My old apartment complex wants money?

A Hunch

If it your responsibility to notify management of issues with your appointment. This does not mean calling and asking to speak to the manager 3X, this means sending a certified letter explaining the damages and requesting the repairs. What do you do? I think a court is going to require you to pay the missed rent but not the carpet. A landlord can't fix something that they don't know about and you didn't provide proper notice of the mold issue.

Eva

You should have called code enforcement and/or the health dept in your town to protect against exactly this scenario. You will have to take your landlord to court to sue for damages in order to get this off your credit report and to get the collection agency to leave you alone.

Simply

PAY the rent to the end of the lease and fight the damages. there are legal procedures to follow to terminate a lease early. even if not habitable, you do not get to declare that. you call the town housing inspector, go thru your renters insurance to stay at a hotel, etc

Slumlord

You could try the old, pay the bill then sue them. Send them a check for $20 and mark it as partial payment on the bill. Send or even drop it off to them directly. Then take them to court to get the $20 back. If you win the court case they will likely get the picture fast and stop all collections against you but repeat the process if they don't. Not the perfect answer but if the place is as unlivable as you say then I suspect you will prevail in court and if you do nohting you can expect many years of collection calls and bad credit - though they will never take you to court (not worth their time and they probably know they'll lose)

StephenWeinstein

If the debt collectors are calling on the telephone, then send them written letters by certified U.S. mail, return receipt requested, telling them never to call you on the phone, and to communicate only in writing, without using the phone. The law requires them to stop calling if you tell them to stop calling, and many will simply stop harassing you rather than contact you in writing. If they are harassing you in writing, which is less common, you also have the right to tell them to stop most written contact, but there are certain exceptions (for example, if they are going to sue you in court, you do not have the right to tell them not to tell you in writing that htey are gong to file the lawsuit).

Pascal the Gambler

The bad black mold is actually green. There is no way you owe for the carpets that you did not damage. Let them sue you, if you have pictures, etc of everything over time, you likely win, even for the rent if you gave notice, can show you told them of the mold, etc. Once the collection hits your credit, dispute it with the bureau, they won't be able to verify.

real estate guy

Usually to have the collection company go after you, they would have needed to go to court and get a judgement. Did this happen? If it did and you lost, then by law, you owe the money. If it didn't go to court, then I would actually sue THEM for this problem and ask for damages because you had to move and any damage to your stuff. I bet they will stop fighting you.

Steve D

Unluckily, you missed two important steps in your process for getting the apartment cleaned or okay to break the lease. First, just because the mold is black does not mean it is toxic. You should have called the local health department and had them come out and inspect the apartment and test the mold. Testing the mold is the only way for you to know whether it posed a health hazard - now, you cannot prove that the apartment was unhealthy. Your second mistake was asking (verbally) to talk to a manager. You should have reported the mold and requested remediation in writing (keeping a copy of the written communication for yourself and sending the manager's copy by certified/receipt requested mail. In most states, requests for repairs, etc. must be in writing, anything else does not count. Because you did not do these two things, the odds are that you illegally broke the lease and since management originally refused to allow the lease to be broken, you probably owe for the last two months (unless you can also rove management was able to rent the apartment out during that time, in which case, you should get a pro-rated reduction in the amount owed). Please consult a licensed real estate lawyer in your area - this person sill know what teh law requires in your state and town and can give you advice or handle the legal steps.

No Mercy

if it was flooded they should have either dried with a special drier - u wouldn't have been able to live in apartment during that time - or they should have ripped off the old carpet, waited till everything dries, and then installed a new one. asking on yahoo answers will not resolve your problem. i say u should contact someone professional with law. not yahoo answers.

Donnie Porko

If there’s mold, you have every right to leave because it can put your health at risk. Since they flooded the area, you’re not responsible for the cleanup or anything. You should have asked to stay at a hotel while management pays for it. Have you tried looking at your state’s rental laws to see what rights you have. Show that to the manager and threaten to sue.

Dances with Weed

If an apartment is uninhabitable say from mold from a flood caused by something other than you...than yea you had every right to break the lease....even if it was caused by you.