I know that I’ve complained a lot about my previous property owners. I do feel justified in part of my behavior, because they do things like hold themselves out to have ALL of this experience renting ALL of these properties and then I have to spend a morning redrafting the lease so that I can have roommates.
With this particular house we paid a total of $3,000 in refundable deposits - one month’s rent of $2,400 and a pet deposit of $600. I’ve been keyed up since April when the sister in Hawaii (who hasn’t seen the house in two or three years) hinted in a few e-mails that they planned to keep the pet deposit. After asking the pointed question of whether we could expect the $600 back and then not hearing back from her for two days, the response I received was along the lines of “You’ll get the $600 back if it doesn’t smell like cats.”
Well, there were four cats in the house. Not to mention Crazy Pants who kept her room so that it smelled like a diaper. As well as a garbage disposal that didn’t like things like water. A washing machine that had a note when we moved in that instructed us not to keep it closed when it wasn’t in use, because there was a known mold problem. There was also the basement wall that started leaking at the end of last fall and resulted in most of the carpet in the basement being ripped out and the cement floor being painted a speckled flesh tone. And, then when we started moving stuff out of storage (and the reason why I originally e-mailed one of the property owners in April) we discovered that the rest of the carpet in the basement needed to be ripped out, because there was water damage that we didn’t even know about.
So, the good news is that we received the entire $2,400 back, but I haven’t heard a damned thing about the $600 since the letter supposedly signed by the sister in Hawaii, with a return address to her mother, and accompanied by a check signed by the sister who supposedly moved to California (which was the reason they needed us to deposit the rent directly into their bank account). The one thing I’m still confused about is why the $2,400 check was for an account in Colorado.
Anyway, I spent all day today drafting a letter that I may or may not actually get to send to them. Since I have spent the last month biding my time until I could slap them with my big trained to be a lawyer fist, I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time combing through the Oregon Revised Statutes. And, assuming that I don’t hear anything from them over the next two days I will get to mail them my strongly worded letter.* Knowing my luck, I’ll probably get a check for $2.50 and receipts for them paying neighbor Jane $78 per hour to cleanse the chakra’s in the house.
I know everything that we did to clean that house. A professional carpet cleaner spent the entire day cleaning the rugs, even though they had a dirt runner since we moved in. A professional cleaning team spent an entire morning cleaning the bathrooms, floors, and whatnot. And, three of us spent an additional seven and a half hours cleaning that place. The property owners left it to their 70-something-year-old mother to clean the house alone, and I can promise you that it was cleaner when we left it than it ever was since this particular family bought it.
You know what? I just feel better having drafted my faux lawyer letter. I imagine this is similar to the feeling that abuse survivors get when they write letters to their abusers, but never send them. Okay, abuse survivors have a lot more to deal with than a whole mess of crazy. At least I ended up with mildly entertaining stories, right? Well, they might not be “entertaining,” but that’s not going to stop me from telling them!
Sigh. Now that I’m not a giant ball of anger and anxiety, I don’t know what to do with myself.
Huh. I guess I could choose to get offended about the transients who commented on my physical features… Should I be more upset about the guy who pointed out how large my breasts are, and then followed it up by pointing out that my ass was equally large? Or, should I be confused by the guy who ignored those prominent assets, and decided to say that he liked my legs? No, wait, I got it. I’m going to be upset at the third wino that didn’t have anything to say about me.
Meh. I think I’m done now.
*Uno Properties
c/o Dos Rentals LLC
attn: Him and Her Owner
d/b/a Tres Properties
123 Fancy Pants Road
Sunny, HI
Via Registered Receipt Mail
Re: Withheld $600 deposit from 2134 Crap Pit Ave., Portland, OR
Mr. and Mrs. Owner:
Uno Properties has failed to return or account for the remaining $600 deposit within the statutorily allotted 31 days. Therefore this is a written demand for the entire $600.
Oregon Revised Statute 90.300 deals with residential landlord and tenant fees and deposits, specifically security deposits. ORS 90.100(37) defines a “security deposit” as “a refundable payment or deposit of money, however designated…” Additionally, ORS 90.300(4) permits a landlord to require an additional deposit to modify a lease to permit pets. Therefore, what has previously been referred to as a “pet deposit” falls within the scope of ORS 90.300.
Waldvogel v. Jones, 103 P. 3d 124 (Or. App. 2004), elaborates on the other pertinent sections of the statute:
ORS 90.300(2) provides that a landlord may require a tenant to pay a security deposit. ORS 90.300(5) then provides that the landlord may claim from the security deposit amounts reasonably necessary to repair damages to the premises or defray unpaid rent. Upon termination of the tenancy, the landlord is required to refund any unused balance. ORS 90.300(9). The landlord may, however, claim all or part of the remaining balance if, within 31 days after the termination of the tenancy, the landlord provides a written accounting that specifies the bases of the claim. ORS 90.300(10). If the landlord fails to provide such a written accounting within 31 days, "the tenant may recover the money due in an amount equal to twice the amount" of the portion of the deposit wrongfully withheld. ORS 90.300(14).
Id. at 125-6.
Delivery of possession occurred by May 31, 2011. On May 29, 2011, the keys to 2134 Crap Pit Ave., Portland, OR were delivered to the next door neighbor, Jane, who similarly acted as an agent of Uno Properties when she delivered the property keys to the tenants at the beginning of the lease term. Additionally, Sister Owner was made aware of Jane’s possession of the keys by an e-mail that same day. Further, the lease term concluded on May 31, 2011.
If Uno Properties does not tender the entire remaining $600 deposit by July 21, 2011, we will pursue all legal remedies available – including but not limited to twice the amount of the deposit allowed under ORS 90.300(14) and attorney fees allowed under ORS 90.255.
Thank you in advance for your help to quickly resolve this matter.
Sincerely,
Me, JD
1426 Not Crap Pit Lane
Portland, OR
Cc: Robyn via veganlady@hoopla.com
Crazy Pants via Crazy@pants.com
Jaimee via MizJ@orvcard.com
Uno Properties, LLC (of Colorado) Registered Agent Sister Owner, PO Box 7854, Some Springs, CO
OMG. I might need a new email address now.
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