Contract Forgery & Malicious Acitivies...

State: Utah
BACKGROUND - If you aren't in for a short novel i suggest skipping to the REAL ISSUE or simply the question.

My wife and I began renting in August to a home that we have now found out is only zoned to rent out 1 level while living in the other (it is a home with a finished occupiable basement and is renting out both areas).

We had several small issues (cable was promised and not provided, a light was improperly installed and a fire hazard, my wifes certified electritical professional father replaced it with a much better and safer life [this actually happened twice] at which the landlords then became very upset (it was an extreme upgrade, and now looking back I see that it was technically against our contract, i feel it was a very nice thing for us to do on their behalf.). FYI: We are renting for a flat 850/mo all util included, to add cable ended up making rent 900/mo.

Now to the real issue. We had a plumbing problem (main kitchen sink clogged). A VERY small amount of vegetable material (cooked potatoes/cooked carrots) went into the disposal (no previous instructions for the disposal was listed) from the remainder of a stew left in a bowl. It was about 6:00pm when this happened. The sink was almost to the top of the brim when my wife noticed it. We attempted to snake the clog ourselves (we have a small 10ft plumbing snake) and were unable to remove the clog. We called plumbers who 2 out of the 3 we called said that it could be a main clog and that if we flushed a toilet/used the shower we may flood the house. We attempted to call our landlords 3 times. We found out later they left town without informing us. We then called the plumber and it was $261.00 (this included the almost 2 hours of labor) in fixing the clog. The plumber determined that the clog was a direct result of an excessive amount of sludge in the very old plumbing system (the house was built in the 60's or earlier).

We got a lot of crap from calling at night and not waiting for a response, we attempted to explain that we didn't want to flood their home. Our contract said that we pay for the first 50 of ANY repair and they cover the rest. We agreed on this as did they and that is what initially happened.

Also: Our landlords at this point believe that we did not have a copy of the rental agreement per my request of an additional copy, it was actually left at a relatives home.

THE REAL ISSUE:
Our landlord comes about a week later to our home when we get back from class (we both attend school full time and work full time, so finacially we don't have much room for error) and explains that "They just don't know" about the plumbing. He then produces a contract that says we have to contact them and "give 7 days written notice for ANY repairs" (exactly what it said ) and that failure to do so would result in us paying in full. This contract contained our signatures and printed names.

We (not having the real contract on hand and trusting the loser) pleaded with him that we meant no harm in doing this and infact our intentions were only to go about our daily lives (showers, bathroom breaks, etc.) without destroying his home (flooding, which we WOULD then be responsible). We showed him the pictures we took of the extreme amounts of sludge in the pipes (clogging all but 1/3 of the pipes width with solid mass). He said he would "give us a break" and promptly left with the contract that he brought.

We found out very shortly afterward that he had forged our signatures and that the contract he produced was very different from the one that we had signed, and wrote in detail the experience that had just taken place along with dates. (we also at this time noticed that there was no rental dates (i.e. 12 month lease, etc.) on the contract that we signed. We were very upset but called and asked him for a copy of the contract that he brought.

Three days later he left at our door a copy of the ORIGINAL (the real) contract and stapled to the back (i am assuming by some freak accident) was THE original contract. And on the third page his ACTUAL (in blue pen) attempts at copying mine and my wife's signatures and printed names. [BINGO]. Now for my question...

THE QUESTION:

We are since moving out and they are trying to fight us to keep the 211 dollars of the plumbing that they paid and also ADDITIONAL damages (that are obviously wear and tear, minus a 4 year old swamp cooler that's cord was damaged by a vacuum and we had professionally replaced so that it runs just as it did before) in the amount of 450 dollars of our 775 dollar deposit.

What should we do ?
Should we turn them in for their wrongful deeds (do we have enough evidence to do this?)
Should we just eat the cost and be thankful there wasn't more?
Should we sue?
We REALLY need advice.
Any advice would be VERY helpful. Thank you

- Dan

If you didn't wait 24-48 hours before contacting a plumber, you didn't give the LL a chance to repair before you handled it. If this is the case, you are responsible for the repair costs. You have to allow the LL a chance to repair before you can do that. In an emergency, you need to wait 24-48 hours, if not an emergency, you may have to wait up to 30 days for them to repair.

Additionally, you can't change lights or make upgrades without the consent of the LL. Even if you believe it to be an upgrade, the LL has the right to approve or disapprove of it. If it is an item needing repair, you must contact the LL for these repairs. This is why the LL got upset when you had a relative change the light.

The same holds true for the plumbing. You were to contact the LL and wait for his repairs. If you could not contact him or get repairs within 24 or 48 hours (depending on your state's law), THEN you may contact your own plumber. Not until. If you were unable to flush the toilet or use a shower for that period, you would be due a rent credit for those days.

I can't really comment on the contract since I haven't seen it or the adulterated one. If the LL forged your signature, you would not be hgeld to that contract in court.

Also, without knowing what additional damages that you believe are wear and tear, it is impossible to comment or judge these.