All Forum Posts by: Il-Hyung Cho

Is there such thing as late security deposit fee?
Normally landlords would collect deposit before handing in keys, but it was Saturday when we arrived and they allowed me to move in.
Well, the apt was very dirty and some items were broken/missing. The landlord prmoised me to clean and fix those things, and they've done some cleaning/fixing, but not all the items they promised yet. Since then, I was not asked to pay for the deposit and I almost forgot about it, but lately the landlord found it out and charged me $100. They also charged me of late rental for October even though I paid on time. They did not provide me a receipt.

I shoud have asked for a receipt, but I personally handed over my check to the landord in their office before due, so I thought it was OK. But apparently not.
Even, they did not notified the late fee in direct words. My wife found it out in a print out that I brought from the landlord office.

Any adivice to resolve the issue?

Yes, dirt can be cleaned. But when it is combined with many others -- punched in bedroom door, molds/mildews in bathrooms, greasy oven, broken/missing shelves in refrigerator, broken blinds, ..., some of you may just wonder why you have to live there at all. Of course, if the unit is still located in one of the best neighborhoods, with nice traffic, nice view, cheap rent, things may be a bit different.

Molds/mildews can be cleaned. Oven can be cleaned. Floor can be mopped. Broken/missing refrigerator can be fixed/reordered. On and on. That is pretty much what my landlord told me: with all those things combined, the apt is still legally rentable. I was curious if it is really true, and if there is anything tennants can do about it.

No place can be ever spotless clean, even for a brand new house cleaned by a professional cleaner. However, a rental unit needs to be in reasonably clean condition for new tennants. My agent/friend (?) said it was OK and also the landlord promised that it would be professionally cleaned before moving in. But it was not even close to move in condition, and that was probably why my landlord offered me to stay in two nights in a hotel until it gets cleaned. He admitted that he contracted a cleaner to do the cleaning job and did not check the condition of the unit.

The question is, when a rental unit's condition was so bad by time moving in, do tennants have a right to refuse to honor the signed lease without any penalty?
Or, is it all tennants' fault to sign the lease? I don't think all tennants sign the lease after seeing the units are cleaned. Landlords would advertise their units long before current tennats move out.

Thanks for your reply.
The landlord apologized rather sincerely and tried to correct things. He offered to clean it up as soon as he could, by even offering two nights of hotel. Somehow, I backed off and decided to sub lease the unit. The bathroom walls, kitchen floor and the carpets were cleaned in next 2 days, but other things -- blinds, punched in doors took more time. The refrigerator still works but with shelves ducktaped and cracked/missing parts. The oven was only partially cleaned -- the upper portion still has lots of grease.

I stayed two nights in my friend's house and instead decided to use $200 (of hotel expense) to sublease. Well, that money could be only used for sublease but I am still living in the unit. I was rather naive to expect that the landlord would try to sublease the unit. I also tried it by myself by putting an ed in craiglist, but none were interested in a subleasing unit while there are still lots of vacant units available in town.

I am kind of settled in the unit. I still don't like to stay in the unit, but what I can do. Particularly, the bathroom still smells bad even though we tried to apply as much air freshener. I later found that my unit was used by 4 college kids. I even tried a couple of lawyers in town but none interested. As the matter of fact, my landlord is the biggest in town and I was told that they have one of the best lawyers working for them.

Anyway, I tried to videotape and picture as much detail as I could. According to my landlord, the unit still does not have any serious issue that prevents them from renting. Which means, I guess, they can rent a unit as long as it does not contain hazardous material (mold, lead, ...), and as long as they are willing to clean it after it is rented. Which I guess means, they are not obligated to rent a clean unit and they would be fine as long as they offer cleaning later on, however long it takes.

Thanks for your reply.
I checked with the landlord. He told me that he subcontracts the cleaning. He told me to send the cleaning crew again.
Well, I don't know how the law works in WA, but what I am afraid is to deal with such landlord for a whole year. He said that the unit would be professionally cleaned, but it was not. He said he would send a cleaning crew again, but how would I be sure how soon and how nicely?
I was to meet him today at his office to sign the check off list and pay the deposit but he did not show up. I called their numbers and left messages, and after 10 minutes he responded and he would meet me an hour later. Well, it Saturday and I cannot expect promptness, but do you see the pattern?
Would I stay in the duplex for a whole year and deal with such landlord? Well, I would rather find out a way out from this right now. Then, how?

I got into my rental duplex last night. Before signing the lease, I asked one of my wife's collegue to check for it. (I was in MI, now I am in WA.)
He said it looked OK, and the landlord said the duplex would be professionially cleaned before move in. What I found was dirty floor, dirty oven, dirty bathroom (walls with molds and strange orange/brown color stuff), not working blinds, window screens with many holes, front porch with lots of spider webs, holes (punched in) in a bedroom door, etc. (I am in a college town.)
What is my choice?
I already paid the first month and the last month rent. I still need to pay for the security deposit.
Can I back off and ask for a full refund? This landlord seems to be a typical one that would give tennants a headache after headache.
Can a landloard legally rent a property not cleaned?

Thanks for your help,.

Thanks a lot.
Now I feel much more informed. Anyway, my plan would work well with students academic year.
I know how pig house looks like. They also call it animal house. One of my friends (20 some years ago) had spaghetti noodles stuck all over the kitchen walls. When he cooked, he threw a piece of noodle on to the wall and see if it sticks to see if it was cooked just right.
One time I saw worms in his trash can. The carpet was never vacuummed. The list goes on and on.
Not all college kids are like that, but still many are pretty wild, as we all know well, since many of us were not much different when we were young.
I will try to get their parents signed on the lease if I decide to rent to those kids.

Many thanks.
It would be a great help. I live in Michigan. Some college kids showed an interest to rent my house. It is 3 bedroom, 3 baths, 1800 sq foot, full basement with a bathroom. 4 students will be using it, and I was a bit scared of wildness of college kids turning into rogues. :mrgreen:
For full screening, may I ask students pay for the service? Or would I need to pay? I remember that I had to pay such fee when I rented an apartment.

This is my first post. :oops:
Hello to everyone.

My family will be away and come back in one year. I am going to rent my house. Is there any FAQ for those who want to rent their house?

1. Once I found a tenent, I would need to have a rental agreement. Is it legally bound?
2. How may I screen the tenant?
3. I would need to collect a deposit, but how much would be enough but not too much? One month rent?
4. If the house is damaged by tenants and if the deposit is not enough to cover it, what can I do?
5. What is my option if the tenant does not pay rent? Evict them? I guess it would be spelled out in the rental agreement, but I wonder how binding it is.

Many thanks.