Re: charging for damages - Landlord Forum thread

Re: charging for damages by Ryan Lavery (PA) on March 15, 2012 @11:38

There's no reason not to charge on your lpa security settlement statement for the expenses you had to endure no matter whether you did them yourself or not.

Some might tell you you can not charge for work you did yourself because if contested in court, work done yourself may not be upheld without receipts from a 3rd party contractor.

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Re: charging for damages by Nicole (maryland) on March 15, 2012 @11:43	[ Reply ]

I was told it was called "the cost of doing business". I just wanted to verify , the amount of damages were excessive, but not anything beyond my ability to repair. Holes in the wall, bathtub caulking, shampooing carpet because of odor and stains, toilet repair, damaged blinds, etc... very frustrating because I try to keep it a very nice apartment. Anyway, I did the repairs and in the past never had an issue with charging for my labor. I just didn't want to continue to do so and have an issue because of this "cost of doing business"

Re: charging for damages by Anna Mouse on March 15, 2012 @12:28	[ Reply ]

It has to do with your state law. Some states allow the charges for the labor hours of the LL and others do not. Here is what important and an example for lets say cleaning. The LL should get a few estimates of the hourly rate for cleaning. In my state it averages from $30 to $40 an hour from a professional company. So as a LL I could A) hire a service and bill the SD for what they charge. B) I might decide I wanted to clean and then charge for my supplies and maybe $20 an hour. That would likely fly very well in court. I am not a professional cleaner but I am charging $10 to $20 less than a pro would. I am going to look up your state and see what I might find

Re: charging for damages by Nicole (Maryland) on March 15, 2012 @13:29	[ Reply ]

Thank you both so much for the input. I had tried to look for my state but, I am not as experienced as you probably are Anna. Any and all help you can offer is greatly appreciated.

Re: charging for damages