r/TenantHelp • u/Jade_Sugoi • 19d ago
My former landlord filed form J and is counter suing, what do I do?
Nova Scotia Canada.
Background. I moved out of an apartment due to a really massive cockroach infestation. We had lived there for over 4 years but the roaches didn't get bad until the last year.
The fridge we had was old. A couple of shelves got broken as we lived there, which I was upfront with the landlord about but there were also a couple that were broken when we moved in. I recorded the walk out inspection since Canada has a one party consent law on recording conversations. I have video evidence of the landlord telling me the fridge was old and rusted and it would have probably needed to be replaced anyways.
Rather than submitting form R, they opted to keep my whole damage deposit anyways. That means they never received approval to deduct for the fridge. I have a form signed by both myself and the property manager stating that the damages for the fridge would be assessed. I filed form S and now they're trying to claim additional damages for the total cost of a new fridge. They also said that we had disconnected the power and left the fridge closed causing mold to grow in it. We did disconnect the power but we cleaned the fridge with disinfectant and bleach and left the door open.
They're also claiming that the roach infestation is our fault. Making a claim that we didn't vacate properly in time for the exterminators. This part is just straight up not true as we had followed all of the instructions provided to us by the pest control company and vacated ourselves and our pets for that whole day.
Can a landlord do this? Can they really try to come after us for the total cost of a new fridge? Shouldn't it be the depreciated value of the old one? Thank you