Landlord fees - Landlord Forum thread 333905

Landlord fees by Pamela Jones (Minnesota) on April 21, 2015 @12:46

Can a landlord where you previously lived charge you, to give you a letter stating how long you lived there and what kind of tenant you were? 124.00 fee

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Re: Landlord fees by anon on April 21, 2015 @12:52	[ Reply ]

yes.

Re: Landlord fees by Nicole (PA) on April 21, 2015 @14:45	[ Reply ]

why not? they can ignore the request if they feel like it. you're asking them to provide a service. Apparently your copy of the signed lease and your receipts/cancelled checks/direct deposits aren't good enough for someone. that said, $124 - wow

Re: Landlord fees by Joel on April 21, 2015 @15:02	[ Reply ]

I guess it could also be a bad letter.

Re: Landlord fees by Anonymous on April 21, 2015 @16:35	[ Reply ]

Even after you have moved out, the landlord is still required to deal with you in good faith. Charging $124 fee for a letter would be very unreasonable. You can use utility bill statements to show your time at a place. No landlords recommendation is worth $124.

Re: Landlord fees by CA/Or on April 21, 2015 @23:41	[ Reply ]

For the Love of Pete... Wow. Pamela, there are two sides to every story, so out of profound curiosity, please provide yours on this matter. On the face of it, based on the LL's $124 charge for services of a favorable recommendation, one could surmise that you were a tenant he would NOT recommend without a bribe. On the other hand, there may be big-box rental agencies that see every cent of effort is billable; therefore they charge you (I'm ignorant in this matter and am making it up as I type...). Final anaysis: - you are not a reliable tenant but your LL is a dick by asking for a bribe to give you a good recommendation; - your LL is a dick for taking a bribe - you were a good tenant but you lived in such an incredibly complex complex that your former LL could not expend the time to provide a recommendation / referral.

Get his request in writing? by CCRider (CA) on April 22, 2015 @00:48	[ Reply ]

If you were applying to rent from me, and you told me your last landlord was a creep, and you showed me an email from him asking for a fee to simply say how long you lived there and what kind of tenant you were, I'd be inclined to believe you were lucky to escape that rental. I'd call him, out of curiosity, to see what he'd say. I was a manager who had both owned and rented before I was a manager, and I had good and bad landlords. I would not dismiss your application out of hand due to your circumstances. I think you should try and get his request in writing - like an email. Send him an email asking where you should send the $124 for the fee he requested to state to potential landlords how long you lived there and that you were a good tenant. When he responds without arguing with what you're saying, he just admitted it. Then, you might want to go to fair housing or your state's Department of Consumer Affairs or even the police to ask them if there are any charges that could be brought against him for blackmail. Because this is exactly what this is, in my opinion. What a jerk.

Re: Get his request in writing?