Heating cost - included in rent

[Missippi]

My daughter and friend live in Ontario County Canandaguia NY renting an apt in a house converted to four units while she attending college her last year of college.

Everything is included in the rent; CABLE, INTENET, ELECTRIC and HEAT.

I received a letter from the landlord stating the heat bill was double the last month and she was taking it out of the security deposit.

I did not sign a lease for this apt as my daughter move from this landlord other rental to here in Jan. She quoted (in an email) us a price and gave us a 5% discount if we paid in advance for the 5 months she was going to be staying. She has been harrashing the two girls about visitor, parking, door not being shut in common areas just to name a few. She stated the laundry room door was broken in the wind because it wasnt shut tight one night and she was taking that cost out of there deposit as well. The laundryroom is a seperate room off the house and is open to all tenents.

My daughter has been with this landlord for four semesters in different rentals. She lived with no issues last year at this exact time in this exact apt.

The landlord has also stated in a letter to me that she didnt think this was working out this semester and the girls were going to be given 30 days notice if it wasnt worked out in one week and she was keeping the 3 month of rent we paid in advance. Can she do all this?

I am at a loss here as I know my daughter is barely ever at the apt. She is carrying 18 credit, runs X-Country & track, and holds down two part time jobs.

I do not know where all this is coming from and need some direction.

Thanks,

MEME

[brk]

1. If she has a lease then LL cannot evict. Either way only a court can evict.
2. If MTM, then LL must do proper service of 1 month before rent due date. For example, before 3/1 then out by end of March.

3. If LL legally terminates lease then any rent paid/deposit is due back. As to deposit make sure daughter takes pics of clean room and gets a receipt for key return.

Sounds like since all utilities are included LL none too happy with the heating bill. A solution is to do a locked thermostat.

[Missippi]

The LL has a lockdown already but still accusing them of turning it up.??

Can she still take the heatout of security deposit?
Can she charge for the common door that the wind broke?

[TenantNet]

In our opinion, LL can't take heat out of deposit, not cost to repair/replace door unless tenant was negligent or misused the door.

Problem is that the LL already has the deposit, so simply will not return it without your going to small claims court. What some tenants have done is not pay the last month's rent if they have reason to believe (as you do) that LL will invent damages or use deposit improperly.

Technically, tenants are not supposed to withhold rent to recover deposits, but then technically LL's are not supposed to invent claims of damages. Ultimately it only matters if one side sues the other and claims have to be substantiated.

[Aubergine]

The question is not whether this dreadful-sounding Land-Lady can steal your money, it's whether you can get the Canandaigua City Court to order her to pay it back and whether you can collect on the judgment.

You mentioned 5 months' rent paid in advance but didn't specify the amount you are calling a "security deposit." Did you give money in addition to the 5 month's rent? If so, your daughter or her roommate may need to hang around in this god-forsaken upstate city after graduation just to sue the landlady. Is that going to be a worthwhile use of her time and energy?

It sounds like there is an oral lease for five months, which neither party can terminate by simply sending a notice, unless there was a specific agreement permitting this. If the LL tries to do this, and takes the tenants to court, they can argue that they are not holding over and the notice of termination was improper.

[Missippi]

Both my daughter and her friend paided $400 in security deposits, $800 in total.

It is my right to request receipts when she does withhold part of the deposit. I should force her to show me heating bills for 2 years.

MeMe

[Aubergine]

I see absolutely no reason for the LL's expenses for heating, which was a service included in the agreed rent, should result in a deduction from the security deposit. That's sort of like an airline selling an advance-purchase round-trip airline ticket for $299, flying you to your destination, then demanding $100 more from you before they'll fly you home because jet fuel prices went up.

This Lady of the Land is simply ripping you off, but She probably believes with total sincerity that you, your daughter, your daughter's friend -- anyone -- has to make sure that She gets the income She wants from Her property, no matter how badly She underestimated the cost of running Her business when She entered into a fixed-price contract.