Can a landlord change the amount listed as owed on a demand for rent/eviction notice?
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Can a landlord change the amount listed as owed on a demand for rent/eviction notice?
My landlord served me with a demand for rent/eviction notice on 07/07 stating I owed $625. On 07/13 I called and made a payment for $425 and stated I would have the remaining $200 by the the next day they said OK. When I called in the next day to make the payment the woman told me my balance was not $200 it was $700 because I was late on rent I didn’t get the $500 referral credit. I then said the demand for rent (which was given once rent was already late) stated $625. She said we got another notice (which we never did). Can she just change the amount owed?
Asked on July 15, 2011 under Real Estate Law, New Hampshire
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If you have a written lease with your landlord for the unit you are renting, read the lease to determine the amount of agreed upon charges that could be assessed against you if you are late. Such fees could be a finance charge, late fees, fees for a check that failed to clear and even attorneys fees.
Was there any written language allowing you the "referral credit" in any document signed by the landlord? If so, when was the credit to be given and how?
If you made payment on the notice you received for unpaid rent and the landlord now claims more fees are owed such as late fees, he or she needs to send you a whole new supplemental notice claiming thsese fees so you can get thngs straightened out.
Good luck.
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