GroundbreakingGoat65 t1_isckq9s wrote on October 14, 2022 at 10:42 PM

This exact thing happened to us a year and half ago with Rose! We were promised a fenced in back yard when we toured the apartment, as well as the apartment being pet friendly. When we showed up to sign the actual lease, she informed us that the backyard wouldn’t be fenced in for at least four months, if not longer, and that every time our dog peed in the yard would be a $50 fine. I’ve signed many leases and this was the craziest one by far - it required that we personally re-seal the countertops every six months, specified the brand of cleaning products to use, and had fines for every possible situation. We ended up not signing the lease and - like you - also lost our money. We ended up not pursuing anything but we were appalled by her behavior!

mostly_moths OP t1_isfnfws wrote on October 15, 2022 at 4:49 PM

Wow, those are truly the craziest lease provisions I've ever heard of!! And I bet she didn't show you the lease until after the 24-hour window had closed for you to withdraw your application--so that she could keep your money.

Rhode Island Legal Services says here that if you were to pursue this in small claims court (which you don't need a lawyer for) you can ask for up to twice the amount of your deposit in damages, in addition to the deposit itself. It only costs $75 to file a claim, so depending on how much time/effort you feel like putting into something like this, it could end up being pretty worthwhile. I personally am planning on filing a claim against her.