I had a tenant move out recently. She paid her rent on time and was only late once. She moved in a year ago for a total $1475 (rental deposit payment), the first month was free because of a promotion that I was running at the time.
She stayed a full year but decided not to renew her lease. She gave proper notice (60 days) of her intent to move and upon receiving notice from her, I followed the Maryland State Landlord laws and gave her proper notice (10 days) of the date of the final walk-through, and returned her deposit within the 45 day limitation. She was unavailable to attend the walk-thru.
I inspected the property and found a damaged interior door, dishwasher not working properly, minor damages to walls. Totaling $400 and change. I sent a certified letter, which included the itemize list of deductions along with the cashiers check for the balance. The breakdown went something like this:
I have a cleared cashiers check, pictures, receipts, & other documentation to prove my point. So, I believe I got an excellent shot of winning in court. My question is: What, if anything can I countersue her for in court?
You don’t have any obvious grounds for a counter-suit.
**** If she screamed and yelled BEFORE she filed suit, I would ask myself, “What’s my time in court worth? Is it worth adjusting the charges down say $150, just to avoid showing up to court?” If so, I would offer that, as an annoyance-forbearance adjustment credit (without admitting guilt), and a signed acceptance of that agreement.
**** We are to assume the plaintiff disputes the repair offets?
**** If you’ve got verifiable, 3rd-party invoices/receipts, coupled with dated photos, you should be good.
If the date of the exit walk-thru was not stated on her notice, and you can’t prove she got the notice, and it’s not outlined in her rental agreement, then her failure to show up is your fault, and this would undermine your position.
Otherwise, if you did have a conversation with the plaintiff concerning the exit walk-thru, and she admits to that conversation in court, along with her inability to attend the walk-thru, then she has no case. It’s her responsibility to show up on schedule.
**** As an aside, all walk-thru schedules, details, and causes for default, and remedies to cure, need to be outlined in detail inside your rental agreements.
This way, failure to notify the tenant of your exit walk-thru schedules/procedures is moot.
Whether a judge accepts the rental agreement details as enough “notice” is another matter.
Make sure the plaintiff admits talking with you about not showing up to the exit walk-thru. That should be enough.
**** Next time, on the entry walk-thru, you take dated pictures of the interior (with the tenant present), getting at least one shot with the tenant in the picture, and then go through the unit and note and record any defects on your inspection sheet.
**** On the day the tenants have completely moved out, cleaned, and fixed everything they plan to clean and fix, you tour the unit with the tenant present, and take the exact same pictures you took the first time, for comparison, plus any damages that now show up, including carpet stains and what not, and you compare that with the list, and either negotiate more repairs and cleaning, or the tenant clears you to fix the items that crop up.
**** You can expect some tenant screaming, hissing, scowling, and threats, but it’s better to address this in person, than in court, and lose.
**** After an entry walk-thru, we give our tenants three more days to come up with items to add to the list, and then call it a day. This is more than any other landlords I know do. However, it puts the tenant on notice that we care how the place is cared for, and that we’ll be fair and reasonable over what’s normal wear and tear, and what’s abuse.
That three-day inspection improves our negotiating position, as the tenant was given plenty of time to tell us about any damages that weren’t their fault.
Also we do miss stuff, and so it’s good for us to discover that the 'drawer won’t open, ’ or the 'window lock won’t lock properly." It’s better and cheaper to find out now, than wait and depend on the tenant to perform remuddling work to our units.
If this were my situation, I would prepare an Affidavit of Truth and make an accounting of all the facts in chronological order and perhaps take the evidence you claim to have and label them as Exhibits to be attached to the affidavit. Then, I would file that Affidavit into the public record and send to the other party and give them a deadline to refute, in an affidavit format, swearing under penalty of perjury, with full and unlimited liability. When the other party does not refute your affidavit (which she cannot if you were telling the truth) and goes silent, then execute another affidavit of non response.
Now, you have agreement of the parties…an un-rebutted affidavit stands as agreement of the parties…I would then take that into the court and ‘stand on my paperwork’ without any further testimony…nor answering any further questions…your affidavit and non response shows agreement and therefore is the judgment…it is unlikely that any judge would rule against an un-rebutted affidavit.
After that, I would pursue the other party privately…through an administrative remedy…not publicly in the court or judicially. A private administrative remedy can counterclaim the other party and thereby making you the judge of the interaction by using affidavits that she cannot refute/rebut.
Then, take your administrative judgment and do a commercial lien process against her and a forced liquidation of her assets to compensate you for the financial injury she caused (and you claimed in your affidavit that she agreed through her non response)…this could include garnishments, foreclosures, and the like.
My problem with your list of charges is how you prove that your repairs were due to tenant abuse and not from normal wear and tear.
The door may be defensible if you have before and after pictures, but I question the dishwasher and the wall repairs. If you can’t prove tenant abuse, then your grounds are very weak.
What is the $15.50 for unpaid rent? What is that all about?
“I have a cleared cashiers check, pictures, receipts, & other documentation to prove my point. So, I believe I got an excellent shot of winning in court. My question is: What, if anything can I countersue her for in court?”
The above statement was in my original message. The tenant was $15.50 short on rent.
Tenant has not paid rent for over a year. For that year she keeps saying she is waiting for a large financial settlement from an injury lawsuit.
I received a letter from her saying I would get paid first as soon as she gets the money.
Her lawyer sent me a letter just saying she is waiting for the money.
I cant wait anymore. Anyone ever file a lawsuit like this without a lawyer. I have not money left after paying a mortgage for a year without rent.
We know it is perfectly possible to have a tenancy where A and B are the landlords and A the tenant. If A wants to sue for, say, breach of covenant, does he sue A and B, or just A?
You can’t. And if you did it would look dishonest to a judge. Otherwise you would have deducted it from the deposit.
Make sure you have pics or a note on a paid invoice that the dishwasher was damaged due to abuse.
You have to prove not wear and tear.