AboutJonathan Dever, Esq Expertise Real Estate Law, Buying Selling, Investor, all types of acquiring property through "creative techniques" and fraud avoidance
Experience Super Lawyer by Law and Politics for the last three years, part of over 900 transactions in the last 6 years
Organizations Ohio Bar Assn
Greene County Bar Assn
Champaign County Bar Assn
Publications Personal web site and web articles
Education/Credentials JD - Capital University
MA - IU of Penn
BA - U of Cincinnati
Awards and Honors Super Lawyer 2005, 2006, 2007
Who is Who, Lawyers 2006, 2007
Question QUESTION: Hello, when we moved my Mom and Grandmother out of an apartment, they said they replaced the carpet due to "urine stains" in both the upstairs bedrooms, the hallway, and downstairs by the door and in the living room. There were no pets living there, and I am absolutely POSITIVE there weren't any stains in the carpet that couldn't be cleaned with a standard carpet cleaning. I am very sensitive to smell, as is the rest of my family, and nobody noticed any odor in the apartment. In fact, the landlord manager commented on how nice and clean the apartment was, and was out the front door already when the groundskeeper threw in "I saw a cat in the window". That is when the manager went back in, and used a black light to detect stains. It was day time, and every source I can find about black lights states that in order to properly see a urine stain with a black light, it must be dark, because the stain flouresces a dull yellow color. I was wary of the management the week after Mom and Gram moved in due to some strange policies, so I purposely put an enormous amount of effort into cleaning the place, making it MUCH cleaner than it was even when we moved them in. Given this, even if there were stains from previous tenants, I would have made sure they were gone, in order to avoid any issue. I saw nothing, I smelled nothing, and I was LOOKING for something! My question is, how do I fight this? Is there anything they had to do in order to prove the carpet was in fact needing to be replaced?
ANSWER: If you did not document the condition before and after you moved out, it will be your word against theirs. So you might end up in court testifying that the carpet was already bad, and that if it needed to be replaced, it was not due to your negligence.
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QUESTION: Do I understand correctly, that if I did not document an imaginary stain when I moved in, and they imagine or make up a stain when I moved out, even if I protest during the walk thru, that there is no law or protection for me?
Answer Theoretically yes. It is a he said she said game when it comes to damages without a move in and move out checklist. the landlord will claim you did it and sue you for damages. It will be their word versus yours.
The checklist protects you as a tenant and it also protects the landlord. Without some proof or credible eye witness to the condition before and after move in/out, it is an uphill battle to prove the damage was not caused during your tenancy.
