Q: Our landlord has overcharged us in rent by $82 a month for 11 months, against our lease agreement.
I am a resident in Richmond, VA that has been overcharged in rent by our apartment complex. According to our lease, we are to pay $1607 per month in rent. We have been paying $1689 in rent alone for 11 months. We’ve also been overcharged late fees and attorney fees based on the incorrect rent amount. After receiving an itemized ledger, we have found a variety of transactions that we have overpaid in unexplained fees, some exceeding $700 within a single month. We have overpaid over $1,000 altogether after doing the correct calculations. Our property manager is now altering financial documents in account to appear as though we have not overpaid as much as we have. She has also provided us 3 different ledgers, which reflect the deleting/altering. We believe there may be more predatory activity going on, as management cannot explain these overcharges. We are college students and the majority of residents in the building are as well, and we expect we are not the only victims. Please help!
A:
Try contacting the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society -Richmond Branch.
101 West Broad Street, Suite 101 Richmond, VA 23220
804-648-1012
http://www.cvlas.org
A: You should contact the Office of the Attorney General for Virginia whose offices are in Richmond and ask for the consumer protection division. You should file a complaint with them. I am in Alexandria City, about 2 to 3 hours north from Richmond so I am unavailable to assist you.
A:
If you don't qualify for Legal Aid (and CVLAS that was suggested has the best landlord-tenant lawyer in Virginia, in my opinion) your school may have a 'student lawyer' who can advise you in more detail and possibly provide assistance.
You say you have a copy of a rental ledger that's being changed - SAVE THAT COPY and make 'back up' copies immediately. and save and back up every document you have regarding your rental.
There is a process called 'tenant assertion' in the General District Court which may be able to resolve the issue.
Whatever you do, do not 'withhold' rent but pay it either to the rental agent (and of course keep proof of exactly how much was paid) or - using the assertion - pay it to the court who will hold it until it decides your case.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
