Q: Are we required to pay our apartment complex’s collection legal fees?
We moved out of our apartment in on 7/5/2018. We received a letter dated 7/11/2018 with our final statement. There was no due date on the final statement, it simply read “Please contact us at — to make arrangements for payment of this balance due at your earliest convenience.” I contacted the leasing office on 8/7/2018 to let them know the check would be mailed on 8/15/2018. I was told that my account was pulled up and a notation made. We received letters from an attorney’s office in the mail, dated 8/3/2018, stating they were trying to collect the amount due plus legal fees. Are we responsible for our apartment complex’s legal fees? Is it standard to send a lawyer to collect a debt 23 days after sending a final bill?
A: If your lease says the tenant is obligated to pay attorneys fees and collection costs, you are responsible for them.
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