ohiolandlord
02-08-2006, 08:46 PM
Security deposit
This is just out of curiosity really. Some friends of ours moved out of their apartment and were charged for damage to the front door. They claim that the maintenance man did the damage. I don't know. Either way, the door is still there (this was a couple years ago) and still dented. So, can a landlord charge a tenant for replacing damaged items but not actually replace them? And what is the statute of limitations for cases involving landlord/tenant disputes?
Thank you.
In Ohio, the measure of damages is how much the property dropped in value because of the damage done by the tenants. Just as you are not required to get your car fixed after someone damages it when they ran into it (you can drive it around with a big dent in it and pocket the money), the landlord is not required to fix his door either.
The difficulty arises the next time around when the landlord either claims that the dent in the door was done by the next tenant as well, or claims that the door was in pristine condition when any other damage to the door was done by tenants down the road. This is why it is important in security deposit cases to find out what damages the landlord has claimed in the past at the apartment.
To learn more about your rights as a tenant in the state of Ohio, you might want to try downloading our book online at http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/book.html
This is just out of curiosity really. Some friends of ours moved out of their apartment and were charged for damage to the front door. They claim that the maintenance man did the damage. I don't know. Either way, the door is still there (this was a couple years ago) and still dented. So, can a landlord charge a tenant for replacing damaged items but not actually replace them? And what is the statute of limitations for cases involving landlord/tenant disputes?
Thank you.
In Ohio, the measure of damages is how much the property dropped in value because of the damage done by the tenants. Just as you are not required to get your car fixed after someone damages it when they ran into it (you can drive it around with a big dent in it and pocket the money), the landlord is not required to fix his door either.
The difficulty arises the next time around when the landlord either claims that the dent in the door was done by the next tenant as well, or claims that the door was in pristine condition when any other damage to the door was done by tenants down the road. This is why it is important in security deposit cases to find out what damages the landlord has claimed in the past at the apartment.
To learn more about your rights as a tenant in the state of Ohio, you might want to try downloading our book online at http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/book.html