mistressofmuses | (no subject)

Apparently we failed our apartment inspection.

We got a notice today that we were "not in keeping with the terms of our lease" due to "housekeeping issues, and the presence of trash."

...There is no trash in the apartment beyond what's in the can under the sink and the can in the bathroom, both of which were nearly empty, because we took the trash out the day before the inspection.

All I can think is that they saw the couple of (contained!) plastic bags of *laundry* by the closet and assumed they were trash? They're not trash! They're blankets that need to be washed! I feel like we are not the only people in the world to have ever used a plastic bag to hold laundry.

And there were no details of what "housekeeping issues" they saw, and I genuinely don't know what they mean. We swept and vacuumed, cleaned the sinks/tub, cleared and cleaned the counter. There were two bowls from breakfast and two plates from lunch in the sink? There's clutter on the bedside tables and entertainment center? To be honest, I resent the idea that I'm not allowed to have STUFF on tables. None of it is *dirty* clutter or anything, either. It's like... books and game cases and mail. A pile of buttons.

My concern is that they think the fact there are plastic tote storage boxes in the "living room" area is somehow a "housekeeping issue". It's a studio apartment, and we do have stuff stored in boxes. Not really sure what we can do about that.

So I guess we'll try to get all of that neatened up, though I don't know exactly what to do to fix it, because that's so vague, and also not true.

None of this was mentioned or clarified the day of the inspection, which also annoys me. They could have ASKED if the plastic bags were trash, and we could have told them that no, it's blankets we have to take to the laundromat because none of the washers here can deal with blankets.

But ugh, I'm really annoyed.

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Ask them for clarification. If they provide it, you can correct them. If they don't provide it, then they'd have no actual evidence if they attempted to evict. Luckily the law is actually on your side. It's very difficult to evict anyone and if they aren't going to provide evidence as to why, it's just opinion and would never hold up.

My bigger worry than eviction is that our lease is up in October, and I don't want them to decide not to renew it.

You are right, though - if they can't even give us any more substantial evidence than "idk, we saw some trash?" then that's weak as shit, and isn't going to hold up to anything.

Oh, I hadn't considered lease renewal. Well good luck with that. I guess sending a request for more information in the form of "WTF DID YOU THINK YOU SAW" wouldn't be in your best interest then.

Hahaha, it's TEMPTING though.

Wow, vague much?!! Sounds to me like they were looking for things to complain about (for whatever reason). I agree with the above, ask for clarification. In writing, if possible. And keep notes. Oh, and take photos!

Right?? That's my problem with it! If they had been more specific about WHAT they had an issue with, we'd address it. But ugh, it very much seems like they just wanted to complain. :/

Ugh. What assholes. They should have clarified, and I agree with the other commenters. Ask for clarification, and give them an explanation. Take photos of the laundry in the bags to send them. Tell them that you work a full time job and can't do laundry at the drop of a hat. Possibly call for a housing authority rep or lawyer and explain the situation.

It seemed super douchey! If they'd been more specific in the notice, or said anything day of, that would have been far better.

Hopefully it won't get into lawyer territory, as they've basically just said "fix the issues and we'll re-inspect." But if they ARE going to be unreasonable about things like "there was dust on the bookcase" or "books were on the table", then I would absolutely want to contact some sort of advocate, because that is imo an unreasonable demand for a landlord to make.