Guest JJBrickface Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Or anyone else that may know. I will be moving out of an apartment that I currently live at to move into a town home. When I went to give a notice that I would be leaving I found out that I owe a month's rent and over $50 of late fees. The late fees were $10 every month that I didn't pay that one months rent. So right now they are telling me that I owe for September AND from May including the late charges for every month after May. The only problem is that I was NEVER notified that I was late or didn't pay a payment. For the months after May I paid the regular $413 per month in rent like I normally do. Why didn't someone tell me that I missed a month? How come they didn't tell me that I owed a $10 late fee as well when I was pay the $413?? Am I responsible for paying all of the late fees when I was NEVER notified verbally or in writing? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Or anyone else that may know. I will be moving out of an apartment that I currently live at to move into a town home. When I went to give a notice that I would be leaving I found out that I owe a month's rent and over $50 of late fees. The late fees were $10 every month that I didn't pay that one months rent. So right now they are telling me that I owe for September AND from May including the late charges for every month after May. The only problem is that I was NEVER notified that I was late or didn't pay a payment. For the months after May I paid the regular $413 per month in rent like I normally do. Why didn't someone tell me that I missed a month? How come they didn't tell me that I owed a $10 late fee as well when I was pay the $413?? Am I responsible for paying all of the late fees when I was NEVER notified verbally or in writing? Thanks! It completely depends on the terms to which you agreed in your rentor's agreement. Go back through your contract, and check to see if the following were expressly stated: 1. Did you miss a payment/don't have records of your payment?-If yes, then... 2. Is there a provision in your lease that tacks on $10/month for late fees?-If yes, then... 3. Did they have an express duty to notify you that you missed a payment?-If no, then... It looks like you're stuck footing the bill for a bit of a sleazy landlord. As far as things that are implied, the only condition that is implied is the "implied warranty of habitability". Basically, to make sure that the premises are up to code. Other than that, for rentor's agreements, the terms will be expressly stated. And in court, if 1-2-3 lead to the result I mentioned above, the burden would be on you to show prove that there was fraud/duress/reliance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance 228 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 my advice is to just pay it and go on with life...it's not a lot in the big picture (i realize it may be to you at the time since moving is always an expensive undertaking)...but you don't want anything on your credit and it would cost you more to fight it in court with court costs and a lawyer...cheaper to just take your beating and go on then let everyone know the guy screwed you on the lease...if you get anything like this on your credit report it hurts you for years and its impossible to get removed even if you pay it off later...so just pay it and go on with it...would piss me off too but that's what i would do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JJBrickface Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Its just the whole thing pisses me off. Yes, they are suppose to notify a tenant on the 10th of the month if their rent is late. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Its just the whole thing pisses me off. Yes, they are suppose to notify a tenant on the 10th of the month if their rent is late. First thing's first, pay the month of missed rent. But if that provision that I bolded is written in the lease, and they never notified you, tell them to shove their $50 late fees into the deepest reaches of their hindquarters and that you'll see them in court. You really don't even need a lawyer for something that simple, if you have a basic knowledge of courtroom etiquette. Just request that as a remedy, you would like the opposing party to be assessed the cost of court fees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance 228 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 First thing's first, pay the month of missed rent. But if that provision that I bolded is written in the lease, and they never notified you, tell them to shove their $50 late fees into the deepest reaches of their hindquarters and that you'll see them in court. You really don't even need a lawyer for something that simple, if you have a basic knowledge of courtroom etiquette. Just request that as a remedy, you would like the opposing party to be assessed the cost of court fees. of course if you do that you will lose the court costs yourself and possibly their legal fees unless you win...that's if THEY take it to court...what will likely happen if you dont pay it is they will turn it over to a collection agency and you will never get it off your credit report...so for $50 it's not worth the hassle...just tell the guy i guess $50 is worth bad word of mouth advertising for you huh? and also you might offer $25 and explain the misunderstanding to them, maybe they will take half...either way it's not worth getting your credit screwed up over $50...and make sure you keep your receipt if you pay it. another thing is that you are the one paying the rent, if the lease says it's due by the 10th then you know it's late when you pay it? I don't see where they would need to notify you of anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 of course if you do that you will lose the court costs yourself and possibly their legal fees unless you win...that's if THEY take it to court...what will likely happen if you dont pay it is they will turn it over to a collection agency and you will never get it off your credit report...so for $50 it's not worth the hassle...just tell the guy i guess $50 is worth bad word of mouth advertising for you huh? and also you might offer $25 and explain the misunderstanding to them, maybe they will take half...either way it's not worth getting your credit screwed up over $50...and make sure you keep your receipt if you pay it. another thing is that you are the one paying the rent, if the lease says it's due by the 10th then you know it's late when you pay it? I don't see where they would need to notify you of anything? Lance, from the facts we have been given, there is a stated provision in the lease that says that there would be notification of a late rent payment on the 10th of the month after the missed rent payment. THERE is the duty to notify, I mean, it can't be any clearer! If he goes to court, he would petition for three things. One, to negate the late fees. Two, compensation for missing a day of work. Three, legal fees. Now, a court may not grant any of these three things, and that's the risk one assumes with litigation. Oh, BTW, if he wins this case in court, it won't damage his credit score. Now, the battle comes down to the $50 in late fees. Our friend is contractually obligated to pay $410/month in rent, and it is in his best interests to pay that ASAP. HOWEVER, if our friend can show that he reasonably relied on the provision in the lease that states he would be notified of late rent on the 10th of the month in which it was past due, he can show not only breach of contract but also bad faith in dealing with the tenant. I don't think it's a stretch that this can be proven be a preponderance of the evidence, the standard in civil litigation. The question is: is it worth JJ's time to fight it? This is what he must ask himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhs7695 185 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 How did you lose track of whether or not you made a rent payment of $413?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBlueAlum 12 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 How did you lose track of whether or not you made a rent payment of $413?? I was wondering the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance 228 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Lance, from the facts we have been given, there is a stated provision in the lease that says that there would be notification of a late rent payment on the 10th of the month after the missed rent payment. THERE is the duty to notify, I mean, it can't be any clearer! If he goes to court, he would petition for three things. One, to negate the late fees. Two, compensation for missing a day of work. Three, legal fees. Now, a court may not grant any of these three things, and that's the risk one assumes with litigation. Oh, BTW, if he wins this case in court, it won't damage his credit score. Now, the battle comes down to the $50 in late fees. Our friend is contractually obligated to pay $410/month in rent, and it is in his best interests to pay that ASAP. HOWEVER, if our friend can show that he reasonably relied on the provision in the lease that states he would be notified of late rent on the 10th of the month in which it was past due, he can show not only breach of contract but also bad faith in dealing with the tenant. I don't think it's a stretch that this can be proven be a preponderance of the evidence, the standard in civil litigation. The question is: is it worth JJ's time to fight it? This is what he must ask himself. that's assuming he wins...if his luck is anything like mine he wont lol. This is all over $50...I say just pay it and go on...even if he doesn't get a lawyer which would cost him $500+ or so (i think)...then what he stands to gain vs. lose is out of proportion...if it was over $1000 maybe...but for $50...you are liable to piss the judge off for wasitng his time right off the bat lol. He may be in the legal right, but more likely than not the landlord will not go to court and just put it on file with a collection agency...in which case $50 is not worth the hassle you get on a negative hit to your credit report...I don't think the landlord will go to court over it at all...which would mean our friend here would have to make it a civil matter of his own...which is a risk not worth $50 in my book lol. I think you just take your beating and choose a better fight another day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JJBrickface Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 The reason I missed a payment is because most of my bills like most people's are due at the end of the month/first of the month. I have internet/cable/electricty/insurance/student loans/credit card, etc. I also work out of town a lot and sometimes that may occur during those times. This was the ONLY time that I ever missed one, and was ALWAYS on time before. I just simply forgot...people do make mistakes and thats the whole purpose of giving a notice. Like I said before I do not have a problem paying the month that I missed. My problem was that the months that occured after that when I paid my $413 on time they didn't say, "Did you know that you missed a payment last month?" All they had to do was tell me like the lease states. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 The reason I missed a payment is because most of my bills like most people's are due at the end of the month/first of the month. I have internet/cable/electricty/insurance/student loans/credit card, etc. I also work out of town a lot and sometimes that may occur during those times. This was the ONLY time that I ever missed one, and was ALWAYS on time before. I just simply forgot...people do make mistakes and thats the whole purpose of giving a notice. Like I said before I do not have a problem paying the month that I missed. My problem was that the months that occured after that when I paid my $413 on time they didn't say, "Did you know that you missed a payment last month?" All they had to do was tell me like the lease states. It happens. I've been a month late before I caught myself being late. If the lease states this, you can make a very strong argument that you reasonably relied on this provision to the lease, and their failure to uphold this provision of the contract caused the late penalties to accrue. It's as close to a sure thing as you'll see in the legal world. But my question is: "is it worth fighting"? Honestly, I'd put my feet in the sand, and tell them that if they want to fight me over the $50, I'd see them in court. Then specifically call their attention to the express provision of the lease that they breached. If they take you to court, just make counterclaims against them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JJBrickface Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 I was able to to get all of the late charges back except for one because they said they had on file that they sent out a notice. If they did then I didn't get it. They told me that they put the notices on the door. They replaced my door before I moved in here so its different from others, it does not have a clip on for the notices. Anyways I got most of what I wanted and didn't give in. I'm satisfied with the outcome. On a side note, the manager at the time (no longer here) this all happened also happens to be a real estate agent. I contacted her the other day to see if she ever gave me a notice on late payments and she says to her knowledge I was always on time. So all in all she wasn't any help especially considering she was the main reason I never was contacted. I was working with her to find a house but like most realtors she didn't do enough to help me find a place. She basically sat back and waited for me to find something and then tell her. I would periodically email her asking if she knew of any new properties but would never get a reply. Well when I bought my townhome I got it through another realtor. When I told her of this news, she was PISSED. All I can say is Karma. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 I was able to to get all of the late charges back except for one because they said they had on file that they sent out a notice. If they did then I didn't get it. They told me that they put the notices on the door. They replaced my door before I moved in here so its different from others, it does not have a clip on for the notices. Anyways I got most of what I wanted and didn't give in. I'm satisfied with the outcome. On a side note, the manager at the time (no longer here) this all happened also happens to be a real estate agent. I contacted her the other day to see if she ever gave me a notice on late payments and she says to her knowledge I was always on time. So all in all she wasn't any help especially considering she was the main reason I never was contacted. I was working with her to find a house but like most realtors she didn't do enough to help me find a place. She basically sat back and waited for me to find something and then tell her. I would periodically email her asking if she knew of any new properties but would never get a reply. Well when I bought my townhome I got it through another realtor. When I told her of this news, she was PISSED. All I can say is Karma. Good deal, and I'm glad to see a bit of resolution there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.01bb665814ffc257795fe158cb2045c7.png.8a531ac878a82772b21014d7a6167582.png){kind=logo}
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.