Comments on: True Story of Landlord-Tenant Dispute

By: Jason Dean

Jason Dean — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:15:54 +0000

That’s all fine and dandy — but the Agreement we had by virtue of me saying I intended to use the security deposit for last month’s rent and to let me know if that was unacceptable, him NOT telling it was unacceptable, and him then admitting to the magistrate that he hadn’t told me it was unacceptable, trumps. Yeah, I had no proof that he said I could have a cat — it was his word against mine, and honestly, I think he probably forgot… He was “honest” about everything else. But he admitted that he essentially told me (i.e., did not tell me it wasn’t okay when I specifically asked him to if it wasn’t) I could use my security deposit and last month’s rent, and then accepted a $75 check THAT EXPLICITLY SAID that by cashing it, we would be 100% settled.

I’m not anti-landlord; I’m pro-property rights and pro-contract. You’re just pro-property owner and pro-owner class. Big difference.

By: Paul Alstad

Paul Alstad — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 07:32:02 +0000

The magistrate had a bad day, lucky for you… You did owe the $180.00 in Late Fees – a Security Deposit is held in trust in your name and cannot be attached until after you have moved. A Security Deposit isn’t the same as a Last Months Rent. Clearly if rent was due on the 1st and considered late after the 3rd, 4th etc. and rent was not paid as due under the terms of your lease. The mistake of the landlord was that he didn’t immediately issue a 3-day pay or vacate following through until you paid or a stipulation of eviction was issued making allowance for all fees and rent due. Regardless the reason there’s a lease is to make things clear, like the fees due if rent isn’t paid on time. It’s interesting that when the lease worked to your advantage (your comment about it saying no pets and yet he allowed you a cat) you wanted to point it out but when you wanted to rewrite it by using an untouchable security deposit you didn’t want to follow it.

There’s an attitude that landlords are out to get everyone, but without landlords where would so many people live.

By: Carnival of Personal Finance #115

Carnival of Personal Finance #115 — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 04:45:19 +0000

[...] contribution to the carnival was my article, True Story of a Landlord-Tenant Dispute, which has received quite a few links, diggs, and general accolades from readers — if you [...]

By: Cash Money Life - Personal Finance with a Salute to the Military » Carnival of Personal Finance #115 is up at Free Money Finance

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 02:32:11 +0000

[...] Money Daily: True Story of Landlord-Tenant Dispute. This is a very interesting read, and I won’t tell you the outcome. It did have me worked up [...]

By: Best Finance Posts from Carnival of Personal Finance #115 at Clever Dude Personal Finance & Money

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 03:40:22 +0000

[...] loved Smart Money Daily’s article story of their tenant-landlord dispute. I KNOW you’ll enjoy the story [...]

By: dimes

dimes — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 01:21:57 +0000

Well played. I see landlord-tenant disputes all the time, and the tenants usually lose because they don’t bother to show up to court. A lot of times they would do better to show up; if they didn’t win outright, they might not get saddled with court costs.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 19:54:09 +0000

What a great story. I’m so happy that you were able to deal with this in a professional manner, and the magistrate sided with you. I agree with Clever Dude. I got a little worked up reading this. Something very similar happened to my parents and it ended up costing them almost $1000, though they never took it to court. The landlord used the $1000 to fix up the house and put it on the market. Jerk.

By: Clever Dude

Clever Dude — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 14:20:36 +0000

Awesome story. Congratulations. My heart was pounding as if I was the one arguing with the landlord!