Do I have to pay damage charges to my apartment complex if they don’t take me to court?
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Do I have to pay damage charges to my apartment complex if they don’t take me to court?
I just bought a house and moved out on my apartment a month before the lease ended. The apartment complex got to keep my security deposit, pet deposit, and last months rent because I ended my lease early. My husband and I thoroughly cleaned the apartment, carpets shampooed, nail holes spackled, the works and we have pic to prove it. I received a letter 2 days after I turned in my key stating that I have to pay an additional $500 in damages, but the description of the damages sounds like things they would have had to do to the apartment anyways as it was lived in by me and my husband for 4 years. The letter states that if I don’t pay in 10 days, it will be turned over to a collection agency. Why would it not go to court before a collection agency? Shouldn’t they have to prove in court that the damages they are trying to collect on actually exist?
Asked on October 3, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Tennessee
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
It appears that the landlord has tried to comply with the law there. Under Tennessee law, a landlord must return the tenant's security deposit with an itemized statement of any deductions taken out of the deposit, if the tenant request such an accounting. Under Tennessee law, a landlord has 10 days to provide a tenant with such an itemized statement after the tenant requests it. In addition to complying with Tennessee laws on security deposit limits and how (and when) the deposit must be returned to tenants, landlords in Tennessee must provide tenants with advance notice before taking any deductions out of the security deposit (i.e., for the cost of repairs for damage to the property). Tennessee Code Annotated § 66-28-301 covers this matter and check your local county laws as well. It appears that you should have indeed have had the deposit returned and I would go to court for its return. I agree that it should not go to collections first as there is no basis for collection. There is no judgement. Good luck.
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