I get rage-y over landlords who turn into bullies, because I had a ridiculous problem with a landlady after I moved out of an apartment.
Every other apartment I'd ever lived in, I always got back my security deposit and had glowing recommendations. This landlady told me she wasn't returning the security deposit because "the apartment wasn't clean." Which was untrue. But more importantly, under Ohio law (at least at that time), if a landlord is going to withhold a tenant's security deposit, then at the time that the landlord informs the tenant of that -- and NOT after the fact -- the landlord must give the tenant an itemized list of what the security deposit paid for. The landlady didn't do this, and I told her that because she didn't, she was required to return my deposit. So then she sent me a hand-written list of things that needed to be cleaned, with dollar amounts -- "Dirty windowsills, $50," etc. (hand to god, she did this), and so I told her that (1) any itemized list needed to have been provided back when she first withheld the deposit, and (2) it had to be from an actual cleaning company, not a hand-written list on notebook paper. (Although #1 trumps anything anyway.)
So she told me that she wouldn't return the deposit because of the "filthy condition" I left the apartment in, which is patently untrue. But neither she nor I had photographic proof. And again, I told her about the legal requirement to give me the itemized (official) list at the time of withholding the deposit, and if I took her to small claims court and they found in my favor, she would have to pay double the disputed amount.
She basically told me that she had NEVER had a tenant sue her, and how dare I imply that I would sue her when I was clearly in the wrong. And by the way, I was not getting my security deposit back.
So I ended up having an attorney friend write a letter on her firm's letterhead saying everything I already said, and citing the actual laws, and sent it to her. And then I got my deposit back, with a nasty note saying that she was getting out of the landlord business because of tenants like me, and how I lost money anyway because I had to pay an attorney (which I didn't), and -- I swear she said this IN A LETTER -- she wished she "had known what I was really like" before I moved into the apartment complex I was in at that time, so she could warn them that I would "destroy property and file frivolous lawsuits."
All because the windowsills were dusty. HAND TO GOD.
But damn well NOT "anything possible."
I want to say you should call a building inspector to identify any place where the house is not completely sealed and deduct the cost of fixing it from your rent.
But you may not want to go DEFCON 5 on her just yet. Since, you know, you have to live there and are a generally nicer person, I think.
Harking back to last night's conversation, I cannot imagine this is a landlady who could tolerate a dog without constantly being all up in your face about how many feet from the house before it pees, how many barks per week are allowed, etc. (Of course, that would open up the opportunity to also call and have the place soundproofed!)
Our last landlord took $$ off of our security deposit because the windowsills were dirty on the OUTSIDE. Yes, we were supposed to clean the outside of the place as well as the inside. WTF.
Yes, we were supposed to clean the outside of the place as well as the inside.
Most landlords I've had seem to understand the concept of normal wear and tear.
And then there are the crazy ones.
When she says she's "hoping another mouse will come forward," I feel like there's 2 possibilities: (1) she misspoke and left out a very important word -- "NOT" -- as in "I am NOT hoping another mouse will come forward," or (2) she's implying that since "the line is drawn," she wants a reason to evict you.
I thought maybe she thought there was still one mouse inside and is hoping to catch and remove it.
What a cluster though. I am sorry you are having to deal with this.
Our last landlord took $$ off of our security deposit because the windowsills were dirty on the OUTSIDE. Yes, we were supposed to clean the outside of the place as well as the inside. WTF.
OMG. That is crazy. MADNESS.
Harking back to last night's conversation, I cannot imagine this is a landlady who could tolerate a dog without constantly being all up in your face about how many feet from the house before it pees, how many barks per week are allowed, etc. (Of course, that would open up the opportunity to also call and have the place soundproofed!)
She and her husband have a dog. (Or, at least, they did. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen the dog in a while, and I know that he was really old.) And there is no way that any dog I got could possibly make more noise than the dogs at the house next door. When I call someone on the phone while those dogs are barking, the person I'm talking to can hear them and asks, "When did you get a dog?"
I thought maybe she thought there was still one mouse inside and is hoping to catch and remove it.
This was what I thought she meant, too.
She responded. It's still my fault, but she's a bit more polite about it.
Joe's sister lived there from 1989 until 2005, and like us, had not so much as a single episode. Of course, she was notorious for over-wrapping all her food products.
You now have started managing the kitchen which is a great relief to me, but in the meantime, the open residual food attracted pests. I just want you to know that if you have any difficulty at all keeping the kitchen up, I will do it for you on a regular basis. Dick and I pulled the refrigerator out and found no holes or cracks; likewise the stove. I called him last night and he says that next week (I think Tuesday) he will not rely on the steel wool around the pipe under the sink but will convert it to that foam insulation (although I have always found steel wool excellent). We had an unopened can ready to go but could not find anywhere else to use it.
I too am horribly allergic to cats.
By the way (I just remembered this) the very first time I saw mouse droppings in that kitchen was pretty soon after I moved in, inside a cabinet where I hadn't put any food yet.
Good luck with the crazy landlady, Hil. Sorry moving is not a viable option.
I need a new mascara. I've worn this expensive Estee Lauder More Than Mascara three times and it's already clumpy. I don't like having to comb my eyelashes after I put on mascara. Also, I rub my eyes a lot, apparently, and I need a mascara that won't rub off under my eyes. If such a thing exists. I'm about to start buying the cheapest mascara on the drugstore rack, because I can't afford to keep buying expensive mascara that doesn't do what I need. Maybe I should just get my eyelashes dyed every month; it probably wouldn't be more expensive.
