Landlords Responsibility or Renters Responsibility?

My partner and I are in the process of moving out of a new townhouse/rental. The landlord had done a pre-walkthrough of the town home and thinks that all looks good except for the black ceramic stovetop. She says that the marks on the stovetop and the pivots are not normal wear and tear and that it was neglect (she is very cheap). We however disagree with her.

She then went to GE and they told her that if the wrong cookware were used on the stovetop then it would scratch it. I confirmed that we indeed have the correct cookware for the range and that the incorrect cookware was never used.

She said that we might have to end up replacing the stovetop and our expense due to the damage that we caused while renting. She said that she gave us all the manuals to the appliance that clearly states what pans to use and what not to use.

Do you think this is fair? Sounds like to me she wants a free stovetop. What do you think?

Ah, renting. I think she is being very cheap. HOWEVER, if you are the first teneant since she got the new top and there is apparent damage, she can and most likely will charge you. Now, it should not be to replace it unless it no longer works. If she does, you can go to small claims court and they may drop it to just damage instead of replacement, but that may be a hassle worth doing if she does charge you. See what she says and let her know you intend to contest it. You may still have to pay, just not as much.

Personally, I think she just wants a free stovetop. If that's what she wants...eBay one. =P Get one as cheap as possible or repair it.

If you want you can try to dispute it with her, but she seems very determined on this.

those types of stove tops always scratch...I know because I have one.

it's normal wear n' tear....so yes she's being a cheap-@$$ !

Don't pay her a damn thing....and if she wants to take it to court...which would cost her more money initially than just replacing it.... she won't really have a case anyway so it would be a big waste of time.

as a landlord, we try to think about how it would look if it were being used by us. If there is damage that shouldn't be there, be don't give back some of their deposit. But we have not ever had to do that. We don't charge of rrepainting...etc. We figure we've gotten enough money just by getting paid month to month. And if the topic ever came up....we wouldn't take more than the original down payment unless it was something huge, then we would take them to small claims.

She just wants a new stove top. The one you had still works right. I wouldn't care about scratches and stuff. Tell her no or agree to a reasonable amount but not all of it.

Did you take picture's of how it looked before? How long did you live there? Did the stove top look how it looked when you moved in when you moved out? If not, your landlord may have a valid case. That is thier property, and they expect you to take excellent care of it. The place will be rented again, so she needs to take care the place is in good condition for the next tenant. Some stove's are cheap, and as a result, some stains and scratches never come out. It sucks, but unless you want to go to court over this, there is nothing you can do. At that time, you will need pictures to prove your case,(normal wear & tear) and hope the judge sides in your favor. I would just take it as a loss if you know you can't prove yourself.

The sad part of it, is that it could be normal wear n tear, and your LL is trying to get paid off of it.

I had a landlord pull the same trick on me years ago, he withheld $100 over the stove, and I took care to clean that stove often. There were some marks inside that I could not get out -doubt he did either! The stove was so cheap, styrofoam was poking out the sides! He never liked me to begin with though. Thats why he charged me for what he normally did not charge other tenants for when I moved out.

It really depends on the kind of a landlord you have.

Good Luck!

Unless there are HUGE gouges out of the stove-top...I believe she is just trying to get a new stove top out of you. If the stove is working fine, then what is the problem. I can't believe that she feels there should be no sign that no one ever rented the place. I personally think she is nit-picking. Unless you have totally destroyed this stove, I can't see what her problem is.