PM unreasonable charges after termination

[Peter Sik]

Hi everyone,

I recently terminated my contract with a property management company to transition to self-management. It has been over a month since termination, but they still haven't returned my $300 account reserve.

After I followed up to demand my funds, the PM suddenly produced a statement claiming new expenses that I BELIEVE are being "made up" just to offset what they owe me:

1. Explicit Instructions Ignored Prior to termination, I explicitly instructed the PM via email NOT to perform any repairs or maintenance. I told them to only perform move-out tasks that are strictly billable to the tenant's security deposit. Despite this, they are now billing me for items that contradict my written instructions.

2. Sudden Rekeying Fees Inconsistent with History They hit me with a $300 rekeying fee. In my years of experience and through many tenant turnovers with this property, a rekeying fee was never charged to me as part of the standard move-out procedure. It only appeared now, during the contract termination.

3. Bypassing the tenant Security Deposit for Cleaning The PM is also billing me $400 for a cleaning fee. There is more than enough balance in the tenant’s security deposit to cover this. Instead of following standard protocol and reconciling move-out cleaning against the deposit, they are charging me directly.

It seems like the PM is creating these expenses specifically to avoid returning my reserve and to collect extra fees before closing the account.

What should I do in this situation? How can I force them to release my reserve and correctly apply move-out expenses to the tenant's deposit instead of my own pocket? Any advice on handling a PM that ignores written instructions and makes up charges during closeout?

[Drew Sygit]

Quote from @Peter Sik:

Hi everyone,

I recently terminated my contract with a property management company to transition to self-management. It has been over a month since termination, but they still haven't returned my $300 account reserve.

After I followed up to demand my funds, the PM suddenly produced a statement claiming new expenses that I BELIEVE are being "made up" just to offset what they owe me:

1. Explicit Instructions Ignored Prior to termination, I explicitly instructed the PM via email NOT to perform any repairs or maintenance. I told them to only perform move-out tasks that are strictly billable to the tenant's security deposit. Despite this, they are now billing me for items that contradict my written instructions.

2. Sudden Rekeying Fees Inconsistent with History They hit me with a $300 rekeying fee. In my years of experience and through many tenant turnovers with this property, a rekeying fee was never charged to me as part of the standard move-out procedure. It only appeared now, during the contract termination.

3. Bypassing the tenant Security Deposit for Cleaning The PM is also billing me $400 for a cleaning fee. There is more than enough balance in the tenant’s security deposit to cover this. Instead of following standard protocol and reconciling move-out cleaning against the deposit, they are charging me directly.

It seems like the PM is creating these expenses specifically to avoid returning my reserve and to collect extra fees before closing the account.

What should I do in this situation? How can I force them to release my reserve and correctly apply move-out expenses to the tenant's deposit instead of my own pocket? Any advice on handling a PM that ignores written instructions and makes up charges during closeout?

Two observations:

1) You signed a contract. 
You can NOT unilaterally change a contract.
So, the PMC is within their legal rights to ignore any emailed instructions that change the contract you signed.

2) Whether the PMC is being deceitful or not, your only recourse to recoup the funds is court. 
How much time & money do you want to throw after the $300?