Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Florida
My recently ended a 1 year apartment lease on Saturday, July 31, 2010. I did what all responsible tenants do when the lease ends, cleaned up. So me, the other tenants and others, arrived at the apartment around 3:00pm and finished cleaning the house about around 9:00pm that evening. A month later I receive charges such as:
Electricity Bill...............$50.00
Trash Removal.............$200.00
Painting.......................$287.50
Screen Replacement...$35.00
Cleaning.......................$190.00
Carpet Cleaning...........$90.00
Bulbs/Globes...............$30.00
Drip pans.....................$16.93
Blind Replacement......$20.00
Yard Cleanup...............$50.00
Additionally says he has pictures to backup his claims. So he sent me a few and when I saw them I was appalled. The landlord took pictures of the apartment before the final cleanup was complete along with the date 7/31/2010 and no time. He claims he came after 12:00pm. I talk to him to dispute these charges. I asked him the cleaning company he hired about the trash removal and he call them and successful they confirmed that there wasn't any trash left behind, so he removed the trash fee of $200.00, but left the Cleaning fee of $190.00 because he stated that it needed to be cleaned and he couldn't remove it.
Next I stated that their were no screen there and I listed them on our initial move in sheet, he claimed he missed that and removed it.
The last charge I wanted dispute was the Painting Fee of 287.50, which he claimed is half of the charge for painting, he claimed that the apartment need a touch up. I told him that painting is only need if its beyond reasonable wear and tear, and if he took those picture it should show that the walls were clean. He didn't remove that charge. All the other charges I couldn't really prove or it was legitimate and I didn't know to pictures myself.
My question is, is it worth it or do I have a chance if I take my landlord to small claims court for the $287.50 for painting and cleaning for $190.00 even due to the fact that the cleaning wasn't finish at the time the lease ended, which was on a weekend at 12 noon, couldn't turn the keys in, with the landlord claiming he took pictures after 12 noon with a day stamped, but no time stamp, with myself not having any pictures but witnesses and finally with him removing the $200 fee for trash removal (he left the confirmation on my voicemail).
1 Answer from Attorneys
Yes, take him to small claims court. The judge will decide whose story makes the most sense. Chances are that he will pay back your damage deposit the minute he receives the summons to appear in court.
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