Damages Claim against Deposit

[Jeff A.]

We just received a notice from the apartment manager we moved out of that they are going to charge $900 against our secrutiy deposit because of a damaged front door, cleaning, and some other minor stuff. He says that we caused the front door to be damaged and he is going to replace the door for almost 700 bucks.Totally rediculous.
We didn't cause the damage but he is blaming us.
Can we fight this? We don't have money for a lawyer, is there anything we can do. This is not fair.
Any help would be apprciated.

[Ralph S.]

Anybody can fight such a charge, right or wrong. Somebody will win, somebody will lose. Also, it could be totally fair. You don't give enough information to really understand this situation. So, read what I write understanding I'm not a lawyer in your area.

If the door damage occured while you were in the apartment, and is sufficient enought to require replacement, it is your responsibility, regardless of who actually did the damage. It wouldn't be considered either "normal wear and tear" or "An Act of God."

This is why there is renters insurance. It not only protects the tenant against loss of personal property, but damage to the property, too. It is also why landlords charge deposits against tenant damage.

If the damage existed prior to you moving in, you should have been able to list it in some kind of move-in inspection, gotten them to fix it, or at least show it was there when you moved in.

If the door was damaged to the point of needing replacement, then it should have been identified during the move out inspection, and if you were present, you wouldn't get a surprise when they send you the list of damages. Were you there? If nothing else, being at the inspections protects your interests, and the move-in, move-out reports are for the protection of tenants. It makes a record of the unit condition at the time of move-in/out. A bad front door is not something that would be discovered later, after the move out inspection.

If the door doesn't need replacement, and they are just charging you totally unfairly, contact any one of many tenant protection organizations (most likely a charity of some sort). They will often review and provide free legal advice, or even free representation if they agree with you. They may already know about your landlord if making unfair charges is a regular thing with them.

And one other thing. $700 is an awful lot to replace a front door unless this is an upscale rental. The landlord is obligated to charge reasonable amounts for needed repairs and not sock it to the tenant.

Don't really know which of these you would fall into, but, there are a lot of people who wrongly think they are not responsible just because "we didn't cause the damage."