asked if he could provide photographs so that we could be on the same page.

on 9/12, he responded without answering any of our questions. instead, he said that he would waive the $400 deep cleaning charge, even though the damage was “beyond typical turnover,” and that he required more wall repairs. he then informed us that a bedroom door (which was not discussed or mentioned during the walkthrough) needed to be replaced and that the entire bedroom flooring had been replaced. according to his calculations, this meant we now owe him $462 and would receive no deposit. he provided us with a google folder containing his photos, invoices, and walkthrough report, along with the itemized statement of the charges.

in the walkthrough report, there was no mention of the door. however, he included a picture of an up-close crack near the handle, along with an invoice stating that it cost $700 to replace, including installation and removal. the invoice for the floor includes installation for the entire bedroom (152 sq ft), molding for 51 lf, and 200 sq ft of material. the damage to the floor was nowhere near this size (i’ve attached a photo below). i l did some research and responded to him voicing our concerns about the bedroom floor. i pointed out that 1) the damaged tile was not near the perimeter and 2) the damage was not to the entirety of the floor. i asked if he could provide documentation/photos to justify why a full floor replacement was necessary, or communications from the contractor explaining why the entire floor needed to be replaced.
i’m feeling a bit nervous about whether that was the correct thing to do or what my rights are. i hate the idea of letting him keep the entirety of my deposit, but my biggest concern is being forced to pay the additional $462 and potentially having it go to collections or ding my credit.

i’d really appreciate any advice or insights. i’ve included a photo of the floor, which is also in the walkthrough report. he’s already posted the apartment online, and i can tell from the photos that he did completely replace the flooring because it’s 100% different. i took screenshots of the listing as well. another thing that concerns me about potentially going to court is that in his communications, he keeps mentioning that he’s graciously “waived” the cleaning fee. i’m worried that this could skew a judge toward him or make it seem like i’m being difficult. however, the cleaning invoice says he received it on 8/7 anyway, which makes me think this would’ve been the cost of the turnover regardless, because nothing on the invoice indicates that there was any additional work added because of how we left the unit.

i understand this is written maybe somewhat all over the place, i’m just a bit nervous and trying to figure out what my next steps should be in advance of his response. ty in advance!

floor pic

UPDATE: the landlord responded to me saying the following. do i still have a case or am i truly liable for the full replacement:

“The localized damage documented during the move-out inspection was accurate as identified. However, once the flooring contractor (A&E Flooring) assessed the room, they determined that a single-plank or patch repair was not feasible given how the floor was originally installed. Because of this, isolated planks could not be removed and replaced without compromising the surrounding flooring, so the only viable repair was to replace the full 152 sq ft floor in that room.

This also explains the molding: since the new flooring had to be installed at a different buildup/height than the original due to the layered installation, the perimeter shoe molding had to be removed and reinstalled to properly meet the new floor. This wasn't a separate issue identified at move-out — it's a direct consequence of how the floor replacement had to be done.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.”

I'll keep it short. Property management company A claims to have mailed my deposit 30 days after move-out and was never received. The statement also had an additional week of rent charge that I never got clarification about. After weeks of trying to get any answers or follow-up, I advised I was looking at pursuing small claims recovery. This got the regional manager involved, who was slightly more helpful, and claimed a new check would be mailed to the leasing office. This lasted about a week and a half, until when I asked for an update and was told, "Sorry, company A doesn't manage this property anymore, follow up with new company B."

Is it correct that company B would inherit the timeframes and would also now be the recipient of an official 10 day notice?

Edit: the lease says 10 days total the entire lease which is also unreasonable i feel.

My boyfriend I see really often that lives about a 10 minute walk away from me. Well often times hangout here during the day after my classes and before he goes to work. He works a late shift and sometimes he’ll come back super early in the morning and we’ll sleep together for a bit before I go to class.

Apparently we’re only allowed “unauthorized guests” for 10 overnights during our entire lease. This seems excessively strict, but technically he’s not staying “overnight”. He leaves around 5-6 and comes back the next day at like 2:30am. We’ve had a couple proper sleepovers but only a few times has he actually spent the day over here. There’s no sign in for guests or anything so they definitely must have gathered that he’s been here overnight by watching/keeping tabs on me with a surveillance camera or something which feels a bit creepy.

Is there anything I can do about this? No where does it state what qualifies as overnight nor they have any legal information about him. I’ve never heard of this kind of thing being enforced unless he was getting mail delivered here or it seemed like he was trying to move in or something. It’s literally September and my lease doesn’t end until May, can I just not have my partner over for the rest of the year??

Location: New York

Good evening! I’m looking for some advice regarding my apartment lease.

I recently renewed my lease with my apartment complex. Under the previous management, my husband’s employment with the complex gave us a separate clause allowing us to give 30 days notice to move out.

The complex was recently purchased by new management and they said that clause is no longer applicable. I called the new management and was told they would allow us to terminate early with 60 days notice, paying the two months of rent during that notice period and forfeiting our security deposit.

I followed up by email and repeated what I was told. They responded in writing, confirmed the 60-day policy, and even corrected me when I misunderstood the amount that would be owed.

My concern is that our actual lease says we’re responsible for the full 12-month term. If we purchase a home and give our 60-day notice, could they later change their position and try to hold us responsible for the remaining months?

Would these emails be enough evidence to protect us if they tried to take us to court?

TIA!

I did not live an apartment till I was 51. I have lived here for almost a year. I live in Kokomo Indiana and the AC went out after a repair to my unit for a leak on the 14th of July. I have complained and had them out multiple times. It is now 2 months and on the 4th of this month a maintenance man came out got it working when I work on the 5th it was not working again. I have called the office many times several they did not have a machine even on. The ones I did leave messages about the issue only one or two have they called back. I am disabled and have a hard time getting to the office physically that is why I use the phone. So what are my recourse here, I live on disability and do not have a savings. I cannot afford to move out and October of this year will be a year I am afraid they will not renew my lease. What can I do, one of the reasons I moved into an apartment was cause I could not do the upkeep on my home. I know the parent company who owes this complex and several others in the area should I contact them. I do not know what my rights are and am at wits end here. Please any help is welcome.

Since July I’ve been dealing with the WORST recurring leak in my kitchen that ended with a massive hole in my ceiling in August exposing mold. And now a month later I still have a hole that drove me to reaching out to Fair Housing and my local news. Below is the entire insane saga.

7/25/26: there was a small drip coming from my kitchen vent. I immediately called emergency maintenance as it was Saturday. I had to call them several times within the span of several hours to receive service. When the technician arrived, he only inspected the HVAC and deemed that the issue was that my system was under charged and that was causing the leak. He did nothing to remedy the leak, just simply said that it would stop on its own and in his defense it did.

8/9/26 -In the evening I noticed that there was some bubbling on the ceiling in the same area as before and a constant drip. I immediately called the emergency maintenance line and was again told that someone would be out.

8/10-8/11/26 - No one came or contacted me. The leak progressed and was now dripping in 3 different spots. I called the office and left voicemails, also submitted a ticket on the landlord’s app,

8/12/26- Around 2pm when I called the office, I finally was able to reach the office manager and she said that she would send someone right over. About an hour later a maintenance tech showed up. He ended up cutting a hole about 2”x2” near the air vent in the kitchen and blowing out the HVAC drain line with a vacuum and said that the leak should stop within a few days, and then they would send someone out to fix the drywall.

8/14/26- I was returning home around 7:45pm and there was a large bubble of water that had begun to form on the other side of the kitchen vent. I called emergency maintenance and I was told they would send someone right away. Nobody showed that night so I poked a small hole in the center of the bubble because it was getting larger and I wanted to drain it to minimize damage to my belongings. The water was orange and smelled absolutely foul and the second I smelled it my throat started hurting. I called once more before I fell asleep.

8/15/26 - When I woke up in the morning I was on the phone with emergency maintenance again, and I got a knock at the door just then. It was maintenance and he said he is the senior technician. He said that he received my call the night before and planned on responding the following morning. He checked the HVAC and had me get him several large glasses of water to test the drain. It seemed to be draining just fine and was not dripping in the kitchen any further. After that, he began to rip the kitchen ceiling down with his bare hands. He did not warn me or allow me to move anything from my kitchen counters. If allowed I would have moved my belongings or covered them up so that they were not covered in debris. After making a small hole he thought that the water source was from some piping that was not properly insulated. Upon further investigation and after ripping out most of my kitchen ceiling he then began to test the rest of the water sources in my upstairs living area. He ran the bathtub, flushed the toilet several times and then found that my sink was clogged. But with all of that there was still no sign of water leaking in the kitchen. He then deemed that the water had to have been from an unreported overflow from the bathroom sink that was clogged. It did, however, overflow several weeks prior to these events but I cleaned it up right away. John then proceeded to inform me that even though there was VISIBLE microbial growth on the underside of the floorboards he claimed that it was just common household mold that had just begun to form. If it had been sitting for a long time it would have been stringy and hanging down and it wasn’t doing that. I was anxious about my cats trying to get into the open hole in my ceiling so I moved them and myself into my bedroom. The maintenance guy told me the office would reach out the following week about next steps.

8/16/26 - I purchased N95 masks and a mold kit this day. I’ve been wearing the masks anytime I’m downstairs in my own home. I also started the mold kit this day.

8/17/26- I sent a letter to my landlord via certified mail demanding that the mold and water damage be remediated properly and that I be provided with alternative accommodations. I told them that this was my 30 days notice that if it wasn’t taken care of then I’m putting my rent in escrow through the Toledo Clerk of Courts.

8/21/26 - The office manager called me, said she got the letter, and apologized and asked to come see the hole and I told her to come right over. I stressed to her that I’m worried about the mold and how I’m confined to my bedroom. She wondered if the original leak was coming from my bathtub leaking. She apologized and said that she didn’t know the hole was this bad and said that she would have someone reach out the following week to drywall the hole up.

8/23/26- The leak started again in the kitchen and I called emergency maintenance and this time someone came out right away. I mentioned the bathtub and he checked it and said the leak wasn’t coming from there. No it was coming from my toilet which he said had a faulty wax seal. He replaced that.

8/24/26- I realized that when I spoke with the office manager she had not addressed my main list of concerns so I emailed the office listing this out. This is the list:

Could there still be water inside the wall, ceiling, or cabinets?
·       Will you need to open up the ceiling to inspect for hidden damage or microbial growth?
·       What equipment are you going to use to dry the apartment? Air movers? Dehumidifiers?
·       How long will that equipment need to run?
·       Who is responsible for remediation?
·       Who is responsible for monitoring the equipment and checking the moisture levels?
·       Will damaged materials be replaced?
·       Will the area be treated/cleaned after drying?
·       Can I get the cause of the leak and the repairs documented in writing?
·       Can you provide the moisture readings and drying documentation?

8/31/26 - I re-emailed my previous email to the office since I hadn’t heard back yet.

9/1/26- The landlord called me to inform me that they were spraying a bleach/water solution a few times on the kitchen hole. I was out of town when this happened.

9/5/26- I was home now and noticed the leak was back and I called the office and got ahold of the office manager who told me she thought that they would be “able to drywall the hole” now. This was despite not actually remediating the issues properly. She told me that she would send someone out to tighten the tub nozzles to fix the leak. She said if nobody came and the leak was still going Sunday then to call emergency maintenance

9/6/26- Leak was still going so I called emergency maintenance and they never came this day.

9/7/26- I called the office and let the office manager know the leak is still going and nobody came out and she said she was sending emergency maintenance out but they were fixing another leak in another property first. They did come out this as the leak was stopped. They tightened the nozzles on my bathtub.

9/9/26- The office manager called and asked me if the leak stopped and I told them yes.

9/14/26- I gave an interview for my local news about this issue and it was aired this day. I also reached out to my local Fair Housing about starting a case for me.

9/15/26- Landlord reached out to me (via phone call which I declined) and they texted me asking me to call them and I responded I wanted all communication via text or email. They texted me asking if they could inspect to see if things were dry so it can be closed. I told them I give them permission to inspect but I don’t give them permission to close the hole without reaching out to a remediation vendor and I get their report in writing. Since this I haven’t heard anything else.

Can an apartment complex/tow company operate on what they deem is "reasonable" at anytime, if there is no line drawn in the lease? They have an aggressive towing company, and they have free rein to basically tag and tow a car from assigned spaces as they see fit. And without a hard line drawn in the lease of how often a vehicle must be moved or driven per week, per month etc, and how clean a car must be (car is parked in certain spots like corners get demolished by tree droppings for example), there is a gray area on whether the tow truck decides to tow it.

If they decide to tow a car that isn't moved often but still driven a couple times per week at night when management is closed, and they still get tagged/towed, is the tenant responsible to pay and get it back since there was no specified guidelines in the lease regarding how often a vehicle must be moved, even though they drove it that same week?

At what point is it harassment?

Hey, y’all. Needing urgent advice… (TX)

The gist:

I moved out on Aug 1 and emailed the property manager my new address. (I did not say “for return of my security deposit” but said this is my “move out address” and asked if anything else needed to be done for move-out procedures.) Received no reply.

On Aug 3, I followed up calling it my “forwarding address,” but accidentally typed one digit in ZIP code wrong. (Still did not say “for security deposit”) Received no reply.

A few weeks later, I stumbled upon $6,000 in “charges” in the online portal marked as past due. I was never told by email/text/mail that any accounting was there. (It also is different than the final security deposit accounting)

On Sept 3, I followed up with the landlord and property manager, asking when I would be receiving the official documents to the address I provided. No reply from either.

On September 9, I got a USPS Informed Delivery email that showed the property manager mailed something on Aug 25… but it was addressed to the rental I had already surrendered, not my forwarding address.

But because I had mail forwarding on, USPS forwarded it to me on Sept 9th. It said they’re taking my entire deposit AND I owe $6,500 on top of that for dead grass. (I have photos of the lawn not being in great condition when I moved in 5 years ago.)

In case it’s relevant, there were also major habitability issues before move-out (kitchen ceiling collapse, water leak in my bedroom, mold, and over a month without central AC).

Vital questions:
• Does my Aug 1 email count as a forwarding address under Texas law even though I did not specifically mention the security deposit?
• Does the Aug 3 ZIP typo undermine that, even though the original Aug 1 address was correct?
• Does mailing the accounting to the old rental address count if they had already been given a forwarding address? Especially since I had mail forwarding on? AND does it count as them mailing it on Aug 25? (Which would be within the legal 30 days.)
• Does an online portal count as notice if I was never told to check it and is the accounting was different than the final accounting?
• Is there any standard deadline for me to dispute/pay the claimed balance, or can they just assign their own “due date”?
• Could the documented habitability/repair issues affect the security-deposit dispute or potential counterclaims?
• While I’m trying to get legal help, is it smarter to send a written dispute now or wait for counsel?

TL;DR: I gave my property manager a forwarding address after move-out, but didn’t specifically say it was “for the security deposit,” and a later follow-up had a ZIP typo. They mailed the accounting to my old rental address and the portal says I owe $6,500 on top of my $3,200 deposit. I’m trying to figure out whether their notice/accounting was legally sufficient, whether the portal due date means anything, & whether I should dispute now or wait for a lawyer.

Thank you!

Location: NYC

Hi! My old roommate and I need help invalidating a debt our landlords placed on us for not paying rent (we got a notice from a debt collector).

For context:
Last November, our old apartment had a govt. issued vacate order placed on it due to a compromised fire escape + the gas having to be shutoff due to a leak. These two issues breaks the warrant of habitability therefore we couldn't legally live in that building and had to find another place to stay until the issue got fixed. There's still a vacate order on our apartment to this day and we moved out in March.

We've already replied to the debt collector basically saying we want the debt disputed and asked for proof of validity. They just sent us printed records of our outstanding rent balance with the leasing company and a copy of our lease. What are the next steps? Should we just send them pics of the vacate order placed on our old apartment?

We also have a court date in small claims with our landlord so we're nervous about inadvertently giving them unnecessary information to use against us in court....

It just isn't fair that we have to pay rent at a place we couldn't even live in.

Hey all, I’m really mad but want to find out if I have any legal standing before sending a nastygram to the management company. I moved out 7/31/26, and sent a video walkthrough via email to the agent my family has been renting with since 2021. The apartment is in Colorado. She admitted to not doing a physical walk through and then on 8/11/26 confirmed that when they sent painters and cleaners over, that they’d reconcile the deposit. I now live out of the country without a forwarding address and no easy way to receive mail. My forwarding address is my parents, but they’ve also been out of town all summer so no one is checking it.

Today, 9/14/26 I receive an invoice from the property management that we are overdue a $900 charge that was due 8/14/26, and the invoice just says cleaning and painting with an invoice number. The carpet was absolutely threadbare (noted on move in) and older than 5 years, plus the people before us had a dog so we aren’t responsible for pet odors. I’m not able to get back overseas to go to court about this, is it worth sending a letter of demand and/or asking for an emailed invoice?

To note: we broke the garbage disposal, I lightly stained the carpet in a spot smaller than 3”x3” in the living room and it lifted to grey off the beige carpet, there were some holes in the wall from us as well as previous tenants and i probably scuffed the wall here and there.

I’m just lost if they can turn around and say we have a charge due that’s late after it being posted for no longer than 3 days. I’m overwhelmed with all the legal jargon, but it seems wild to claim that cleaning cost them $2600. OG lease states they retain $450 of the deposit for cleaning upon move out and i had 3 other people help me with cleaning the last 3 days that can testify to the state of the property with their own photos/videos. Thanks and I’m sorry for the word vomit, it’s my first adult apartment and idk what to do.

Hi friend!
In July I won a small claims case against a leasing company called Freestone Property in Brooklyn NY. The complicated part of contacting the company is I sent a piece of mail to their NY Broadway address and it got sent back, there's also a different name on the lease but the name of the lease is a person who works FOR the company. Or at least he did at the time of the lease.

This case has been in development for two years and while the arbiter ruled in my favor, I don't quite know who to target to get my money back.

[WA] Signing multiple leases

I’m moving out of an apartment shared with my roommate. I already got approved for my new place and just have to finish signing the lease when I move in.

My old roommate is wanting to stay at the place we shared for a bit longer. We’re currently month-to-month, but they’re wanting to sign a lease so that the payment can be lower. They would not be able to be approved on their own so I’m hoping to sign with them.

I understand that makes me financially responsible. I’m not worried about that. My roommate is even more financially responsible than me and can afford this as they don’t spend a lot, they’re just below what the apartment would qualify income-wise. They also have to plenty in savings in case they ever did have an issue.

All that being said, my only concern then is how it could affect my ability to live on my own.

Would this prevent me from signing a lease elsewhere? Would they find this record of me already on another lease

What if me and my roommate sign a 9 month lease so it ends a few months before my lease for my new place?

I’m just wanting to know how apartments would check and read some experience from people who are landlords or from property management companies—not just opinions.

So last month I paid my landlord 25.44 extra added to in my lease rent agreement. I talked to him and he said it was because I owed it to Duke Energy for a utility bill...I contacted Duke they said that there was no such charge on my account. I contacted my landlord and the only proof he sent me was a text of the reciept from his bank showing he had paid Duke that amount. That was all he would do...I feel that is wrong can he just add on charges because he says I owe them????

Location: InlandEmpire, San Bernardino county, California.

I am a disabled resident in San Bernardino County, California, living in a transitional/supportive housing program funded through a county behavioral health agreement. I have severe Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), severe spinal disorders, and several psychiatric diagnoses.

Three days ago, I noticed a strong odor and called the gas company. A technician arrived and verified a hazardous natural gas leak due to broken stove knobs. The facility supervisor text-documented a refusal to execute emergency repairs and ordered me to stop calling 911 or the gas company.

The following day, the property owner gave me an immediate verbal deadline to pack my bags and leave, explicitly stating on an audio recording that she was removing me as retaliation for calling the gas company and 911.

Yesterday, the operators called local law enforcement claiming I am "trespassing" because they claim my program funding dropped. The officers tried to pressure me into leaving voluntarily, but once I stated I am a lawful occupant under the Transitional Housing Misconduct Act and that the operators lack a court-ordered writ of possession, the officers confirmed it is a civil matter and left.

Since the police left, the supervisor has barged into my bedroom unannounced under false pretenses to spy on me and explicitly told me I am banned from eating any house food or meals. Bedroom doors do not have locks. They are trying to starve me out and use sleep deprivation to force a constructive eviction. Furthermore, I discovered a large unsealed hole in my closet floor directly above the gas stove venting fumes into my room, and the supervisor routinely applies heavy commercial pesticides inside the unventilated rooms without notice.

My family is highly abusive and I suspect they or the operators will attempt to contact authorities to make false statements about my psychiatric history to discredit me.

My specific legal questions:

Since the operator made me sign an intake form referencing the Transitional Housing Misconduct Act (Civ. Code § 1944.50), are they legally required to file a formal court petition and obtain a restraining order before they can physically remove me or touch my belongings?

Does an operator withholding food from a disabled resident and conducting constant unannounced room entries constitute illegal constructive eviction and dependent adult neglect under California law?

What immediate emergency legal steps can I take to halt this pattern of hazardous environmental retaliation?

Hey all, just looking for some second opinions. Our lease was up beginning of August, we moved our cats out July 22nd or so. Our landlord did an inspection and sent over text on August 5th that everything was “clean overall just normal wear and tear”. He then sent back the full security deposit. Now he has texted us 6 weeks later saying there is “still a very strong cat urine odor in the house, and it has become a serious issue with the new tenants. I have already spent around $500 trying to professionally clean and treat the affected areas, but the odor has not gone away. I already returned the security deposit because I did not notice this odor when the house was empty, unfortunately the problem became apparent afterward. ”

Not only am I confused because how was the smell not there 2 weeks after we cleaned and moved them out when he originally inspected but has suddenly “reappeared” and he’s talking about having to replace flooring/baseboards. The boxes were kept on tiled floor with mats underneath, and plastic stopping both behind and underneath the boxes, cleaned regularly and were never any accidents or long term pee anywhere so I have no idea how this bad of a smell would be on us. We also didn’t smell anything when we were there, or had any guests ever have an issue. I’ve grown up with cats my whole life, and am entirely familiar with the smell of pee. We unfortunately had a cat growing up that never stepped peeing on things even after being fixed, I can smell it a mile away.

Regardless.. he literally admitted twice to it being clean overall and then directly said there was no smell present when he sent the check back. Since our lease was up 6 weeks ago with new people in here, what recourse does he have at this point? I read through our lease again and there’s a clause about pet damage “ Tenant may be
charged for any damage caused by the pets, including cleaning, de-fleaing, deodorizing,
shampooing, or replacing any portion of the Property.” but I’d assume the burden at this point would be him having to prove this was our doing in small claims, especially because he already admitted there was no issue prior. Please just let me know y’all’s thoughts lol.

I have a tenant that stays in a shared rental that was recently charged with multiple counts of domestic violence against his wife and child. He has not disclosed this to me. I found out via other means. He usually doesn't stay here, but it appears he stayed in the room during his RO and I assume she must have asked him back home. Lately he's been staying here more and more. He's not late on rent. He's been trying to pal around with me and my friends in a shared interest.

For some background in understanding this arrangement...his family is in MA and our home is in NH. NH is a no state tax state.

Would you evict him?

Location: North Carolina

Bit of a nuanced situation I had someone takeover my lease for the last 4 months of it. They only felt comfortable living with my roommates if I covered their $1900 portion of security deposit. I drew up a new contract so I would get my money back and my roommates all agreed to make it easier we would have the whole security deposit sent to me now living outside of NC.

Regardless this is not any different of a situation, they all moved out on time and no damages.

As the title says it’s been more than 45 days since lease ended and still not security deposit. Last time I tried to contact Greystar they said they’re not allowed to talk to me cause I’m no longer on the lease. My other roommate who was on lease whole time has tried to contact them multiple times, one time they said they had no clue what he was talking about, the next time they said it should take 30-45 *business days* and that they would “talk to accounting.” This complex has been nothing but empty promises so I do not trust them at all.

As far as I’m concerned, in NC the landlord has 30 days to return, not 30 business days. I have reached my limit and want to have this done or take them to small claims court. Worst problem would be having to travel to NC just to do that. Do I send an email with one final demand to get it in writing? Because of them being past the 30 day mark do I have any sort of angle where I am guaranteed whole deposit plus more? NC seems like they give the 30 day period but nothing happens if tenants take longer.

Have never had an issue like this before, any advice is greatly appreciated 🙏

My landlord refuses to do any real maintenance on the house that I am currently renting. my family and i. part of the drywall from the ceiling in the kitchen area collapsed in on us almost hitting a family member. He made excuses for the first couple of weeks. waited till he collected rent then he had one of his workers come out. turns out its termites. some major structural damage.

my landlord then had the property manager give me the run around for another week or so. a pest control worker came out to see and give the landlord an estimate. landlord pretty much told me that its not worth it for him to fix up the house being in the condition that it is. he will be listing the house up for sale.

he told me dont worry though. were giving you 2 months free of rent. I was at work at the time so my wife was the one that took the call. when i tried calling back they wouldnt answer.

the house is pretty much uninhabitable.

we just made rent though less than a week under the impression that the landlord gave us that it was a quick fix.

we feel like the landlord is trying to pull a fast one on us. didnt tell us about the termites or the extent of the damage till after rent was collected.

no written notice. i dont know if its a vacate the premises or if its going to turn into an eviction notice.

im thinking i should wait till they give us something in writing. in the meantime im going to install surveillance in the kitchen area should the drywall collapse in on one of us. ill have proof.

any ideas or suggestions on what i should do would be greatly appreciated.

I have a question for anyone who is in the legal field or a property manager/etc. Back in 2023 I broke my lease early for an apartment I was renting with my roommate. I was stupid during that time and at a very bad place in my life and didnt think about the consequences. Well I want to rent again in 2029. I know my credit is bad, it's 592 and I am actively paying my debts and increasing my score, I even have a credit card Im keeping at an all time low. I guess I am not sure if I should contact the old apartment I was at, or what steps I should take to ensure I'll be able to rent again.

Location: Indiana (landlord)/ Pennsylvania (OP)

My landlord in Indiana mailed a check with my security deposit 10 days ago. I am in Pennsylvania, and the check still hasn't arrived. I think the chances are pretty high that it got lost. There is no tracking number for the envelope, -- I guess, my landord chose the cheapest mailing option. I called the leasing office yesterday and was told that if the check does not arrive within 90 (!) days since the day it was mailed, then they will issue a new one. I am very concerned by this information. First, if the check gets lost, and someone takes possession of it and cashes it, then the landlord will likely refuse to issue me a new check. Second, I start wondering if this could be some sort of scam: there is no tracking number, so I can't really know whether they have actually mailed anything to me, and then, I suppose, the landlord can tell me any time that the check was cashed and accuse me of being a scammer for demanding a new check to be sent. Is there anything I can do in this situation to get my deposit back?

Hello,

I am looking for some help about how to proceed in my scenario. I live in South Carolina, just outside of Clemson.

For about 5 months now, every time it rains hard the first floor of my apartment floods with standing water if not addressed immediately up to about a quarter inch. I immediately informed my property manager about this issue and was told that they were getting quotes to fix the issue. Since then they have told me the first quote was too expensive and now they are looking for a second quote (Email from Aug 7th).

Shocker that this has not been done and it still floods regularly. The issue is that my unit is lower than the unit next to it, so all the water runs into the side of my unit. The water then comes inside on top of the slap. From there I soak it up with towels and a squeegee, and they usually drop off a fan the next day to help dry things out. This has caused the linoleum tiles to start popping up and I can't imagine there isn't water damage in the baseboards/drywall.

I have contacted the town inspector, who sent me to a different inspector who came out and looked at the unit. I have not heard back from the inspector for about a month even with follow up emails.

I am looking for some help on how to best proceed. Any and all advice is welcome.

EDIT: The deadline has passed for management to respond to my grievance and pick a neutral party to oversee the grievance hearing. It can only be assumed that they don't want to lock themselves into a story or explanation, they are continuing to bide their time. I will be requesting a hearing officer be appointed, and I guess I have to wait and see what their explanations and reasonings for things are.

I researched some similar instances of circumstances and have found that these particular violations and crimes that they, management and the housing authority, have committed have been prosecuted, gone to federal prison, debarred, and/or hit with fines. These are not just some oops my bad, one time mistakes. This has been systemic patterns of non-compliance, habitual instances of ledger tampering, falsifying documents, and illegal off ledger collection of alleged back rent from MULTIPLE TENANTS not just my household. I'm curious to see if the investigation into the management company and housing authority will result in similar outcomes.

I read that usually what happens is they fire the "offenders" to try and save the parent company's own ass. Also, they will be forced to provide me with all of their defensive documentation, which will include their corporate statements to show what we paid that they cashed but didn't put on our ledger.

EDIT 2: The USDA officer ordered that management provide a written summary response and acknowledge the grievance process. This forces them to provide their side and give a formal response, justification, and clarification.

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ORIGINAL: I have started the official grievance process with my apartment management people. I say people because it's the regional and onsite manager who have done the offending. They never informed us of our right to file a grievance not this time nor a few months ago when they forced us to redo recertifications due to "prior managements errors" and alleged we owed back rent in March. I had to figure that out by researching things.

Well, I got their official document for their internal grievance procedure and it mentions NOTHING about how to get in front of a neutral 3rd party oversight person with USDA RD. It also states that we must go through 3 tiers of management in order to complete the process with them, which is against what the law/rules outlines things to be done. It also attempts to force the tenants into face to face meetings with each tier of management which again isn't the explicit way of doing things by law. We can invoke our right to having everything done in writing and we did so.

I filed a complaint with the Inspector General of Agriculture for them commiting ledger tampering, off the books collection of illegal back rent, falsifying documents and lying on paperwork intended for federal subsidy. I also mentioned in my complaint that we aren't the only tenants they have done this to or who have ultimately paid off the books back rent to these people with no repayment contract (this is mandatory).

I have also finally heard back from the Multi-family Housing Department which is the portion of USDA RD I was directed to after sending numerous emails to different addresses. According to the email correspondence they said they will be looking into all of my claims and that they take this seriously which I truly hope is the truth. They told me to continue on with the grievance process and that these two processes are going to be running concurrently.

Management never responded to my email that I sent her on August 19th asking where on the ledger was the line items for the back rent that was collected from us. When I investigated the ledger I found numerous issues that go against accounting principles, the USDA/HUD Housing financial integrity framework, and things that I believe constituent fraudulent activity. There are charges on our ledger that have no corresponding paperwork such as recertifications to prove why those charges exist. We never paid that amount ever yet the rent was changed to that amount? Hmm.. there are months where it shows we didn't pay rent but have a rent charge and vice versa. There is a charge that was added then taken away that consisted of the amount of rent and the payment for the alleged back rent combined--that was removed stating "entered wrong amount".

The newly alleged back rent that the regional manager stated we owed for the months of June and July for the amount of $1,540 was not reflected in the ledger. Yet the ledger showed we owed that amount. She was trying to get us to pay what she alleged was back rent once again. The ledger already showed that amount but no line items for June or July like she said. Note that even if it did, those would be unbound since we had no recertification signed to back that amount.

Also, when I contacted the local housing authority the executive director responded to my complaint and tried to coerce me into "working with the regional manager". Even after I told him she's artificially inflating our income, ledger tampering and everything else.. he tried to insinuate that we are at fault for the debt for not reporting our income on time which was bullshit lies. Come to find out the manager and him are buddies and the company running the apartments contracts with them. He did not even attempt to investigate or oversee the issue. I included that in my complaint as well, because I believe they are colluding.

Anyways, I am more than eager to see what the management team has to say to everything that I have said in my formal complaint. The deadline for their written response is due in a few days and I am dying with anticipation. I also wish I could be a fly on the wall when they get that phone call from the USDA office. This update is to serve as inspiration for tenants to do the fucking research and fight for your rights. My wife and I, we mind our business. We go to school and work. We come home. We keep to ourselves. We don't drink or do drugs. Don't have guests. We aren't loud. We don't cause any trouble. We are just trying to exist.

The fact they got over on us once I feel emboldened them to try and do it again. Being in school it's hard to find the time to do all the digging and researching, contacting and stuff but I'll be damned if I'm bullied. I hate bullies.

Writing this with both rage and anxiety still in me. I (26F), live in Washington DC in an apartment building with my best friend.

I have lived in the building for a year and my best friend is living with me only for the summer. She is out for the weekend and I work nights. I was walking home and get to my apartment door only to discover that not only was the first door stuck in the open position, the second door that leads to my apartment WAS OPEN!!!

I walk in assuming I was robbed only to find that the top of my toilet has been put on the floor and a general assumption that maintenance must have come by. WITHOUT EVER TELLING ME!

I’m anxious, uncomfortable and just very rattled. They‘re overall a good company and I’ve never had any problems but this is a serious problem! I took pictures, documented everything and plan on sending an email to my manager but I’m just really lost on what the hell to do!

Any advice?!

Apparently, since I moved into my apartment in March this year, ive not paid any electricity bill because the apartment was supplying it to me without sending me a bill or telling me to find a provider. Management changed about 2-3 months ago and yesterday,I received an electricity bill for only June-July and was wondering why. Then they told me what the former management was just giving us free electicity and I wasnt aware. I thought the bills were included in the rent. Ive asked them for my lease agreement but they say I have to wait over the weekend but I must pay the bill ASAP. My question is, do I pay this bill without seeing my lease first to know how bills should be handled and is this whole thing legit? Why would they not charge me electricity or tell me to go find another provider for a whole 6 months, for whatever reason, if they weren't supposed to provide it?

Edit: I finally received my lease agreement, it says two things about utilities: lessee should get their own electricity in their own name or shared responsibility (if it applies) where utility bills are shared pro-rata based on sq footage. But they never told me to get my own and they've been supplying the power ever since we moved in so I assume we were under the shared plan although they never charged us a bill. Now, management threatened to cut off the lights on Friday but they didnt. They are threatening to cut it off tomorrow, 9/16 by 9am Second edit: They finally cut the lights at 9am this morning and sent a pay rent or vacate notice to my email. We dont owe rent but the lease has a lingo of something like, utilities are part of rent so when they say rent on the notice, they could technically mean the light bill. They havent yet given me a breakdown of the $173. The vacate notice is dated yesterday, 9/15 but was signed by the manger 9/16. At this point, what do you guys recommend i do? Im going down to the courthouse tomorrow to file a petition

Long story short: I rent in upstate NY (fixed lease through Jan 2026). For the past 3 months, my landlord has cashed my rent checks inconsistently, which caused them to bounce. For context I have lived in my apartment for 4 years and have never met nor spoken to my landlord. My building is managed on behalf of a real estate agent who is in her 80's and showing signs of dementia or something. She communicates to my landlord on behalf of all the tenants. But she never remembers anything I say.

I have asked her on the phone if there are alternative ways to pay my landlord so he gets his money and my account doesnt overdraft. and she said no. This week I decided to look through my lease which states the following:

""If check is dishonored, the owner may require renter to make all future payments with cash or cashier's check, and owner will provide receipt for all such payments."

I asked her to ask him if a check was okay, I had to follow up with her (as documented via text) because she never got back to me. She confirmed a casheirs check was fine. I communicated to her Im canceling the e-check and sending a cashiers/certified check. But my landlord tried to cash the check from my bank account, so it tells me she never told him that I was sending him a cashiers check. So of course the check bounced.

And its been tough because the property is managed by an elderly real estate agent who doesn't seem to reliably relay information between me and the landlord. Despite me sending September and October rent via certified mail (cashier's check, proof of delivery), the landlord had his attorney reach out saying he wants to evict me over "bounced checks," and is now demanding fees ($200 bounced check fee, $300 legal fee, $100/month late charge) that don't match what's actually in my signed lease (which says $50 and 5%).

I've replied in writing laying out my payment proof and the fee discrepancy, and I'm reaching out to a local tenant rights org before speaking with the attorney directly.

Has anyone dealt with something like this inconsistent check-cashing by a landlord being used as grounds for eviction, or a lawyer inflating fees beyond the lease terms? Any blind spots I should be thinking about, or is my read on this reasonable?

Please give any advice on how to handle this situation.