Results 1 to 2 of 2

Hybrid View

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Posts
    1

    Unhappy When Can Your Landlord Charge for Repair of a Broken Refrigerator

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

    So I received a letter in the mail yesterday from my previous landlord stating that I would not be getting my $500 deposit back due to an issue that happened with the fridge in the rental. I was renting the residence with one other roomate who is still renting a room. I provided my 30 day notice on May 13th. The landlord finally decided to do the walkthrough on July the 2nd (50 days later) to discover that the fridge had stopped working, and the remainder of my roomates food had become a rotting mess. The appliance had to be replaced, and the house had to be cleaned. When I asked why I was not getting my deposit back the landlord told me that there was no doubt in his mind that the door to the fridge had been left open, which is what caused it to stop working. I had graduated that year and was heading home for the summer. My roomate had left about a week prior to that, but was till renting his portion of the property. The landlord justifies charging me solely because I was "the last one to leave the house". Is there any statute of limitations regarding how long I'm liable for the property, and is my landlord justified in keeping all of my deposit without providing any paperwork regarding the cost of repairs? I feel this is unfair, and would appreciate any insight or advice anyone could provide.

    Thank you for your help.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: When Can Your Landlord Charge for Repair of a Broken Refrigerator

    Quote Quoting Kansas773
    My roomate had left about a week prior to that, but was till renting his portion of the property.
    Why didn't your co-tenant terminate his tenancy at the time he moved out, as he apparently never returned to the premises?

    Did you and your co-tenant have a single lease with the landlord, or were you renting rooms through separate leases? If the former, what does your lease say about obligations and recovery of premises if one of you terminates the lease before the other?
    Quote Quoting Kansas773
    The landlord finally decided to do the walkthrough on July the 2nd (50 days later)....
    Was the date of the inspection determined by the date your co-tenant gave notice? Your co-tenant had left food behind, but had not set foot in the premises since May 6? Why did he leave perishable food behind?
    Quote Quoting Kansas773
    The landlord justifies charging me solely because I was "the last one to leave the house".
    We're back to the question of joint or separate leases. Are we to infer that your co-tenant received a full refund of his security deposit / share of your joint deposit?
    Quote Quoting Kansas Statutes, Sec. 58-25,108(c)-(d)
    (c) Upon termination of the tenancy, any security deposit held by the landlord may be applied to the payment of accrued rent and the amount of damages which the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with K.S.A. 58-25,113 and the rental agreement, all as itemized by the landlord in a written notice delivered to the tenant. If the landlord proposes to retain any portion of the security deposit for expenses, damages or other legally allowable charges under the provisions of the rental agreement, other than rent, the landlord shall return the balance of the security deposit to the tenant within 14 days after the determination of the amount of such expenses, damages or other charges, but in no event to exceed 30 days after termination of the tenancy, delivery of possession and demand by the tenant. If the tenant does not make such demand within 30 days after termination of the tenancy, the landlord shall mail that portion of the security deposit due the tenant to the tenant's last-known address.

    (d) If the landlord fails to comply with subsection (c) of this section, the tenant may recover that portion of the security deposit due together with damages in an amount equal to 1 1/2 the amount wrongfully withheld.
    If this is a newer refrigerator, I would be surprised if it doesn't have an automatic shut-off feature that turns the refrigerator off if the door is left open. If it's an older refrigerator, although leaving the door open such that it ran non-stop for a couple of months could burn out the compressor, it would be difficult to believe that the refrigerator would have a residual value of $500. If the bulk of the $500 is for cleaning costs, necessitated by the presence of rotting food in the premises and its possible attraction of insects and vermin, that likely could be reasonably characterized as damage due to your failure to attend to the apartment and watch for this type of problem during the last months of your tenancy.

    1. Sponsored Links
       

Similar Threads

  1. Repair and Maintenance: Brown Water and Broken Refrigerator
    By chadwicky in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 06-23-2014, 02:28 PM
  2. Repair and Maintenance: Landlord Will Not Replace a Broken Refrigerator
    By js112358 in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 07-01-2013, 01:01 PM
  3. Repair and Maintenance: Landlord Failed to Repair a Broken Window Despite Agreement Before Moving In
    By byucougar in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 12-15-2012, 12:20 PM
  4. Repair and Maintenance: Landlord is Delaying Repair of Heater Due to Presence of Asbestos
    By Annelynn in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 03-26-2012, 12:05 AM
  5. Repair and Maintenance: Landlord Wont Repair Faulty Refrigerator
    By gruzia in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 08-30-2008, 12:58 PM
 
 
Sponsored Links

Legal Help, Information and Resources