Assigning Value to Breach of Lease

[pawkidma]

My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Virginia

I rented my home to 3 persons who were named on the lease as the tenants for a period of one year. Various stipulations existed in the lease that were not met however when deciding what amounts to deduct from the security deposit these items are hard to assign value. THe following is a list of the items.

1. Smoking was prohibited in the home. When my realtor released the property back to me and I entered there is the almost nauseating smell of smoke. There are cigarette butts at the bottom of the steps leading to the house. How do I put a value on that to deduct from the deposit? I can't produce a receipt other than the professional cleaners coming in to clean up. Is that all I can deduct and can I even deduct that?
2. Three persons signed the lease. The neighbors claim at least one other person was there more than the 2 weeks noted in the lease for the year period. I have no proof of that. The wear on the house seemed far more than what would occur when 3 people living there.
3. Another person, a 5th not named on the lease, ordered cable tv service which was charged to me since they did not return the equipment when they left or pay the bill. I have no record of that person at all. Similarly, cables were routed from the house into a detached garage to provide for TV service in the garage. That installation was not approved by me and was left installed there when I returned to the property.
4. A satellite dish was placed on my roof without my knowledge and is still there after the tenants left. There was actual leaking from the roof that we found when assuming the property again, in the vicinity of that dish. How do I put a value on them violating terms of lease to notify and gain approval in advance for the dish and then subsequent failure to notify of removal....which in this case they did neither.
5. The lease stipulates having a pest service treat upon their moving out. They provided a receipt, however when going back into the home there were insects of various types everywhere. Can I have treatment done by my pest company and charge them for that?
6. The lease stipulates the tenant responsible for keeping the grounds landscaped and trimmed. They mowed the lawn but did not clear weeds between my property and the neighoboring yards, nor did they trim any of the trees, bushes and shrubs. There was also growth up the sides of the home. This in addition to not cleaning the gutters caused water leaks into 3 corners of the home living spaces. I had to treat the mold there and those rooms had to be repainted. What can I charge them for this? Can I charge the trimming of all the above, the repairs and the repainting of the entire room as a result of having to paint over the mold repairs? THe lease specifically states gutter cleaning as well.
7. Lease states must change AC / Furnace filters. The filter had not been changed in a year. Can I charge for the cleaning of the AC / Furnace and replacement of a new filter or only the cost of a filter.

Any help determining how to determine what to return to these tenants is greatly appreciated. My window to respond with a figure I will be returning is rapidly closing.

[jk]

1. Smoking was prohibited in the home. When my realtor released the property back to me and I entered there is the almost nauseating smell of smoke. There are cigarette butts at the bottom of the steps leading to the house. How do I put a value on that to deduct from the deposit? I can't produce a receipt other than the professional cleaners coming in to clean up. Is that all I can deduct and can I even deduct that?

if that cured the damage, what else would you expect to get.. If they smoked outside the home and it wafted indoors, that is not technically smoking in the home. Unless you can support an argument they actually smoked in the house, this may be difficult to claim.

2. Three persons signed the lease. The neighbors claim at least one other person was there more than the 2 weeks noted in the lease for the year period. I have no proof of that. The wear on the house seemed far more than what would occur when 3 people living there.

now it is irrelevant. While the lease was in force, it might have allowed you demand the person leave or quit the lease. Now that they are gone it is irrelevant.

3. Another person, a 5th not named on the lease, ordered cable tv service which was charged to me since they did not return the equipment when they left or pay the bill. I have no record of that person at all. Similarly, cables were routed from the house into a detached garage to provide for TV service in the garage. That installation was not approved by me and was left installed there when I returned to the property.

have you spoken to the cable company? They will likely be able to seek payment from you. You will have to seek payment from your former tenants.

4. A satellite dish was placed on my roof without my knowledge and is still there after the tenants left. There was actual leaking from the roof that we found when assuming the property again, in the vicinity of that dish. How do I put a value on them violating terms of lease to notify and gain approval in advance for the dish and then subsequent failure to notify of removal....which in this case they did neither.

so get an estimate of repair and seek payment from your tenant. The only value of the breach is the actual damages incurred.

5. The lease stipulates having a pest service treat upon their moving out. They provided a receipt, however when going back into the home there were insects of various types everywhere. Can I have treatment done by my pest company and charge them for that?

no. They apparently complied with the lease.

6. The lease stipulates the tenant responsible for keeping the grounds landscaped and trimmed. They mowed the lawn but did not clear weeds between my property and the neighoboring yards, nor did they trim any of the trees, bushes and shrubs. There was also growth up the sides of the home. This in addition to not cleaning the gutters caused water leaks into 3 corners of the home living spaces. I had to treat the mold there and those rooms had to be repainted. What can I charge them for this? Can I charge the trimming of all the above, the repairs and the repainting of the entire room as a result of having to paint over the mold repairs? THe lease specifically states gutter cleaning as well

.You can charge for your actual damages.

7. Lease states must change AC / Furnace filters. The filter had not been changed in a year. Can I charge for the cleaning of the AC / Furnace and replacement of a new filter or only the cost of a filter.

can you prove their actions required something other than replacing the filter? If not, the cost of the filter is about it. If you can prove their failure to change the filter caused some other damages, you would be able to charge for those damages.

Any help determining how to determine what to return to these tenants is greatly appreciated. My window to respond with a figure I will be returning is rapidly closing

You need to have at least estimates of the work required. That is what you get to deduct.

bottom line: you can charge for your actual damages. It is apparent you have done nothing to attempt to obtain what those damages actually are. You need to do that. Then you can deduct that from their deposit and make a demand for anything the deposit didn't cover.

Beyond that, it appears you are an absentee landlord. You need to seriously reconsider that.

[Mr. Knowitall]

In terms of the satellite dish, a roof leak in the vicinity of the dish is not the same thing as a roof leak caused by the dish. If you have no proof that one is related to the other, then your damage claim is for removing the dish and patching any screw or bolt holes, not for the unrelated leak.

In terms of the landscaping, if you did not notice a problem over the course of the entire year and never complained to the tenant that they were supposed to be doing more work on the yard, I am skeptical that you're going to be able to support a claim that they had a duty to do additional work.

You have not explained how any exterior mold related to anything the tenants did or did not do.

I am skeptical that the failure to clean the gutters caused multiple roof leaks and mold development in less than a year. Given the number of roof and mold problems you describe, it sounds like this is an old house with an old roof, and that neglect of maintenance may date back a considerable amount of time before this tenant took possession.