So I recently bought a property with existing tenants.
Closed earlier this month, for some reason the Security Deposits were not deducted from the cash-to-close, nor prorating the rent. So the previous owners are cutting a check for the security deposits, partial rents, and pet deposits.
Well I finally got the lease agreement documentation from the seller's agent after close and I noticed something. The tenants agreed to pay $600, pet deposit was $300 but there was a pet fee of $300 as well. They are only sending $300 per per-owning tenant (pet deposit). However, the language of the pet fee is to cover the additional wear and tear caused by the pet. This differs from a pet deposit whereas a deposit covers property damages.
According to Texas Code, "wear and tear" is different than damages because its expected normal usage by the resident (carpet wears when you walk, you put nail holes in the drywall, etc). Applying this logic to pet wear and tear means normal condition decline merely for having the pet, not necessarily damages (which is covered by the deposit).
Thus the fee tied specifically to the "wear and tear" of the pet should apply to the active leases. The fee is not a one-time, line your wallet fee. If it were an application fee, that would be a different story.
So Im thinking about demanding performance for these fees. Am I off base here?
Closed earlier this month, for some reason the Security Deposits were not deducted from the cash-to-close, nor prorating the rent. So the previous owners are cutting a check for the security deposits, partial rents, and pet deposits.
Well I finally got the lease agreement documentation from the seller's agent after close and I noticed something. The tenants agreed to pay $600, pet deposit was $300 but there was a pet fee of $300 as well. They are only sending $300 per per-owning tenant (pet deposit). However, the language of the pet fee is to cover the additional wear and tear caused by the pet. This differs from a pet deposit whereas a deposit covers property damages.
According to Texas Code, "wear and tear" is different than damages because its expected normal usage by the resident (carpet wears when you walk, you put nail holes in the drywall, etc). Applying this logic to pet wear and tear means normal condition decline merely for having the pet, not necessarily damages (which is covered by the deposit).
Thus the fee tied specifically to the "wear and tear" of the pet should apply to the active leases. The fee is not a one-time, line your wallet fee. If it were an application fee, that would be a different story.
So Im thinking about demanding performance for these fees. Am I off base here?