No contract signed

My husband and I moved into a house rented to us by a family member. No contract was signed of any kind. We were told the price of the utilties and rent and paid all of it monthly together. We performed a walk thru at the beginning and nothing was written down or signed to say it was damaged by either part, however there were damages before we moved in. Now, a year and a half later, we have just moved out and did a final walk thru a couple days ago. We are replacing the hallway flooring due to a damaged spot in the vinyl and of course, paint touch up. Nothing else was mentioned that we needed to fix. Today however, I received a call saying that after a more "thorough" walk thru, the carpet would need to be replace and several spots on the doors needed to be repaired. These problems with the carpet and doors were there when we moved in, were not mentioned in the final walk thru, and was not agreed upon to fix. But now I am being told that it's all my responsiblity to fix it and several other things. She mentioned that they took pictures of the damaged items, probably meaning they would take us to court over it if we didn't fix it. Can she do that without a signed contract? I know we didnt do any kind of documentation on the initial walk thru but didn't think there would be any kind of problems when we took such good care of everything and are in the process of fixing the two things that we know were caused by us.

You have made 2 mistakes here. First, never rent to (or from) friends or family. It never turns out well in the end for some reason. And second, you failed to document the condition of the place in the move in inspection. What good was the inspection if you and the LL didn't document anything? Always document the move in condition of anyplace you rent. Even if the LL won't do it, you do it yourself.

That doesn't help you now though. Now you need to go back and look through photos and think of visitors to the place that could document the place's condition before you moved out. The earlier in your tenancy, the better. Do you have any photos taken in the place that would show the carpet or doors? Did anyone help you move in or visit you soon afterward? The moving people, a neighbor, a pizza delivery guy even? Anyone who would be able to say that he or she noticed the condition of the place at the time.

If you are unable to show the condition of the place at move in, and the LL takes you to court over this, it will be your word against his in court. It would be up to the judge as to who to believe. If you lost, you would owe all of the damages the judge awards them. I'm assuming you didn't get the walk-through inspection report in writing either? So they could add to it and say they found these damages at move out.

A cheaper solution may be to have the carpet professionally cleaned yourself and to touch up the spots on the doors. You did live there a year and a half and probabaly tracked in some dirt. This would remove your dirt and maybe be seen as a goodwill gesture if it does go to court.

In future, always get these in writing. If the LL won't do it, write down your own list of damages seen at move in and send them to the LL by certified mail, return receipt requested, and keep a copy for your records. You could then later prove to a judge that you reported these damages at move in. Take numerous photos at move out to show the condition of the unit then. In this manner, you would have your own record of pre and post tenancy condition.