Landlord Question and Answer Forum

The landlord was given the deposit of $800. He asked my daughter to meet him at his business a few days early because he was going gout of town and she gave him another $800 for rent and he gave her the key. He explained the home had some work to be finished in it, but it would be done in time. She was not concerned as she was not moving in early. After she paid in full she went to see the home and it has a lot of work to do and his employees are not taking care of the work timely. He does not seem to care. The work that needs to be done is so much that she cannot stay in the home. The floor isn’t down, there are nails sticking out of the floor, windows broken, appliances are not in, the showerheads are off and the list goes on. She gave him the deposit weeks in advance, she met him at his business a few days ago as he required and paid him September rent and did not view the property when she gave him the rent but trusted it would be finished, yes big mistake. This is her first time away from home renting. She has been keeping him up to date of the lack of repairs and he seems not to be concerned and the repairs are moving at a snails pace and her move in date is tomorrow. He states she can have her money back but now she will be living in a hotel until she find something else if he does so. This will be costly to her. It’s a small town that is hard to find a rental in because of a plant that has brought in a lot of international workers. He explained he makes most of his renters happy but it sometimes doesn't go as fast as he wants. Which I find offensive as his employees had plenty of time to make repairs and they work on it here and there a few hours at a time. This man has forty properties or so. What are her options? She explained to him she would be staying at a hotel if he did not fulfill his commitment and he violated the contract. He has not responded but she just sent him the notice by text today. Many of the contacts have been made by text.

Susan, Unfortunately, your daughter is in a no-win situation. The landlord would likely be obligated to pay her deposit and rent monies back since the home isn't ready however, she should have gotten those promises in writing. Hopefully, the landlord will return the monies as promised then your daughter can just move on if she chooses. Believe it or not, this happens more often than you might realize. Landlords often find themselves at the mercy of contractors, especially for larger ticket items like new floors, etc which landlord might not be able or have time to do themselves. Because he has agreed to give the money back, if he follows thru, she will have no recourse. If he doesn't, she can , of course, take the matter to court.

Posted by Karen C, MD on Saturday, August 31, 2013