I rented an apartment with Kendallwood Apartments August 5-September 30. When I turned in my keys to the apartment, there were 3 employees in the office; 2 maintenance workers and Linda the Assistant Office Manager. I asked her how I would get my deposit back. She stated that they would have to walk the apartment first.
I asked when that would happen and she said they could not do it at this time that it would probably be sometime next week. Within a week, I received a letter stating that I would not get my deposit back because of pet urine damage. I did not have a pet. From April August I basically lived with my sister to help out with my nephew.
I came to the apartment maybe twice a week to get clean clothes, check the apartment, check the mail and etc.in April I received a telephone call from Carol the Office Manager accussing me of having a dog in the apartment; mind you I signed a no pet agreement when I moved in. I told her that I did not have a dog and she asked who in your apartment complex has a dog.
I responded to her, I do not know I am hardly home either due to work or due to family. Carol stated that she would be opening the apartment to check. I told her to go ahead that I had nothing to hide. There was a card on the floor that indicated that they were in my apartment. If they had found a pet or any signs of a pet they would have evicted me immediately because of the no pet agreement that was signed.
When I turned in my two months notice, I received a letter that stated that they would be inspecting the apartment on August 5. I waited all day for them to show up and they didn't. After receiving the letter that stated that I would not be getting the deposit back, I went to the office and talked with Linda, the Assistant Office Manager. I asked to see the damages that I am being accussed of and her comment was that they had already replaced the carpet.
I went across the street to the main office to voice a complaint. I talked with a lady named Jean, I believe that was her name. Explained everything to her and she called and talked with Linda. Linda even told her that the carpet had been replaced. Jean said that she would be talking to Carol and they would get back with me. On October 20, I had not heard anything, so I went back to Jean's Office.
She called Carol and I was able to go back into the apartment to see the so-called damages. When I arrived in the apartment, all of the carpet had been pulled up and the only thing on the floor was the foam padding. The carpet had not been replaced as I was told from Linda. There was a maintenance worker named Tom in the apartment. He showed me two pieces of carpet that had computer printed signs laying on them.
On the back of the carpet was black ink marker circling stains. He said those are pet urine stains. I asked him how they could be pet urine stains when I did not have a pet. I also asked him to show me the difference between human urine, as if a toddler's diaper had leaked vs pet urine. He told me he could not. He stated that they placed a black light on it and thats how they knew that it was pet urine damage.
I told him again, I did not have a pet and I am tired of being accussed as having one. His comment at that time was I'm being caught in the middle. I informed him that I would be filing a complaint with the BBB and to the Attorney General's Office. After reviewing their website, I found that they are in violation of the Missouri Landlord-Tenant Law that states:
At the end of the lease, the landlord has 30 days to return the security deposit with an itemized list of damages for which any portion of the deposit is kept. During that 30-day period, the landlord must notify the tenant of the time and date when the landlord plans to inspect the dwelling. The tenant has the right to be present during the move-out inspection, which must be conducted at a reasonable time.
I was not contacted to be given the opportunity to walk through with them. I am being charged for damages that they claim that I did. All they can show me is two pieces of carpet with computer printed signs laying on them that states pet urine damage front room and back room. The one back room that they are claiming was damaged, was used only for storage. I asked what prompted them to pull up the carpet in the first place.
Tom said the apartment smelt of pet urine when they opened the door. This apartment was pretty much closed up for four months with the exception of one or two days a week. Also, when I was home I constanting burnt candles and always had febreeze noticeables going, that smelt like vanilla. When I was moving my dad spilt a can of pop on the carpet. I personally steam cleaned the carpet to remove the pop.
While I had it going and everything was out of the apartment, I decided to steam clean all the carpets. So the smell that they are claiming to be pet urine, could in fact be the carpet cleaning solution being strong from being closed up. There was nothing wrong with the carpets. I would also like to point out that the end of September, I was working the night shift at work and I was sleeping during the day.
Approxiametly 4:00pm, I heard a knock on the door. I wasn't expecting anyone so I just stayed in bed. The next thing that I know, I heard a key in the lock and they tried to open the door. If it had not been for the security chain, they would have been in my apartment while I was in bed. I was not notified ahead of time that they would be in my apartment.
I didn't think they were allowed in my apartment without prior consent unless it was done for health and safety reasons. When they attempted to get in, I heard someone say oh. Not one time did they say Office or Maintenance. If I would have had a dog, the dog would have gone ballistic on them when they tried to enter the apartment.
It makes you curious, how many deposits do they actually return? Do not allow the tenants the opportunity to be present during the move-out inpsection and claim they have so-called damages. They cannot prove damages to a tenant if they have altered it in anyway. The tenant should be given the same opportunity to see and smell the same thing that they claim they saw and smelt.
Not base these damages on hear say. If they had 100 tenants who gave them a deposit of $100.00 and they kept that for so-called damages, they have quite the little scheme going there and make themselves a $10,000 profit. Then the innocent, responsible tenats, like myself end up paying for their little scheme. I also read that if the landlord has wrongfully withheld all or part of a deposit, the tenant may sue to recover up to twice the amount wrongfully withheld.
Since, the Missouri Landlord-Tenant law was broken and I was not contacted to inform me of the inspection date and time so that I could verify or dispute the damages at the time of inspection, not after they have removed the carpet-and show me two pieces of carpet that could have come from who knows where. I believe that since they are withholding in due to pet urine damage and there was no pet in that apartment.
They are withholding it wrongfully. They have already been caught in a lie once, when Linda said that they had already replaced the carpet, when in fact they had not. What's to say they would not try it again. I don't like being accussed of something that I did not do and I would suspect they don't either.
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