Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New York
Security and damages
MY DAUGHTER SHARED AN APARTMENT WITH 4 GIRLS AT SUNY ONEONTA. THE COMPANY TOOK A MONTHS SECURITY FROM EACH GIRL. AT THE END OF THE LEASE, EACH ONE OF US GOT A LETTER THAT THE SECURITY WENT TOWARDS DAMAGES AS WELL AS EACH ONE OF US GETTING CHARGED ADDITIONAL DAMAGES. MINE was $232.00 AND THE OTHERS WERE SIMILAR. I called the landlard and said I had no problem paying as long as I can see receipts for the charges. There was material and labor charged at a ridiculous rate. She screamed and hung up the phone. 8 months later we received collection notices. I wrote a letter of dispute but have been told by another involved that she did the same and it did not work. In the lease, it state that all girls are jointly responsible for each other and we all received a $900.00 bill. I want to fight this since the list of damages is outrageous and this landlard has been sucking money out of every student that has lived there without having to justify the charges. She charged us $755.0 to clean the carpet. can you please advise me on what action to take. Thank you
Janet
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Security and damages
You have a right to an itemized bill attesting to how the damage total was calculated. Yes, absent different language in the lease each tenant would be jointly and severally liable for the whole sum. I would suggest that you contact an attorney if you wish to challenge the damage amount.