Landlord tenant law and court procedures

[Chan Reagan]

Location: Chapel Hill, NC

What kind of court/lawyer would a tenant or landlord go through if unfair practices were taking place?

There are several things going on in my situation where I am actually the tenant:

1. The apartment was uninhabitable during the time of my lease and the complex would not fix the problem(a ton of biting bugs that lived in the walls). I was unsure of who to contact to get help whether legally or otherwise. The apartment is part of a complex and there are two “managers.” One claims she can’t do anything without the other and the other is never in the office.

2. They took a pet fee out of my deposit when I moved out although there was no pet on the premises. They said there was a pet but obviously cannot prove it because there wasn’t one but now I have been charged several hundred dollars in fees for it.

3. I had Active Duty Military orders to PCS from that area to my Duty Station in Pensacola, Florida. I submitted my orders to them 2 months before the date that I was supposed to PCS. I moved out but was still charged for rent until the lease expired. Under SCRA, I should have been relieved of my lease responsibilities.

I’m wondering what options I have. There’s a lot of dishonesty in this business that they are running but I’m not sure who to get legal help from. Would any lawyer be sufficient? Should that be my next step since I’ve exhausted the relationship with the landlord?

Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

[Davido Davido]

@Chan Reagan  Most of your rights will be determined by the N.C. Landlord Tenant law.  I recommend you either read it, or at least google North Carolina Landlord Tenant Law, or North Carolina Tenant Rights, or North Carolina Tenant bugs, Tenant lease termination under SCRA, etc.   Read a few of the many relevant articles that describe your rights under the N.C. Landlord Tenant law.

If I was in your position, once you have a fair idea of what the law says, I'd send your landlord a written statement of what you expect him to do, (pay you $XXX for your damages due to bug bites, return all $XXX taken deducted for non-existent pet, return all $XXX taken for early departure, etc.).  Include a date you expect to be repaid (maybe 7 days).  On that date, if they haven't paid in full, file a small claims court case against your landlord, or hire an attorney to sue.