Am I being scammed by my landlord after being evicted?
My roommate was behind a full months payment in rent on our apt.
Now at the time of eviction the rent that was due was $1010.25
I had 3 months left on the lease.
Some people were saying I will have to pay the remainder of the rent.some say I dont.since the eviction was a break of contract.but either way.3 months additional rent would have brought my total to $4000 (that is if I had to pay the rent for the rest of the lease).
Now I got the collections bill.and its 3000 additional.
They wont tell me what the other charges were.
And heres a question.
in Michigan.
isnt it a law that when someone moves out or rerents
that the carpet of the residence must be changed?
Im sure that they cannot charge me 3000 for changing carpet in a 2 bedroom apt.let alone charge me for something they HAVE to do.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Oh this was in Ann Arbor.
Oh, the Eviction was final.court cost and all (1010.25).
Answer:
you have to call the collection agency on this one. If the landlord did not sue you in court and get a judgment, the collection agency has nothing but the landlord word to try and collect so call them on it. Send a letter to collection agency contesting the amount, do not be specific, request in writing all receipts for damages, request copy of lease to show you broke lease, then inform the agency you are contesting the charges in court and believe landlord charges are fake , thus until further prof the shall cease and decease all correspondence or reporting to credit bureau
Go in person to the office of you local Housing Authority and see what they tell you. Good luck..
Actually, the reason they charge you a security deposit is because they DONT have to replace everything in the apartment after every rental. Apartments would not be financially feasable if you had to replace the carpet each and every time.
You also have to consider that the breach of contract was not on the part of the landlord. You were evicted because YOU breached the contract by not paying the rent. Was your roomate on the lease too?
The fact is that mostly likely you ARE responsable for the payment of the lease and for any damages in the apartment. Your sole recourse may be to sue the roomate whose irresponsability led to the eviction.
The 3,000 add'l is not collectible. Landlord laws generally state that the landlord has a duty to mitigate the damages of an eviction. He HAS to try to re rent the apt for those last three months. If he wanted to collect the last three months, he'd have to get a 2nd judgment against you for that specific amount. He'd also have to prove to the judge that he tried to rent it out.
You owe the judgement amount at 10% interest per year...so right now, you owe $1010.25 + plus 8 months interest.
There is no law that requires a landlord to replace carpeting w/ every new tenant.
If you plan on paying the $1010 judgment. Pay by check to the LANDLORD only..and send it certified. Then after its paid, you can go to Court and request a Satisfaction of Judgment.
Don't deal w/ the collection agency. And tell them you will/are paying the debt to the landlord directly. If the landlord refuses your certified mail..just keep the envelope (unopened) and save the money. Then when you have the total amount..ask the Judge what to do.
I agree with Paula.
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