do you rent? sooo ticked at landlord

[Tala]

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Amen to that one. We have always taken good care of the homes we rent because it is our HOME. I see damage that an animal caused and I have a list of what WE need to replace. Like the place in the blinds the Mr. Yackers enters and exits from. No sense replacing it now because he does it all the time. On my list.

I've always taken care of rentals the same way. I won't any longer though. I've rented 3 places and returned them all in very good shape, and NEVER gotten a deposit back. Like I said, I will make extreme effort to never rent again, but if I do have to I will make myself at home, we've taken doors off closets and done little things here and there while we lived there, and put them back like we found them but still didn't get a deposit back . . . heck IF there is a next time, we might even take the doors with us when we leave to spite them. I hold grudges a long time.

 

[Beekissed]

I always leave rentals better than I found them~paint, refurbish, repair and clean....and have yet to ever receive a deposit back from any landlord. They will always make some flimsy excuse to keep the deposit. I wish they would just call it "The Landlord's Money to Keep" instead of calling it a deposit. As if this is something that will EVER be returned to you.....

Actually, I've never heard of anyone getting a rental deposit back....ever.

 

[DuckLady]

I always gotten my deposits back when I was renting, except for carpet cleaning.

Our tenants paid a cleaning fee as is customary in Oregon. They changed the law to state that you can't charge a non refundable fee. Even though we don't have to because of the timing, we fully intend on treating the fee as a refundable deposit.

 

[Rozzie]

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That depends on the type of system that you have. Some types of furnaces use cheap little filters that need to be changed very often. How often depends on the conditions (pets, etc. do increase frequency). Other systems, like mine, specify to change the filter once a year. Of course, the filter does cost about $40. I check it monthly and will change it sooner, if needed, since I have pets. I plan for a change every six months, just in case.

 

[SillyChicken]

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That depends on the type of system that you have. Some types of furnaces use cheap little filters that need to be changed very often. How often depends on the conditions (pets, etc. do increase frequency). Other systems, like mine, specify to change the filter once a year. Of course, the filter does cost about $40. I check it monthly and will change it sooner, if needed, since I have pets. I plan for a change every six months, just in case.

What I meant was, how she kept the house had nothing to do with the actual fire. Most lint comes from clothes, carpet, dander and dust. Keeping the house clean will affect the filter of course, but not cause the fire that was caused. If she changes due to alergies, I'm pretty sure she keeps up on a clean filter.

 

[rancher hicks]

We rented two places before we bought our house. I also rented a number of other places when I was single. I NEVER changed a furnace filter. That is maintenance and not or should not be required of a tenant. As for the fire and the furnace a simple inspection from the utility company would have prevented this and they should have been called after the repair was made. If not by the landlord, then by the tenant. I completely understand your situation but you need to change your thinking with regards to renting, not the least of which is makeing repairs yourself.

You need to keep this on a "business" level. Most definitely you need to have a lease that explains everything and who is responsible for what. An unclean filter can cause a furnace to over heat and in fact cause a fire. Our furnace has a switch that will shut it down if it gets to hot and it has every year since we'ved own this house. We are working on having it replaced. If it were not for this happening we would all be dead as it would explode. You must understand how a furnace works and the safety mechanisms.

Your landlord has the right to tell you if he doesn't think you are keeping things clean enough to be safe. It is his property and not yours. What you called "lived in" he may consider not clean. Believe me I'm sure there are those who would not consider our house clean. One mans "lived in" is another mans pig sty. That's the joy of owning your own house you can live in it how you please.

(Believe or not dust and dirt can catch fire, which is why you must keep your coop clean of cob webs and dust, if you use a heating device. Even heat lights. I use a swiffer duster)

DD just lost her deposit this past summer because she did not "read" her lease. I was not happy as she is not rich and it was $500 she needed.

My advice is to reduce your spending, keep your credit record clean and save enough money to buy your own place.


Sorry if this upsets some but this is wisdom and common sense.

Rancher

 

[SillyChicken]

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we do all of the maintenance that wouldn't require his help, all yardwork, gutters, carpet cleaning, etc. I even sheetrocked the whole basement after our foundation collapsed a few years back. I really don't like dealing with him so I only call him when we absolutely can't fix something ourselves. And I never really minded having to replace the furnace filters, it just ticks me straight off that he criticizes how I keep the house and tries to say that I should change the filter more than once a month, when really the reason we've had these problems is because of his schotty repair jobs. every single time something's gone wrong with our heating/cooling, he says that it's because I don't change the filters enough and because I don't keep the house clean enough.

you're right, there's no way the filter(which was changed the end of november) caused the fire, the technician even giggled a little when the landlord asked him that. really, how expert could his repairs be if he thinks that a stuck gas valve and faulty wiring arcing to ignite the gas could be caused by a dirty filter?

that's the main reason I wanted my husband home when he was here, because I was gonna throw a fit if he didn't get a certified professional to look at it. luckily there wasn't enough damage to call the insurance co., and I don't have renter's yet, but I'm getting the paperwork started today, we have too much to lose should something like this happen again, lesson learned.

I'm saying the filter is not the problem in this case, if the fire was caused by a faulty valve or wireing. Yes a dirty filter can cause a unit to over heat, but there are also safe guards (fuses, breakers, auto shut off sensors) that are generally in place to prevent damage to the unit because mfgers anticipate people not changing their filters that often. The OP is saying she changes hers on a regular basis, and the land lord is looking for a scape goat for his shoddy work.

 

[rancher hicks]

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we do all of the maintenance that wouldn't require his help, all yardwork, gutters, carpet cleaning, etc. I even sheetrocked the whole basement after our foundation collapsed a few years back. I really don't like dealing with him so I only call him when we absolutely can't fix something ourselves. And I never really minded having to replace the furnace filters, it just ticks me straight off that he criticizes how I keep the house and tries to say that I should change the filter more than once a month, when really the reason we've had these problems is because of his schotty repair jobs. every single time something's gone wrong with our heating/cooling, he says that it's because I don't change the filters enough and because I don't keep the house clean enough.

you're right, there's no way the filter(which was changed the end of november) caused the fire, the technician even giggled a little when the landlord asked him that. really, how expert could his repairs be if he thinks that a stuck gas valve and faulty wiring arcing to ignite the gas could be caused by a dirty filter?

that's the main reason I wanted my husband home when he was here, because I was gonna throw a fit if he didn't get a certified professional to look at it. luckily there wasn't enough damage to call the insurance co., and I don't have renter's yet, but I'm getting the paperwork started today, we have too much to lose should something like this happen again, lesson learned.

I'm saying the filter is not the problem in this case, if the fire was caused by a faulty valve or wireing. Yes a dirty filter can cause a unit to over heat, but there are also safe guards (fuses, breakers, auto shut off sensors) that are generally in place to prevent damage to the unit because mfgers anticipate people not changing their filters that often. The OP is saying she changes hers on a regular basis, and the land lord is looking for a scape goat for his shoddy work.

That is the point of asking for an inspection. IF the landlord over rides the safety mechanism put in place by the furnace mfg. even a slightly dirty filter could cause a fire. Believe me I'm an old man and rented plenty of places. Even one that did have a furnace blow up because the landlord did not fix it. Fortunately that was after I moved.

The fact is it does not nor will it matter what caused the fire, the furnace is not safe. Being right means nothing if you are dead!

Safety comes first.

Rancher

 

[HEChicken]

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I've only rented once and heard the horror stories about refunds of deposits so after I moved out, I spent a month going back and cleaning every chance I got. I was terrified they were going to do a white glove test or something, LOL. Anyway, when the day of inspection came, the landlord walked in, glanced around, said "okay, everything looks good, here's a check for your deposit" and I got a FULL refund. As cursory as that inspection was, I kind of wished I'd spent less time cleaning and more time moving into my new home but hey, it worked.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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My concern here is that he can claim that the damage was caused by you, either directly, or by failing to notify him that the conditions are so bad. Have you suggested making the repairs and deducting their cost from the rent?


I don't know what you mean by "two up, two down."