Landlord is squeezing my security deposit to get a nice new door frame

Submitted by Eastern_Goat5775 t3_ylpkmk in jerseycity

I have found myself in a weird situation and was hoping for some guidance with possible legal/small claims court options.

TL;DR I minimally broke the door/frame of my apartment last year. The landlord's contractor is estimating 1900 to replace it. My security deposit was 1,800. I'm suspicious because the building is on the older side and the landlord has been renovating the floor above and the outside. Do I have a case if I take it to court?

Context:

Last year I locked myself out while roommate was away for a few days. The windows have bars on them so I had to break in the front door to get back in (in hindsight, I should've at least tried to pick the lock). I carefully focused on breaking the latch, damaging the door and a 4ft section of frame centered around the latch. Otherwise the door was usable- a metal clamp over the door, a bit of adjusting the hinges, and the door was usable again.

My lease ended last week so the landlord had a contractor come out to assess and estimate costs for repairing the frame/door. When I spoke to the contractor, he said it was cheaper to buy a whole door/frame kit instead of replacing the door and custom-cutting a 4ft section to replace the frame (if anyone has insight on whether this is true please let me know).

He estimated about 1100 total: 500 for a new frame/door kit and 600ish for labor. When he left, he made it sound like he would order the 500 door and keep me in the loop, like sending me the receipt from the manufacturer.

Today my landlord sent me a screenshot of their (landlord and contractor) text conversation: the contractor was going to charge 950 for the door and estimated 950 for labor. He also sent a pic of the already-delivered frame/door kit, even though he never sent me any of this information despite having my #.

I'm weirded out by how far apart the two estimates are. Not only that, I'm having a tough time believing that this older, rough-around-the-edges apartment needs a replacement door/frame for anywhere near 2k. The landlord has recently renovated a bunch, probably to make the unit above (two floors, a unit each) look nicer for Airbnb listings. I'm getting the impression he wants a nice new replacement at my expense.

Do I have any legal grounds here? How should I go about it?

Also- I'm going to get a second quote from another contractor. What can I ask in case I'll need to use it in court?

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Comments

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jersey-city-park t1_iv4ah4k wrote

> Do I have a case if I take it to court?

Absolutely not lmao best you can do is find someone else to give a cheaper quote

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pixel_of_moral_decay t1_iv3tyd8 wrote

There’s more to this story… there’s dumb people in this world, but not so dumb they break their own door vs calling a locksmith. Even on Christmas Eve that will be cheaper, faster, easier.

Not buying it.

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doublen00b t1_iv30s6c wrote

Obviously if you could break in, the frame and the door should be replaced. The landlord is not a contractor doing work so his estimate doesn’t really count for much provided the new door is similar to other doors being used. He could have mistakenly looked at wrong size, wrong for type, wrong material, or quality.

Unfortunately this is pretty much you broke it you buy it, it’s way outside normal wear and tear.

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KenseiSport t1_iv3z1v8 wrote

Sounds like they gave you one estimate off the cuff before they looked into the real cost and labor. Then they came back with the actual cost. From your own words you broke the door. Just pay for the door you broke and move on with your life.

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Positive_Debate7048 t1_iv832hf wrote

You just gotta pay it. Not worth it to go to court over such a small sum.

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imaluckyduckie t1_iv2t2pb wrote

I would tell your landlord that the contractor told you the door was $500 and you're surprised to hear that it's $950. Ask him to send you the contractor's invoice for the door and frame from wherever it was purchased. Not sure there's much you can do regarding the labor cost coming in higher than the estimate.

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