How to proceed with legal property management issue in Colorado
I'd appreciate any advice on how to proceed on a matter that our previous PM is taking us to small claims court for. We own a rental property in Colorado and our previous PM is taking us to small claims court for 10% of the remainder of the lease that was legally terminate early. The tenants requested to terminate early and he prepared the early termination form. We told the PM that we would pay for the remainder of the lease (assuming he performed property management duties which he did not, he even turned his keys over upon early termination). We did our due diligence and found new tenants on our own and did all the placement ourselves and did not charge the previous tenants any unpaid rent because we were able to have no gap in the rental. Below is our response to his certified letter telling us we owe him for the remaining months with all of our facts countering the claim (aprox $800 + fees), all names have been removed. FYI, we did not save the signed Right-to-Lease contract and he took it down from his document site, so we do not have access to it.
"The claim to funds as requested by certified letter dated 8 Nov 2019, is denied due to the following:
1. Owners were under no contractual obligations with property manager during the claim period.
a. A Lease Termination was prepared by the property manager and legally executed before the claim period.
b. The Right-to-Lease Contract was null and void.
c. The property manager was in breach of contractual obligations to property owners during the month of April.
2. The property manager did not serve nor render services as Property Manager during the claim period and surrendered access to the property before the claim period.
3. The property manager's citation of the 3 April 2019 written statement by owner to compensate him through the original lease period is a fractional disclosure.
a. All written statements shall be considered in whole and in context.
b. The property manager was offered compensation through the original lease period in exchange for the performance of property manager services, expressly showing the home and placing a new tenant.
c. The property manager provided a written statement that he was not interested in performing property manager services, thus declining the offer for compensation.
4. The property manager's statement in his 8 Nov 2019 letter that “this judgement will create a second-place lien against your property for a period of six years” presupposes a ruling in his favor and will be filed in continuation of existing documentation of his harassment toward the owners.
5.The owners will present documentation of all statements in this memorandum for the court and furthermore will provide public reviews of their experience with this company services for consumer welfare."
Further:
Below are exerts from the standard Colorado Right-to-Lease contract that I think apply to our situation.
17. RIGHT OF PARTIES TO CANCEL. 17.1. Right of Landlord to Cancel. In the event Broker defaults under this Landlord Listing Contract, Landlord has the right to cancel this Landlord Listing Contract, including all rights of Brokerage Firm to any compensation if the Landlord Agency box is checked. Examples of a Broker default include, but are not limited to (1) abandonment of Landlord, (2) failure to fulfill all material obligations of Broker, and (3) failure to fulfill all material Uniform Duties (§ 5) or, if the Landlord Agency box at the top of page 1 is checked, the failure to fulfill all material Additional Duties Of Landlord’s Agent (§ 6). Any rights of Landlord that accrued prior to cancellation will survive such cancellation.
COST OF SERVICES AND REIMBURSEMENT. Unless otherwise agreed upon in writing, Brokerage Firm must bear all expenses incurred by Brokerage Firm, if any, to market the Premises and to compensate cooperating brokerage firm. (He made us pay the finders fee of the lease in question)