All Forum Posts by: Yogesh Kumar

Countertop: Yes, that is exactly what I mean.  I don't know the life expectancy of a granite countertop, but they should last a pretty long time.  Just to throw a number out, if they should be expected to last for 30 years and the countertop was already 15 years old, then you would potentially be responsible for half of the cost of a new one.  Ah ha!  Something I forgot about granite.  It needs to be sealed about once a year.  I believe that is mainly to keep stains from potentially seeping into the porous material that granite is.  But if she never did that or gave you instructions to do that, maybe it negatively affected the finish also.

Yard:  Exactly!  If she didn't like the job your maintenance person did, than she needed to notify you promptly and given you a chance to contact him and fix whatever she didn't like, that was part of that agreement.

Faucet:  Yes, you are correct.  A faucet that has come to the end of its life is not your responsibility.  It falls under the category of "wear and tear".  Because, stuff breaks!  No matter how careful people are.  I have certainly had my plumber replace faucets in my rentals that had just worn out.  It wouldn't have even occurred to me to charge that back to my tenants.

If your LL sues you in small claims for the additional $2800, the burden will be on her to prove ALL the damages.  To get to the total of $8,000.  That's why I'd be shocked if she actually sued you.  But people have done crazier things.  I read your post that you didn't take pics/video before you moved in.  But I hope you did, before you moved out.  If not, that's okay also.  The burden of proof is still on her.  It just bolsters your story if you have pics to show the granite countertop looked fine when you left.  Or the paint job looked fine/ "this was the only room that had a slightly different shade, I don't know why she repainted the whole downstairs".  If it were me, I'd probably just prepare with a sheet of notes with bullet points for each claim of damage and why I don't feel responsible for all/part of each item. 

Fortunately, I've only been to court a few times, lol.  But it's a lot more of each side just telling their story, then it is handing the judge reams of evidence. 

@Yogesh Kumarid your landlord provide you with an official "written notice of damages" within 30 days of you moving out?  This is key as to whether you can file a counterclaim against your landlord.

1 and 2.  3-5 year shelf life for paint sounds about right.  But since the walls did get painted and the shades were off, I could potentially see where you would be responsible for that.  However, only for whatever room(s) themselves might have had the two different shades in them.  For example, if only one room had paint from both the first and second purchase, than only that room would need to be professionally repainted.  Not the entire floor.  That would be ridiculous and outrageous. 

3. Speaking just about the cost, yes, $3500 is probably in the rough ballpark to have a number of rooms professionally paint.  Paint may not cost much, but painting is time consuming and labor intensive.

Countertop: It's hard to say from your description.  Your LL would have an obligation to repair before replace.  It sounds like maybe the luster/finish of the granite was damaged.  TBH, I don't know much about granite and if that could be fixable or not.  Even so, they would only be entitled to the pro-rated cost of a new granite countertop.

Yard and Lawn:  This one seems pretty cut and dry to me.  You all agreed on X, Y, Z done by your guy for $230.  Was there any communication that the job he'd done was not satisfactory?  If so, then you should have been given the opportunity to have him remedy it.  But, if nothing was said to you, then that was a done deal and they have no right to come back to you for more.

Faucet:  They would really need to prove there was something negligent you did that caused the faucet to leak.  A leaking faucet is typically just a faucet that has come to the end of its life.  Replacing a faucet is a fairly quick and easy task for a plumber, but they'll charge one hour of time and sometimes there is a longer minimum for any service call.  Plus the cost of the faucet. 

Take this with the caveat that I am not a lawyer nor am I familiar with landlord/tenant law in CT, but I don't think the LL needs to provide you with proof of payment.  Legitimate estimates for legitimate damages, absolutely!  But I'd think they can charge for damages, whether they plan to get them fixed or not.

Here's an analogy on that.  Let's say you get rear-ended by another car.  The value of damages to your car is determined to be a new bumper, which costs $1200.  Neither the other driver nor their insurance company can demand that they are only responsible for paying you, if you get the bumper fixed.  If you'd rather pocket the $1200 and drive with a dented, scratched up bumper, that's perfectly fine.

Overall, do I think your LL is being unfair and gouging?  I do.  What can you do about it?  I'd write a response letter with what you believe to be are fair deductions and send it certified, return receipt.  If the LL is still unwilling to come to a compromise, then either they can take you to small claims court or you could take them.  I'd be really surprised if they took you to small claims court, considering they've already kept your $5200 SD.  I think they'd have a hard time proving to a judge that you are responsible for a total of $8,000 in damages and they know that.

@Yogesh Kumar this is why you ALWAYS take plenty of video and pictures when you move into and out of a rental property.  If your former kept your full $5,200 in initial security deposit it sounds like she's already making more money from you than she should.  You need to do your own research on this issue.  Simpy Google Connecticut landlord tenant law claim on security deposit".  Here's an except from a quick search I did:

When Do Landlords Have To Return Security Deposits?

Did your landlord provide you with an official "written notice of damages" within 30 days of you moving out?