Request for receipts (lease agreement)

In the lease agreement tenant has a deductible amount for repair done to the rental property. Tenant requested for a repair job at the property, landlord authorized for the completion of the repair but landlord did not notify tenant first for the cost estimate or how much tenant would be responsible to pay before the repair was done. About 1 month later Landlord invoiced tenant for the deductible amount but landlord did not provide to tenant copy of the inspection report for the damage and did not provide to tenant copy of the original invoice receipt from the repair service that performed the job. Tenant is willing to pay the deductible amount when the landlord provided copies of the inspection report and the original invoice receipt for the total cost of repair. Landlord refused to provide those 2 documents to tenant and said according to landlord's attorney and landlord's rights landlord doesn't need to comply at tenant's request for the inspection report and original invoice receipt. Why can't landlord provide the supporting document so that tenant may issue the payment for the deductible amount? In this situation does tenant has absolutely no rights to request for inspection report or total cost of repairs from landlord? How may tenant be responsible to pay for the full amount of the deductible demanded from the landlord when landlord refused to show proof of total cost? Since landlord also said the inspection report also documented that tenant caused further damage for the repair so why can't that inspection report be shared or provided to tenant? What is your suggestion in this behavior of the landlord?

This post is awfully vague. An awful lot of unnecessary third party dialogue. Please just state the problem in simple terms. I'm left wondering: How much is the required deductible? What was the nature of the needed repair? Where you at home at the time or are you sure the repair was done?

You had a problem and asked for repair. Repair on what? How was the item damaged? (Was it your fault?) How much work did the repair entail? (Was it something simple, like replacing a door knob, or something complicated, like repairing the furnace?)

The repair was, presumably, completed. Do you know, in fact, that the repair was made? Or can you only guess if it was?

Your lease states you must pay a deductible. How much is that deductible? Does it apply to all repairs, or only to those you cause?

You probably want to know why do we need to know all this to answer your question. If the repair was complicated, or something you caused, and your deductible was small, and you obviously knew the repair had been done, there would really be no need for a copy of the bill. IE- let's say you broke the furnace. A service call for a furnace wil run $100 or more. You need to have a licensed service person repair it to ensure its safety. If your deductible cost only $50, you really don't need the receipt because it would be obvious if the repair was not completed and that the repair would cost at least that much.

But what if you only broke a door knob (or it wasn't your fault)? A doorknob can be replaced by anyone with a screwdriver. Takes 10 minutes and no skill. Cost for 10 minutes of labor and a doorknob might be $30. If you had that same deductible, you would want to see that it cost him at least the $50 to be sure he isn't overcharging you.

Please provide more info. Whether you are entitled to a receipt may also rest on your state law. Please post your state.

Thank you for your information. I only wanted to request for a copy of the receipt from my landlord to be sure she isn't overcharging me for a total cost of repair that may be below my deductible amount on the lease agreement. But she said she consulted with her lawyer and she said my request for a copy of the original receipt is out of line and unreasonable. The fact that she is very unwilling to disclose the total cost makes me wonder if she has anything to hide. I am involved in paying for the repair but I don't see why it is such a big issue for her as landlord to share a copy of that original receipt with me as tenant.

I have a quick question.

I have recently moved out of a rental house, and my landlord refuses to give back my deposit and requests more money this is why.

She had waited till i scrubbed the entire house before she would even talk about my deposit, and then upon my completion of cleaning we did a walk through and she filled in a few comments which at most lets say $300 dollars worth of damage.My deposit is $1325. Now the original rent was $1250 but we paid an extra $75 for our dog so thats like an extra $900 a yr. So after the inspection 10 days later she sends me an email with all these extra charges and things that arnt on the signed walk through as well she listed alittle dog damage which i feel is what I paid the extra $75 a month for. Now I know that this damage she says was there wasnt, does she need proof/receipts of this damage as well wouldnt that 75 a month cover the dog damage?

What types of damages are listed? You must tell us so we can mount a defense against them. If she sent your statement within 10 days, any damages she found would fall within the state allowed period of discovery (during which a LL must check for damages and make a statement of what damages were found to you). Although they may not have been on the quick walk through, she found them within the state time limit so she can charge for any damages found during this time.

What specifically did she charge you for? Any dog damage that exceeded the $75 can be deducted from the deposit. That dog fee may not cover all damages. $75 is very cheap for a pet fee. Dogs usually cost $200-300 and even cats can cost $150. Once you list the damages, and state whether they were there, we can proceed to tell you how to challenge them.

This is the email she had sent me...A family moved in the day after our walk through so I don't understand how she could just find this stuff. between the brackets our my comments.Most of this is not written down on the walk which is the same day shes say she dicovered all this damage.Could you please let me know what can be down.

Gate repair chewed boards- need replacement $80 (two peices of 2x2)

Holes dug in yard need to be filled and resoded 150 (1 hole under fence)

Deck needs power washed to remove dog feces and urine 100 (deck was never urined on or pooped on)

Dog feces in yard still frozen and not picked up after every
use as agreed and urine damage because dogs not directed
to use same spot as agreed 100 (Clean 95% what I could see it's winter, willing to pay this.)

Insulation pulled out of garage N/C (never even rented it)

Lower level screen ripped, bent and torn- needs replacement 25 (Someone else rents the lowerleverl)

Dining area screen bent and must be replaced 25 (willing to pay this)

Entrance
Front door scratched- needs sanding prime and paint,
missing moulding, 60 (Just needed to be cleaned which we did)

Carpet cleaning 105 (Did this have the reciept from cleaning company)

Walls scratched, blood splattered, dirty, holes filled, 530
sanded and painted @ 30% of total cost (Nothing more than alittle wear and tear, walls were cleaned by use there was no blood. holes were tack holes.)


Blinds replaced in master bed room + install
Pictures available from pre-move in showing new
blinds installed 75 (Willing to pay, but they didnt cost 75)

doors repair 445 (No doors were damaged)

Total dog damages $
Fees
Bounced cheques x 2 150 (We had called her and got approval for those)
Late fees 280 (Told us it was ok)
Garage rental 200(there was no garabe she was there when we cleaned the house)
garbage to dump
left on move out 100
snow shoveled 4 x
@$50/ 3:1 ratio 150 (There was no snow to shovel)

If you want a detailed list you can e-mail me at this address.

Total owing to land lord $3035.00

Long list! Let's look at these:

Chewed boards and holes are pet damages and you need to pay for them. While the lumber may not be much, the labor to cut to size and replace the boards, and to stain/paint them to match the other boards on the fence is what will cost. Ask who did the work in the letter I describe below. $150 is too much to fill one hole and re-sod.

They didn't charge you for insulation in the garage so it isn't a factor. You say you didn't rent the garage, but did you use it? For storage of kids bikes or boxes, parking the car, or for any other use? If you used it in any way, you have to pay for its use since you did not agree to rent it and it was not included in your rental.

The screens - not sure if she meant first floor screens or screens in the lower half of a window. Ask which window to clarify.

If the dog scratched at the front door to get out, it will need more than just cleaning. What molding is the LL referring to? If you don't know, ask.

$105 for carpet cleaning sounds cheap if this was a house. Last place cost me $135 for 4 rooms. If you had a pet in the house, this needs to be done before you vacate.

On the walls, how long did you live there? How many people & pets lived there? It matters and is used to determine wear and tear or damages. One would expect a lot more W&T on walls after 4 years from a family of five than a single person in the same place for 6 months. If the same amount of damage appeared in both cases, it may be W&T for the long-term family but damages for the single person.

The blinds - were these wood slat ones or plastic miniblinds? Wood slats are expensive, miniblinds are cheap (but raise in price depending on the width and length of the window). What size windows? Wider windows cost a little more and extra long windows are much more expensive. Typical miniblinds only cover a 64" tall window. You have to buy special ones for longer windows.

Request info on what doors were damaged, how they were damaged, and what needed to be done to them (repaired, replaced, or what?).

Did you bounce 2 checks? What did your agreement state the charge was for bounced checks? Expect to pay that charge if you bounced checks.

Late fees - did you pay rent late? How many months is this fee for? Was this for the last month or two of your rental? What does your agreement state is the fee for paying late? (Are these fees exorbitant - over 10% of rent, or do they violate your state's limit on fees?) If they are for recent months, they can collect the late fees on your rent if they meet the above guidelines and are listed in your agreement. If these are old fees and they failed to collect them during the course of the tenancy, it is doubtful a judge would allow them now.

Garbage to dump? Did you leave bags of trash? Large items that were left in the rental -old furniture or things that had to be hauled? Ask what this is.

What is the snow shovelling charge? Were you responsible to shovel the snow at the property and didn't do so during the course of your tenancy? Did you leave after a snow storm? Request dates for shoveling.

Now, write a challenge letter. Contest each item on that list. Ask questions and request verification. Make the tone of the letter businesslike. State why items should not be as much as they are charging and explain why they should be cheaper. Send this letter to the LL by certified mail, not email, and send it return receipt requested. Keep a copy for yourself. Ask that they reply within 2 weeks to explain these charges further to you. IF they fail to respond or you can't come to an agreement, you need to file a case against them in small claims court.

If you go to court: Do you have any documentation of how you left the place? Photos? Impartial witnesses (not family or friends, perhaps movers, utility people, or even a pizza delivery person)? How about a statement from the new tenants? I hope you have more than the quick move out statement. You may need more depending on what state you are in. Good luck.