Do renters regularly lie and blame previous renters if they break something in an apartment rental? Has anyone else had an experience similar to the one below with renting?

I have stayed in apartments in Europe numerous times and really enjoy it. This last experience makes me question whether I want to anymore. A shower rod broke while we were in the other room of a recently rented apartment. (The rod is a semi circle under quite a bit of pressure to stay in the semi circle shape from what I could see after inspecting the break.) Anyway, we had not mistreated the shower rod in any way. We didn't hang clothes on it. We didn't tug on it. We were not even in the bathroom when it snapped. I explained this to the owner. The owner however says that they essentially can not trust what the renters say and trust only their manager. (Their renters always try to blame the previous renters, according to the owner.) So whether the renter actually caused the damage or not is left up to the manager's opinion. In this case, the manager says that the shower rod could not have broken without some "assistance" by us. The owner charged us for 1/2 the repair. I guess just 1/2 because they knew I wouldn't be happy about it. I am frustrated because I would own up to anything that I broke and be willing to pay for it. Just last year, I broke a glass and left a note saying that I broke it. It is a big joke now in my family that my mom and I had too much to drink on our vacation and started doing flips over the shower rod.

As a matter of curiosity, how much did they say that the repair cost in total? I've read several reports from people who say they've been unjustly charged for some feature that malfunctioned, including the damage from a leaking radiator. So I'd definitely be nervous about any case where something might go wrong.

I am not sure what to suggest in such a case. They probably see no downside to charging you for this, because what are you going to do about it?

The total cost of the repair was 90 euro. Because this shower rod was rather unique, it didn't seem that out of line. Yes, there isn't much I can do about it. The security deposit was 200 euro, so the remaining amount was given back to me.

It was just extremely frustrating that the owner didn't even care about my side of the story. They only trust the manager's opinion. They really made it seem that people never say it is their fault and I was just like the others. The truth is I would take responsibility, if I had broken it because I had hung heavy wet jeans on it to dry or anything other than opening and closing it for a shower.

Moral of the story, never give more security deposit than you are willing to lose for an unjust charge. I never thought that much about security deposits, but I certainly will now. I got back most of mine, but I could easily see losing the entire deposit for an unjust charge.

Hi Su,

How is this different from returning a rental car that was scratched by someone else while you weren't in it?

That your landlord was willing to split the cost with you is amazing. You should send a thank you note.

In all of the apts that I rented before I bought a house, I had to slug it out with the landlord/rental agent to get any portion of my security deposit back.

Think about it from the owner's point of view. I own a house in France that I used to rent. People broke beds in half, destroyed furniture, ran up $800 phone bills, etc. That's what a security deposit is for.

The shower didn't break by itself. Be grateful the landlord was willing to charge you only for half of it. If you can prove that there was something wrong with the way the shower rod was constructed, or hung, that's another story, but you haven't mentioned that.

StCirq, but that is the problem. Since my mom and I were the only ones there, we can honestly say that it did indeed break by itself. It had to be faulty.

I didn't mistreat it, hang stuff on it, tug it, etc. I thought the design did indeed looked faulty. The tension to keep it in this very tight semi-circle seem pretty severe. Just my opinion though. I, of course, can not prove it, as that would require me to hire someone and have them inspect it etc. And it definitely isn't worth that. The money itself wasn't as issue really. It was the feeling of practically being accused of lying so that I wouldn't have to pay for it. That is not my personality at all. If I did it, I will pay for it. Period. No protests unless the amount seems out of line.

But I think you answered my question, which is that people must lie so often (and destroy stuff so often) that owners get jaded and, in the end, will not actually believe when someone is telling the truth. That is quite sad.

Ira, I guess I have been lucky. I have rented many apartments and never had a problem. Although I usually look for ones that have been reviewed and/or stick with agencies that have good reviews.

Seems like a broken shower rod should be "normal wear and tear", and therefor not charged to renters.

I understand how you feel Suquamish, as I try to be honest in my dealings with people. I know that plenty of people know and understand that. But they are people I encounter regularly. If I am dealing with a stranger, I cannot rely on a reputation for honesty. And that's the problem you encountered: how could the owner make an informed judgement that you were telling the truth?

I suspect that splitting the cost of the repair was the owner's attempt to be fair. I suggest that you look at it in that spirit.

Just let it go. Don't let it ruin what are surely lovely memories from your trip. Things like this happen.

I think that is ridiculous--I would not have paid anything. Whatever they forced me to pay, they would regret the colossal fit I would have pitched.
You did not break it, enough said! I sgree that falls under wear and tear.

I can understand your being mad, I would be too, but really, are you seriously asking if other people lie? Of course they do.

I actually don't blame the mananger too much in this case, as your speculation about faulty design, etc., may be true but the fact is the owner doesn't live in that apt and probalby doesn't know that much about shower rod design. All they know is the rod broke while you were staying in the apartment.

Just for the record, if a renter had come to me and said something like that was faulty in design and had broken all by itself, I would be skeptical, but I probably wouldn't have charged him for it, as it's true that there is normal wear and tear on any dwelling.

Now, the folks who broke one of my beds literally in half DID get charged. Beds do NOT break by themselves. And the stockbrokers who ran up the $800 phone bill in a week would have been stupid to lie about it as the evidence was there on the phone bill.

But yes, some people lie. It's so easy when the landlord is 3500 miles away (though I did always have people checking on my house right before renters arrived and right after they left). On the other hand, I've had people email me to say they broke a wine glass and I could deduct the cost from their deposit. Folks come in all types.

Actually, some cheap or old beds do break by themselves, I've known one that did.

In 14 years of renting we have had virtually no damage to any of our houses. Broken glasses are just a cost of doing business. Other things break and (like Suquamish) you're unlucky if you happen to be the person who's there when it happesns. I think in all that time I've only ever held back money once. They didn't break the bed, but they did rip the bedskirt, and the plastic covering on a picture.

As the manager of various properties, and owner of one house, I have to deal with different groups of people every week, but generally refund their money the day they leave. So if you are renting, don't assume you will always be assumed to be in the wrong.

Having also been a landlord who used a property manager I can say that I relied on the PM's word. Of course, if the PM here was responsible for maintenance and had installed the shower rod in the first place there might be another layer to it.
For the amount involved it is not worth fighting, IMO. You can feel morally superior. And should a similar situation ever happen again I'd start the conversation with the PM with something like "I want you to know that I understand these things happen so don't hold you liable..."

Agree you're lucky that paid half - they must have thought you might be telling the truth.

Otherwise - you arrive and the shower rod is OK - you leave and it's broken - what can they assume except you broke it. (And no - that's not normal wear and tear - a small stain on a rug or a broken glass is normal wear and tear - breakage of a fixture isn;t).