*urgent* need advice/opinions (long read)
hi all, here’s my situation. 8 years ago I rented a house from a couple I’ve known since high school (we’re all in our mid-60s), I asked about signing a lease but was told it wasn’t necessary. all was going fine until about a year ago when they decided that I should now start paying what amounts to a 40% increase. “market value” was the claim. well of course there was no freaking way I was going to go along with that. things were hostile for a while, they threatened to have me evicted and move their daughter in, things like that. needless to say any socializing between us came to a dead halt. fine by me.
in the fall I received notice of my rent increasing in January for the usual legal amount, January 1st came and I paid that amount with no issue. TWO WEEKS later I received an email from them stating that they would be willing to accept what amounted to a 16% increase and that I should start paying that right away. they claimed that they had looked into the Rent Increase Above Guideline process and that their lawyer told them that they wouldn’t have much chance of success, going so far as to complain about how time consuming and costly the process had been so far as if it was somehow my fault.
well obviously I couldn’t see myself living there much longer so I found other accommodations. I gave them 60 days notice and counted the days until I was out of there. they got what they wanted. they won. they asked for access to the property so that they could take measurements for some renovations they were planning, no problem. I told them to have a look around and give me an estimate on any damages that may have arisen during my tenancy. they quoted me $1800, coincidentally about a month’s rent.
some background, I got a dog a couple of years back, but only after checking with them to see if they were okay with it. no issues there. the house is an old cottage style place with three rooms on the main floor that have hardwood floors. two of those rooms were pretty beat up when I moved in and the living room floor was in better shape because it had been refinished a couple of tenants before I moved in. admittedly there are some claw marks on the floor but nothing too severe. also my dog’s a digger so the backyard will definitely need some work.
I was expecting an estimate of around $500, which I would’ve gladly paid. so I started googling around, it seems I’m not obligated to pay *anything* for damages unless they can show that they were caused by something beyond normal wear and tear and that they have to provide receipts for the work done. (one of them does all the work himself.) and they have to provide proof of the property’s condition before I moved in. so there’s that.
another thing I found out, when I moved in I was told that utilities weren’t covered included. no problem, what I didn’t realize until now was that I’ve been paying for the hot water heater rental all along, for an amount in total in excess of $4000. it’s considered a “vital service” that must be paid for by the landlord unless it is stipulated in writing in the lease that the tenant agrees to pay. there is no lease. I’m only obligated to pay for the consumables, gas, water and electricity.
here’s my question (finally), they’re expecting me to pay the first half of their damages estimate on June 30 with the balance to be paid in the middle of July. what I instead intend to do is tell them I’m not paying them anything unless they go through proper channels and also point out to them that if this all goes to court they could wind up owing ME money. I’d be willing to call it even, drop the whole thing and put the two of them as far behind me as possible. and I don’t think that they’d want either the government or their other tenants to get wind of the whole water heater issue.
thanks for reading this far, any input would be greatly appreciated. does this sound like a plan?