The end of a lease can be a troubling time if you have had issues with keeping your apartment clean or free from damages. Maybe it was a bad roommate, or a wild party, but now, you are at the end of your lease and your apartment is NOT in the condition it was when you first started renting. You move out and leave the keys on the table and cross your fingers that your landlord won’t be calling.
Several weeks go by, then all of a sudden, you get a bill in the mail for the cost of repairs to the property that you caused. What do you do?
If you, your roommates, or guests, caused damages that were above and beyond the amount given as a security deposit, your landlord has the right to bill you for damages, and take you to court if necessary, to pay for the cost of repairs.
Getting a bill for damages is something that is not that uncommon. A security deposit exists to protect the landlord against an damages that a tenant might make to the unit while they are living in it.
Many times, the actual cost of repairing those damages are well above and beyond what the security deposit actually was. On top of that, you have the problem of unpaid rent at the end of the lease, and before you know it, there is a hefty bill showing up at your new place.
Obviously, let’s get the first thing out of the way. As a tenant, you are living on someone else’s property. This property is not yours, it is the landlords, which is why it is called “renting”.
This means that you have to live and abide by the rules your landlord lays out for you. Every single lease is going to have the provision that “The tenant is responsible for any damages above and beyond normal wear and tear.”
If you want to know exactly what a landlord has to pay for and what you as the tenant have to pay for, I have written an entire article on just that topic. But basically, if you break it, you have to fix it. Anything outside the realm of “normal wear and tear” and you are going to get a bill, or have the money deducted from your security deposit.
So, Yes, your landlord CAN charge you for repairs.
How Much Can A Landlord Charge For Repairs?
Landlords can charge fair market rates for labor and materials to make the apartment whole again. If you think you are being charged too much, consult local contractors for pricing, or contact an attorney.
There have only been a couple times where tenants have challenged me on what I listed out as the cost for repairs when sending them a bill. They were appalled and outraged at how much some of the things cost to fix.
In reality, I should have an estimated cost of repairs for most everything in the apartments posted on our complex’s website so that tenants can see exactly how much it costs to fix or replace something.
It isn’t cheap. Damage a bit of plumbing and you can find out really quick how expensive it is to repair something.
To be fair to tenants who are sent a bill, most states require that a landlord itemize out what they are charging for, and how much each of those things cost, so the tenant has full disclosure of why their security deposit is being taken, and why they are being sent the bill.
That way, if the tenant has any questions or wants to dispute the charge, they have the information available to do so.
In the cases where I have had to deal with that situation, I always give the tenant the choice of finding someone to do the repairs for cheaper than what was quoted to me.
Every single time, without fail, a check shows up in the mail a week later or so for the full amount because they can’t find anyone to do it cheaper either.
Sorry, folks. Housing costs money.
Can A Landlord Make You Pay For Repairs After You Have Moved Out?
While different states vary, a landlord usually has quite a length of time they can charge for damages even after the tenant moves out.
Some tenants erroneously believe that if they just ditch the place, the landlord won’t be able to find them, and thus, not be able to charge them for any damages that are done above and beyond the security deposit amount.
This is a bad move. Not only will collections find them, but they are going to have court costs added onto the list of damages as well. We live in a day and age where everyone has some sort of electronic and online footprint, and collections agencies are VERY good at tracking down those people that owe money.
Can My Landlord Make Me Pay For Damages?
A landlord can make you pay for damages if they have a record of what legitimate damages you caused, the amount it cost to fix, and how much over your security deposit the charges went.
As I mentioned above, landlords can send you to collections. And in my experience, when I have to go into court to get a judgement to do so, the people I am taking to court have been there before. The judge has had to deal with them before, and it doesn’t take much to convince the judge that the damages are real and to put a judgement out against the tenant.
The judge knows that the landlord would rather be ANYWHERE but in their courtroom, and for most small claims matters, only a few judges or magistrates in the county are going to handle them, so they see repeat offenders all the time. They know that the landlord has better things to do with their time than do drag someone to court unless it was warranted.
Now, sometimes I’m sure it’s not warranted, but I have yet to meet a landlord in real life who would rather spend all the time, money, hassle, and stress to take someone to court, file all the paperwork, wait for weeks to have a court date, get a judgement, then send them to collections and wait even LONGER to just HOPE to get some of their money back.
It just rarely happens.
MOST of the time, the situation is a matter of principle, and the tenants have screwed over the landlord SO bad, that they are taking them to small claims court on that matter of principle alone. They know that it is going to be a long, hard process to get any of their money back that they lost, but they are willing to do it as a matter of honor.
I have done this, but only to those tenants who have lied, cheated, stole, been terrible tenants, lied on their application, lied about their references, and lied about their finances.
There is only SO MUCH background checking that a landlord can do, and while most of the time, the systems do a pretty good job of it, people do absolutely fall through. I have one of the most vigorous background and credit checks I can find, call references, and employers, and I STILL get apartments trashed from time to time.
For me, I am not only a landlord, I am a human being too, and there is only so much abuse you can take before things become a matter of principle.
Nobody has time for that crap. Not the tenants, and not the landlords. The best thing you can do is learn how to be the best tenant possible. It will reap dividends for you many years down the road.
How Can A Landlord Prove Damages?
Visual evidence, such as photographs, are the easiest way to prove or disprove that damages occurred in an apartment.
I tell everyone on Apartment School, both landlords and tenants alike, that they should take pictures of the apartment on the day the tenant moves in, and on the day the tenant moves out.
With digital photography being so easy with phones, it is a no-brainer to do for both parties. I have the manager at my apartment complex take detailed pictures of every room before a tenant moves in, and after they move out.
That way, if there is ANY discrepancy at all, we have the photo evidence to back it up. I am always MORE than happy to provide that evidence to the tenant as well if they want to dispute something.
But if your landlord is thinking about taking you to court, more than likely they have photographs of what happened in the apartment, and it is probably not going to bode to well for you in court.
Even if they just have pictures after you left and it was severely damaged, it is going to be hard to prove that those damages weren’t there before you got there.
But if they WERE, then that is just all the more reason to cover yourself and take pictures of the place when you got there and when you left. That’s a perfect way to ensure you get your security deposit back as well!
If you receive a bill from your landlord for damages, chances are the damages were so far above even the security deposit that it was worth their time to come after you for the cost of repairs.
Remember, this is the landlord’s property that you are living on. Treating other people’s property with respect is Rule Number 1 whenever you are dealing with other people’s things.
If there is a chance that the damages they are coming after you for are not legitimate, that is a good reason for you to take pictures on the day you move in and on the day you move out to put to rest any dispute you may have with your landlord.
