The Duties of a Gentleman
I’ve had a couple of days to catch up with myself. It mostly went well. There would maybe even have been some writing if there was any upholstered seating in the entire room, or even enough space on the bed for my elbows. But it was good even without writing.
I took one of my days off to bait my landlord into admitting their willful refusal to return my deposit. As you might expect, they are not entirely familiar with either their general or legal duties as a landlord and were unprepared to terminate our relationship cleanly. As you ought to expect, I am prepared 1for terminating any relationship, at any time, on no notice, no matter how much I depend on it and have checked both their and my duties. They picked the date of our separation and weren’t ready for their own schedule; during a pandemic I arranged to find and purchase a house, move my household, arrange service crews for the old property, settle all the related financial accounts, and patiently wait for their (non-)compliance with their duties under The Revised Code of Washington.
This particular capitalist has long imagined that somehow I’m responsible for the maintenance of their property. This is not an uncommon claim from landlords but I’ve been impressed by how completely mine is dedicated to this idea. They so desperately want to never think about “Mom’s House”, but at the same time want me to keep it looking like it does in their nostalgia. An impossible task I wouldn’t attempt even for someone I liked, let alone the person who has been abusing me this past decade. I am lucky enough to be in a position to not tolerate any part of this, and cunning enough to make sure I can have some Daddy figure my precious landlord fears tell them to fuck off and pay me.
I’m so excited that they sat and stewed on this for a month. Literally every line ends in an exclamation point. I had the audacity to ask about my deposit after making them have a bad feel about their bad behavior. I didn’t have the respect to spend my time and money prepping their property for sale (while being evicted). How dare I hold them accountable to the minimum requirements of state law!?!
Step next is a formal demand letter, sent via Certified Mail because judges love that shit, which ends with full citation of the relevant laws, includes a reminder that they can be ordered to pay 2x damages if they fight me in small claims court, and takes just a minute to make them feel more uncomfortable with themselves and their place in the world. I haven’t drafted it yet but I suspect it will look a lot like this:
I am sorry that you found it difficult to arrange the legally mandated services in the period between when you asked us to move out – June 20, 2020 – the end of my tenancy – August 31, 2020. I am sorry you were not able to arrange appropriate assistance with your duties during the 21 days after the end of our tenancy. I understand that the pandemic has made many things difficult, and I’m aware of your long history of being unable to arrange maintenance for the property in a timely manner.
I will note however, that during the same period I was able to find, purchase, and move to a new house while scheduling and managing professional work crews for services and repairs at your property. It was a challenge, when added to my full-time job, travel for a family emergency, my dog’s ongoing cancer treatment, and my physical recovery from and financial duties related to a car crash. But my duty to you motivated me to work hard enough to be sure I could meet the deadline that you set.
I continue to be unclear on why you imagine I am liable for the maintenance of your property in general, beyond what is specifically described in our agreement. But I will not argue the point because I no longer believe those details are relevant, and I also do not wish to “nitpick”. I merely wish for you to comply with your remaining obligations under law.
RCW 59.18.280 requires the return of my deposit or an itemized list of deductions from the deposit with 21 days of the day I moved out, a period which expired September 21, 2020. Because I have yet not received my deposit nor an itemized list of deductions from the deposit, you waive any rights to my deposit.
RCW 59.18.260 states that no deposit may be collected by a landlord unless the rental agreement is in writing and a written checklist or statement specifically describing the condition of the premises is provided by the landlord to the tenant at the commencement of the tenancy and is signed and dated by both parties. Because you collected a deposit without providing me with a written checklist at the commencement of the tenancy, you waive any rights to my deposit.
It is my belief that, under RCW 59.18.280 and RCW 59.18.260, you are immediately liable for my entire deposit of $2,000.00. Please make arrangements to pay this full amount on or before October 15, 2020. I have the right to ask for twice my deposit amount in small claims court.
I know you have long been accustomed to our monthly contribution to your budget, and I would not want to unduly burden you with a legal judgement if finances are a struggle for your family during these challenging times. I would be willing to negotiate about financing terms for the balance of the deposit if you make arrangements with me before October 15, 2020.
First, Zach, I want you to know there is not now nor has there ever been any intent on our part to be unfair to you in the rental process. I regret if you have a negative opinion as to how you’ve been treated. As I’ve indicated before, we thought we enjoyed good communication and a cordial relationship and we’ve tried to respond to all of your requests over the years.
Our situation is that we were unable to meet with a contractor until September 7. That industry has been seriously impacted from the months’ long COVID backlog which, among other things, has prevented them from getting the required materials, supplies and personnel needed to complete jobs. So it wasn’t until then that we were able to walk through the empty house with a knowledgeable repair person and became aware of the number and placement of the holes through the wall wood paneling and Sheetrock. We were told about other maintenance issues but never intended to ‘nitpick’ those items given your long and successful tenancy.
In hopes of being fair, we thought we should let the contractor get on the job and determine firm numbers for the breakout of just the wall repair, rather than try to guess.
If you would prefer, rather than wait, we would be willing to split the $2,000 and mail you a check for $1,000.
Tom
Sent from Tom Kallas
On 28 Sep 2020, at 13:54, Zach Isbach wrote:
I am not responsible for maintenance of your building or the surrounding grounds, except for the landscaping specified in our rental agreement. As such I am not responsible for moss on the pavement. I know you don’t like that fact, but it’s true nonetheless. Moss growth on ground pavements in Seattle is not a result of my actions nor negligence under our rental agreement and I will not be held liable for it.
I would be happy to pay for the actual costs of appropriate labor to remove the one piece of loose plastic sheeting I abandoned at your property. I doubt the actual damages are significant but I agree they exist and will compensate you for them. Please provide appropriate documentation and I’ll cut you a check. Please note however that I am not responsible for any additional costs related to your choice to remotely administer your property.
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Please return the entirety of my deposit. I believe you are already in violation of at least 2 Washington statutes in this regard, and are not currently entitled to withhold portion of it:
RCW 59.18.280 requires you to give a “give a full and and specific statement of the basis for retaining any of the deposit together with the payment of any refund due” within 21 days of the end our rental agreement. That period elapsed on the 21st of September. That same chapter further states “If the landlord fails to give such statement together with any refund due the tenant within the time limits specified above he or she shall be liable to the tenant for the full amount of the deposit.”
RCW 59.18.260 requires “No deposit may be collected by a landlord unless… a written checklist or statement specifically describing the condition and cleanliness of or existing damages to the premises and furnishings, including, but not limited to, walls… is provided by the landlord to the tenant at the commencement of the tenancy.” Unless I am mistaken such a checklist was never completed, and as such you were never entitled to the deposit in the first place.
ZiB
On 28 Sep 2020, at 13:12, Tom Kallas wrote:
Zach, I am having to fix the holes that were drilled through the wood paneling and also have the moss removed from the stairs and walkways the cost of which is unknown at this time!
I also had to pay for someone to make a trip to the house to remove the second garage door sign!
The contractor will begin work on mom’s house the second week of October!
Tom
Sent from Tom Kallas
On Sep 28, 2020, at 12:55 PM, Zach Isbach <zach@isbach.com> wrote:
I just wanted to follow up about the return of the remainder of our deposit with you — I know the USPS has been having delays lately, so it’s maybe just still in the mail, but I wanted to be sure it hadn’t slipped off your list since it has been more than 21 days.
ZiB
Stars for Later
| ↑1 | for terminating any relationship, at any time, on no notice, no matter how much I depend on it |
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