Real Estate Community Forum

My husband and I rented a property from a military family who unexpectedly returned home, so our 2 year lease terminated after 3 months. The property manager then dropped off a 2 page, single-spaced, checkout inspection sheet that included everything down to having the gutters cleaned. For only 3 months and the fact that they terminated the lease we felt taken advantage of. Is there a proper/legal way to say NO to the property manager?

There is always a right and wrong way to deal with any real estate contract including leases. Unfortunately, every state has different laws regarding Landlord and Tenant Rights. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has a great resource for Tenants.

http://www.hud.gov/renting/tenantrights.cfm

Regarding the move out checklist; the best way to protect yourself in this situation is to do a move in walk through with the landlord/property manager (have them sign and date to acknowledge) and document the existing condition in writing and with photos. You never know when you may need this.

Hope this helps should you ever lease again in the future.

Did your lease contain an early termination clause? This isn't a normal part of rental leases and I would be very hesitant to sign such a thing. Unless otherwise agreed to in the lease, you are in no way obligated to return the home in better condition than when you moved in. A home owner would have to be insane to sue over the gutters not being cleaned when a) you've only lived there for 3 months and b) that's not something related to your usage of the property.

Escrow laws (the holding of your security deposit) are extremely strict, whatever State. Courts always give the benefit of the doubt to the consumer. As a broker myself, I'd never authorize a claim against the security deposit in your situation unless you obviously damaged the property. To do so could result in a complaint with Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation and most likely a subsequent escrow audit of the past 2 years by the Florida Real Estate Commission.

You probably have more rights in this situation than the owner or management company. Just leave the house as you found it and toss that ridiculous checklist in the trash.

John