Paramus, NJ asked in Contracts, Real Estate Law and Landlord - Tenant for New Jersey

Q: the apartment I moved into was not cleaned or painted, as agreed on the lease. What can I do?

On move in day, I stopped my move because of the filth but was told, by the landlord, via phone, that she would take care of it later. The lease says "unit" will be painted. Only the walls were painted and not any trim. Baseboards, doors, ceilings, and cabinets are filthy and chipped. Above the kitchen cabinets was covered in grease and a layer of dead gnats. Gnats were biting my son and me, so I did my best to clean. Agreement in lease negotiation says "professionally cleaned," yet it is filthy. This is a $2,850 per month rental. I agreed to pay an additional $50 per month to get the apartment up to my standards. My landlord now says that it is fine and that she only agreed to paint the walls and that she can't do anything about the fact that her cleaners did a bad job.

2 Lawyer Answers
H. Scott Aalsberg
H. Scott Aalsberg
Answered
  • East Brunswick, NJ
  • Licensed in New Jersey

A: You are probably out of luck if she has a receipt that she used a professional cleaner to clean the apartment and unless you stated what was going to be painted you may also lose on that one also.

Marcel Wurms
Marcel Wurms
Answered
  • Landlord Tenant Lawyer
  • Lodi, NJ
  • Licensed in New Jersey

A: Matters like this are very fact dependent. If your landlord violated her written agreement, then you may have recourse. You need to bring your proofs (copies of leases, emails, text messages, pictures, receipts, etc.) to an attorney to review.

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