Alterations without consent

[Matt Pine]

Hello there!

I’ve run into a dispute with my property manager and am hoping to hear how others might handle this situation.

The property manager just turned over a nicely updated apartment and in addition to the normal repairs and painting, installed new 2 inch blinds and ceiling fans in the apartment.

The apartment never had blinds or ceiling fans and it’s simply not worth the cost to install. The cost of the materials was $1,500, and including labor I’d estimate this cost me about $3,000.

The property manager never ran this by me or gave me an indication these project would be completed.

Our service agreement is clear that written consent is needed when costs exceed $1,000 and in this instance these were not repairs and requirements needed to rent the property. The property manager also never sent pictures of the unit or gave me a heads up on any of the expenses to turn the unit, so there is no possible confusion about obtaining consent.

I’m interested to hear how others might handle this situation. Aside from this, the property manager had done a fine job.

Thanks!

Matt