tenant rights
options available to resolve complaints
AND DELIVER US
FROM BONDAGE
4- (lii
11
by brenda moskovits
Ctfter living in an
apartment for more than a
year, you are moving to a
bigger one. You gave the
landlord thirty days notice,
moved the furniture and
scrubbed the place clean,
but the landlord refuses to
return your security
deposit, claiming you and
your roommate damaged
the bathroom tile. The tile
was damaged when you
moved in. What do you do
now?
You should have had the
landlord sign a list of dama
ges before moving in, says
Marella Symovec, one of several authors of
a soon to-be-published Nebraska University
Public Interest Research Group (NUPIRG)
landlord-tenant guide. Then, she said, there
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could be no question as to
what damages were new.
"The tenant should be
aware of his legal responsi
bilities, she explained. The
best protection is ta get
everything in writing. Oral
agreements, although legal,
are difficult to prove and
defend, she said. When an
oral agreement is unavoid
able, Symovec suggested
having a witness.
She said legitimate com
plaints include the follow
ing: failure of the landlord
to do necessary mainten
ance, to make promised re
pairs, to comply with local
safety codes or to give three
days warning before issuing an eviction
notice.
Others include: refusal to return a
security deposit once all Conditions on the
lease are met, invasion of privacy, adding
charges or raising the rent before the lease
runs out, and "baiting and switching"
(showing one apartment, but renting
another).
1,
.n Nebraska, "breach of lease (by
the landlord) is no reason for nonpayment
of rent, she warned. In such cases, legal
advice should be sought. Students may
request help from ASUN Student Legal
Services, 334 Nebraska Union, she said.
NUPIRG suggests the following steps to
resolve landlord -tenant disputes:
collect all facts, including dated re
ceipts, leases and documents and addresses
and phone numbers and organize them,
-determine who owns the property; the
person who rented it may be a manager or
realtor,
-attempt to reach a solution by speak
ing to the resident manager,
-if heshe cannot or will not help,
contact the landlord (legal owner) of the
property,
-if the landlord refuses to correct the
situation, file the matter in small claims
court (if $500 or under) or in municipal
court (if over $500).
Lancaster County Municipal Court has
an instruction list on filing claims in small
claims court. The list is available in the
court clerk's office in the County-City
Building, 555 South 10th St.
The small claims court operates in
formally. No attorneys are present as each
side (the tenant and landlord in the
example) presents his case to the judge.
(If a jury or lawyers representation is de
sired, the claim should be filed in munici
pal court, which requires an $8 filing fee.)
t
.he judge asks most of the quest
ions, although the plaintiff and defendant
may cross examine the other's witnesses.
The procedure to bring a case to small
claims court includes completing a one
page complaint form, charging that the
defendant (the landlord, if a tenant, files
the complaint) pay a specified amount for
damages. A $3 filing fee is required.
Both parties should arrange for witness
es, according to the clerk's office,
although, if requested, the office will serve
subpoenas requiring that they testify.
The clerk's office suggests that the
plantiff (party filing charges) bring
receipts, cancelled checks, the lease, and
other pertinent memoranda, such as repair
bills to court. Witnesses may testify regard
ing conditions or damages, and photo
graphs are also admissible as evidence.
The defendant may (but is not required
to) make a counter claim at least two days
before the court date. This means that the
defendent is also bringing charges upon the
plaintiff, asking for a specific amount of
money or property.
Small claims court cases are appealed
to Lancaster County Municipal Court.
damage deposits source of disputes between lane
by kate gaul
t,
.he last cardboard box had been
dumped at the new apartment and now Jill
paced anxiously across the bare wood
floors. The landlord was scrutinizing her
former home and Jill was delighting over
the old memories.
She had lived in the apartment during
her junior year, and here and there were
the remains of a party. There was a small
burn hole on the sofa where Roger had
dropped his cigarette when Linda had
poured a bottle of red wine over his head.
Luckily the wine blended into the couch.
Besides, it was an old, tattered couch her
parents' dogs slept on better.
Elsewhere, there were holes in the walls,
small but noticeable, where she had hung
pictures. And there were a few cratches
in the wood floor where her stereo had dug
in its claws as she moved it.
But Jill was totally unprepared to hear
that the landlord planned to withhold the
entire $100 damage deposit she had laid
down in good faith of its return one year
ago.
He claimed the placed needed a good
cleaning, new furniture and a few repairs.
Jill maintained that the place was a pit
when she moved in. She had painted and
been a tidy housekeeper. She said the place
was cleaner now than it ever
had been .
He disagreed.
Jill said the furniture
needed replacement when
she moved in and she wasn't
about to pay for someone
else's comfort.
He demanded proof.
There was a $100 stale
mate and Jill and the land
lord each claimed to be its
rightful owner.
, . It -4 FSr "
0
,hc damage deposit,
as in the fictional story
above, is the source of the
frequent landlord-tenant dis
putes among students, according to Robert
Lange, UNL Student Legal Services
attorney.
Most students believe that too much
money is withheld by their landlords. And
while some students have grounds for their
complaints, others don't, he said. The facts
of the case are the only determinants.
But students should be aware that
"some (landlords) keep it (the damage de
posit) as a matter of course," Lange said.
Students should not be blackmailed into
losing some or all of their damage deposits.
1111
to provide
notice.
Lange said, and the best
way to assure understanding
of the terms of the damage
deposit is to read the lease
carefully.
According to the Landlord-Tenant
Act, damage de
posits cannot exceed the
amount equal to one
month's rent. However, if
you have a pet, the damage
deposit can be an additional
one-fourth of the rent
amount.
Lange said the damage
deposit is applicable to
damages the landlord re
ceives when a tenant moves
out, breaks a lease or fails
adequate-one month's-
1,
n the latter case. Lance said, the
landlord must use reasonable effort to find
a new tenant. The landlord can keep the
entire amount if the apartment goes
empty. If he fills the apartment shortly,
then some of the deposit should be refund
ed, Lange added.
Another way to clarify damage deposits
is to complete a checklist, Lange said. The
checklist should include the physical condi-
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fathom
friday, September 8, 1978
