So Ive been renting in these apartments here in olympia. Upon moving in to these apartments we had paid our security deposit. 500$ + an additional 150$ for a pet deposit. This place charges a pet rent for 10$ a month.

Before me and my girl moved in we had paid all this. Filled out paperwork with description of the cat, signed the lease stating that our lease rent is 710 dollars a month. with a seperate pet agreement of 10 dollars a month.

So our lease states our rent is 710$ and we have been paying that for the last 5 months now.

I got a knock on the door the other day with the manager handing us a notice stating that we never paid our pet deposit. So we rummaged through our receipts and found bank statements and the apartments receipts showing we paid it but also found through the paperwork that the APARTMENT managers had made an error in the lease paperwork. The actual amount of rent should have been 710+10 dollars or 720 dollars for rent a month. BUT was stated and signed by all of us at 710$.

When we met with the managers and proved we paid our pet deposits, we brought up the fact that there was an error in the paperwork. That we are willing to pay the extra 10 dollars a month from now on but are not willing to back pay for the 5 months that have gone by since it was not our fault or our error.

Today we received a phonecall from the management saying that they want back pay for those months, and that it is our responsability to pay it and that the agreement is additional to the rent stated on the lease. Me and my gf do not feel this way and this is why.

On the lease we had all signed we agreed to 710$ a month. and have been paying that for 5 months now. IF we had been short all these 5 months we should have been AWARE of this the very first months rent of 710$ not 5 months down teh road when we caught their mistake. NO where on the actual lease paperwork does it say to pay the rent + additional fee's. (710-10). Im going to confront them on this now instead of my girlfreind working it out.

AFter my gf talked to them today she had told them that she is not going to pay back pay on this, it was not our fault. They said they are going to i forget the words but basically take it out of our security deposit if not. What can i do? What rights do i have to protect my and my gf from this bullshit? WE can not go to court because we will be in washington for a month more.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

If you aren't able to go to court, you'll just have to pay them. If they want, they can send it to collections. Or, pulling it from somewhere else.

If you were willing to go to court, you could win.

 

bullshit... only pay exactly what is in the lease. if it was me id move. fyi my roommate is an attorney.

 

yea i got around to talkin to some older freinds of mine and they say the same thing. WE are going to talk one last time with management tommaro. There are 2 manager girls and we keep gettin a different one every time we call and not the same one. its irritating as ****.

If all doesnt go well tommaro, We will let them have the 500$ security deposit, and pay them 220$ for rent and still get our money and not give them one cent extra. ill let em take me to small claims court over 60$ and pay my attorney fee's.

 

You can also contact the Thurston county housing authority at (360) 753-8292
and ask them for help.

 

If you have questions regarding this matter please call me 425-268-2144 I'm the resident RX-7 real estate guy.

First of all if you do not already have one ask for a copy of your lease. Your lease is a legal binding document for the term you have agreed to. If it specifcally states on the lease that your rent is $710 and does not show you have an additional pet rent of $10 then you do not owe that money. They can not make you pay that expense nor can they remove it from your security deposit. The security deposit is for move-out expenses only. However, they can amend the lease to begin pet rent as of now, but you would not be responsible for paying the previous months. nd of course all parties would have to sign the document. If it were in fact in the lease that you owed an additional $10 and you never paid it you would have received notices every month and your delinquency would be growing. On my account, you would have been evicted by now for non-payment of pet rent. Or at least would have had a 3 day pay or vacate letter and multiple please pay your balance owing letters. So obviously in their records you are paid in full!!! They obviously effed up the lease and now they are trying to save their own asses. IF they do try to remove it from your security deposit by all means dispute it because they have no legal right to charge you money that is not agreed to in the lease. But make sure that you have a copy of the original lease and any amended lesae documents to prove you paid what was required of you according to your legal agreement and you are not responsible for payment of those months


Who is the management company, btw?

 

Thank yo both for the information. These apartments are the westlake apartments of Olympia. BEfore we had moved into these apartments we had researched the area for crime ect obviously cuz i have my rx-7 here, or did. Upon our research we found numerous complaints about the management here REgarding these 2 female managers and how it was ran. These are the same girls. Involving court cases. You can read them if you like if you were to type in the apartments and look.
So after deciding to live here we took every precaution in protecting ourselves. Especially with the Move in walk around and documenting EVERYTHING. we do have copies of leases and ALL receipts for what we have paid here.

Today

I have called the Olympia better business beruea to as for information and ending up getting phone numbers to different offices down here in olympia. I talked to A government agency that deals with Renter landlord disputes about this. She is sending me info.

Tommaro I will be going into the office to deal with this issue, AS well as putting in our 20 day notice. I wont be living here anymore since i will be moving and am not going to pay a full month for august if i leave the 15th.

I am unaware that they CANT take the pet rent out of the security deposit but TIM i will try and give you a ring in the morning. Thank you for your help.

I have found out that My gf's sister that lives with us was confronted by one of the front office managers. They had called her and left her a message saying "we want you to stop in and get on the lease"

When she had moved in we asked the managers if she would need to be put on the lease and that was 3 months ago. They said no dont worry about it. Now that we are confronting them on this issue they decided to retaliate and now want her on the lease???

When i called the renter/landloard dispute office i told her about this and she made the point.

WHy are they contacting her when they should be contacting US about it. OUr LEASE is technically over now that the 6th months have just passed so we are on month to month. So What LEASE is there to sign? We would have to make a new lease with All 3 people for 1 month.

 

Wow you picked a winner! lol If you wanted to live on the north end I'd tell you to come live where I work and I'd hook you up, but I don't think you wanna pay what we charge, or would wanna live this far north. If your lease has expired and you're on month to month there is nothing they can do. You deposits will go towards any damages. Make sure you thouroughly document the condition of the apt when you leave and clean it as best as you can. Focus on the kitchen, appliances, and bathrooms, and do not pay to have the carpets cleaned yourself cuz they are going to do it regardless and charge you for that out of your deposit. With the deposits you paid you should get most of your deposit back. It doesn't dound like your management team has any real estate education whatsoever... There is a reason I keep my license, it protects me and keeps me smart with all the continuing education that you're required to do

 

Well, I am now in a similar situation NOT TO THREAD HIJACK but

In mmarch 09 i moved into an apartment with my girl friend, There were 3 couples living in a nice 3 bd appartment. anyways, I never signed any lease or anything saying I had to pay damages of any sort. I just payed my rent and that was it.

I moved out in May 09 because my gf was having surgery and my room mates party'd a lot!

Now I got a text from my ex roommate saying i have to pay damages and if i dont they are taking me to small claims court?

Any advise?

and as I said not to Thread HIJACK

I Hope this ***** get figured out meximan I know how a lot of people in this world are out to **** us over!

-Taylor

 

Well if you never signed a lease you're not legally entitled to pay any damages. Especially since the damages should be removed from the security deposit they should have paid and not to mention there is a small possibility the management company would consider that subletting (re-leasing an apartment) since you were an adult not on the lease. Most complexes don't allow any residents over 18 to occupy an apt without going thru the screening process and being added onto a lease. You should be in good position not being legally bound to the contract. And they should be in a poor position having partially sublet the apartment to you and not having any written agreement that you are responsible for any of it. Especially if they have no proof that you caused any of the damages. But if you have any questions as well if none of that makes enough sense then call me lol My number is up in one of the previous posts

 

LOL thanks for the help tim!

 

No problem Shane

 

Hey guys, I'm a law student, I can give you some general information, but I'm disallowed by the Bar Association from giving legal advice, but again I can give you some general info. For the most part I agree with the advice above, but I had a little caveat, I for the most part I think he is right and you are not liable for those rents. I'm gonna play a little devil's advocate.

Yeah they could amend the lease, but that would basically be admitting it was never part of the original agreement, so if they are smart they wont do that. IN THEORY, its possible that you could be liable for those rents IF, the management company can prove the extra 10 was part of the agreement, AND WA allows extrinsic evidence. Contrary to popular belief, something isn't binding just because its "in the contract." The management company doesn't necessarily forfeit these just because they failed to collect them because of a clerical error, but it sure as hell doesn't look good.

Again not necessarily, a 10 dollar breach is immaterial, even if the contract said in plain letters 720 and you mistakenly (or even purposefully) paid 710, the breach isn't "serious" enough to terminate the agreement and evict. So again, the FAILURE TO COLLECT, isn't itself direct evidence of the agreement, but it can be circumstantial.

It depends largely on WA law, which I am unfamiliar with... You should threaten to sue, that usually does the trick. Otherwise if WA law lets you, you should withhold rent. But like someone else said its best to go to court because these days these agencies will just sell you debt to a collection agency.

 

I respectfully concur. haha

 

cash money:" the one problem I have with real estate being date sensitive is communication logs... They could easily phoney one up and leave Shane with absolutely no case whatsoever. After speaking further we fouind that the money was shown unpaid in his ledger all this time but he was not given any notice ofthe unpaid rent. Therefore, their backdate on the contract they signed a mere few days ago is not going to be proven that it wasn't signed on the lease date, because Shane's copy of the lease he got 5 days ago isn't time stamped. But yes without signatures the agreement is void. It's just a effed situation to deal with and not have legal precedings to handle

 

Well, If your willing to wait a few months to move. my GF's neighbors are moving soon. The landlord is chill. He knows I work on my car and other cars there. I'm not on the lease. He loves RX-7's and other imports. He's an older Asian guy. The down side is its Forest Grove, Oregon. witch to say the least sucks ***.

Its a duplex with shared front but separate back yards. You must be cool with pit bulls my GF has 2, but are very friendly. No garage, but I'm sure willie would let us build one. One of the neighbors is a real bitch, but just ignore her at all cost. Not sure what rent is for the front. I know ours is cheaper. but should be about 750/mo. pets welcome dogs wont hurt cats.

 

I'm a little confused about the time line, and the new lease, can you explain again.

 

So essentially he was in there a few days ago to discuss their requirement for giving notice. When he received a copy of the lease from the office that day the pet agreement had not been signed by the leasing office. SO essentially when they do sign it they'll backdate to 6 months ago when the lease began. I instructed him to ask for the ledger to see his balance owing and it unfortunately does show the $10 being unpaid for pet rent every month. So essentially the date on the documents won't be able to be proven as a false date of signature because his copy has no time stamp. There is no new lease. He is currently on month to month thru the end of this month. So essentially the leasing office never agreed to the terms he agreed to. So having no signatures would create a void agreement, but they'll sign it before a legal preceding and backdate it to the beginning of the lease and say the copy they gave Shane was given to him when he signed before the contract was approved by the Community Manager on site. It's a total crock, but no matter how it gets documented the dates on the contract will most likely hold up, regardless of the fact they didn't sign the original 6 month lease until just now essentially. It has to be the most incompetent staffing of a property I have ever heard about.

 

This sounds like if will be very difficult to prove. Many state's Statute of Frauds no longer require signatures on all parts of an agreement, if all clauses (even unsigned additional pages) can be shown as intended to be part of the whole agreement of the parties, the court will treat it that way. Generally the burden will be on the plaintiff to show it was/wasn't (depending on who is suing) part of the whole agreement of the parties.

the lack of collection favors shane, while the ledger (even though it could easily be doctored) favors the LL. The pet agreement that was just signed, by shane wasn't dated, and hopefully shane has a copy of it, in case the LL tries to backdate like you said. Everything else is a question of fact and is basically going to be word against word. The outcome depends largely on State law, some states are VERY tenant friendly, while others lie on the opposite side of the spectrum. I dont have access to my research tools over the summer, so I'm not much help.

A few possibilitie:s
1. go see a property lawyer that knows the law, they will know the exact law and usually plaintiff's lawyers work by taking a %age of damages, if the LL has been screwing over other people, there is a possibility of a class action. WA may also state that awards punitive damages for unscrupulous landlords. a Lawyer will only take the case if its going to be worth it to him.

2. Go down to the court house and file an action in small claims, unfortunately you are suing for $60 and there will be filing fees, most states allow you recover filing fees if you win, but there is always the possibility you wont be able to prove you case. -- if you do this, take you time when you write the complaint, be coherent and write about the events in chronological order.

 

Exactly my thoughts on the entire issue. Word for word

 

also make a threat to report them to the better business bureau. I had a job that I put my 2 weeks notice into. They then pulled a bunch of shady BS and fired me. then they only paid me half my hours. So I called pissed off demanding my money and they basically said that I didn't call in my hours which I did. So I sat around a few days contemplating vandalizing there ****, then came to my senses and called back and told them I would be calling the better business bureau if I did not get my money. They paid me my moneys quick.

then I had an insurance claim where the other driver was at fault. after 6 long months of fighting with Allstate. It turned out the other driver was not the owner of the car and didn't have permission to be driving the car and they would not extend coverage. I called back saying that that means the car was stolen and as the insurance company they are responsible for all damaged property that the stolen car caused. I got a call back the next day and money in about 3 days. Sometimes you just have to threaten to do something about it. You'd be surprised on how many people just let this stuff happen to them without doing anything. 710 seems to me like your paying 700 for rent and 10 dollars for pet rent. That's how they try and swing things to make you think its your fault, not theirs.

 

Yes 710 is an odd rent value but in the agreement it states to pay an additional $10 on top of the rent and doesn't reflect it on the receivables page, as it should. Their lease just sounds like garbage and it's quite unclear. Technically he agreed to pay the money, but as we have said it's a complicated matter when it comes to real estate or any legal document dispute

 

been a while since i responded to this...So yea what tim said is true. He basically summed it up for me. As a last resort i tried to call the owner of the apartments based out of pasadena cali. bixby briggs or something like that. So i called him and told him i am having a dispute with your management here at westlake apartments and am hoping that i can talk to you about it. Left him both my number and gf's number. His way of responding was sending me a packet to the apartment mail saying. Here is our ledger and you owe us money pay it in the next payment...This company is ran by a bunch of ****** idiots if It were not for the fact that i am moving to cali i would be more than glad to take them to small claims court. The main manager is now done with school and is moving on to nursing so she wont be around ne more. We have asked that they pull the money "we owe" out of our security deposit since they will do it anyways in hopes that we can atleast get good rental history and most of our securirty deposit back. After we receive the money I am submitting a report to the better business burea about this company, as well as posting on apartment websites negative reviews on the way this place is run. Im more tempted to print out 180 copies of this negative complaint and slip it under every door at the complex.

 

Unless you signed a separate addendum that states you will pay $10 over the agreed amount, then I wouldn't even pay them the extra $10 from now on.

Honesty only hurts the nice guy.