How to complain on landlord?

[ablengata]

I am interested in contacting my attorney general here in Arkansas about my slimy landlord. I would just like to find out if I actually have substance in my argument. My plans are to write a statement stating the inappropriate conduct that is being performed by the management, and also write a statement that says this apartment complex is becoming dangerous and the tenants have a just cause to be fearful for their safety.

So I live at a really crummy apartment complex that is on the brink of bankruptcy. It was a nice place 2 years ago when I first moved in. But in that time, the original manager was embezzling from the complex to feed his gambling addiction; then one day 4 mos ago he disappeared and left for Vegas. Once that happened, all hell broke loose. Roughly 1/3 of the tenants were evicted due to lack of paper trails and proof of rent. The embezzling manager would prey on the financially less fortunate by giving them discounts if they paid rent in cash; and then he would pocket the cash. There is a court case pending against him from the owners of the property to recover lost income, but everything is moving very slow.

Once the mass eviction was over, the new managers started moving in some very shady characters, and the atmosphere changed drastically. The police are here roughly 2-3 times per week for drugs, violence, and domestic disturbances. I like many other tenants here are becoming fearful for our safety. Just last week, some kids were at the pool when one of them pulled a gun on another! There have been 3 instances in the past 4 months involving gun shots and stabbings. No I don't live in compton, I live in the cush college town Fayetteville, AR!! some "minor" safety issues I and everyone else has noticed is that the stairwells do not have handrails, and they do not have any lights, nor do any of the walkways. And there is broken glass in the playground where many of the kids play.

There are 96 units in the whole complex; as of 6 months ago, 90 of them were occupied. Currently only 48 are occupied; this should give you an idea of how fast this place is sinking. The tenants here are either students, or people struggling to make ends meet. I have lived here for 2 years, and the whole place is just going downhill, and fast. It appears as if it is on the brink of bankruptcy for sure.

2 months ago, 3 separate friends moved out of this complex when they graduated. NONE of them have received an itemized list of what their deposit was used for, or any portion of their deposit at all, and it's been over 60 days at this point. I helped 2 of them clean their apartments when they moved, and they were literally spotless and no damages. My neighbor, a member of the military, was just recently given a 3 day eviction notice claiming that he has not paid rent at ALL since he has lived here (he's lived here for 6 months!). He provided the apartment with proof of all his money orders, but they told him that it wasn't enough and still evicted him while his lease was still active (he can clearly prove that he did pay rent, and always on time).

the apartment complex is obviously starving for cash at the moment. We have had 3 different managers in the past 4 months... at this point the paperwork is so messed up, probably no one will get out of this apartment complex unscathed. I have a perfect rental history, and perfect credit history. Today when I gave my 30 days move-out notice, the new manager told me I had 0 in late charges! I quickly printed off copies of all my rent checks from the last year, and I provided the manager with the proof. I showed her that all the checks were dated several days before rent was due. But the manager refused to remove my late fees, claiming that the day they were cashed is what determines whether they were late, and then she went on to accuse me of "pre-dating" my checks and said she was going to charge me /day until I pay off the balance; and if it's not paid by the time I vacate, she will report me to a credit bureau!! That just doesn't seem right to me... I have always turned in my rent at least 4 or 5 days early.

So do I have any substance here? Everyone in this community is getting sick and tired, and we all want to do something to change this hell hole. I'm leaving this place very soon, but I would like to stand up for what I believe in. We just don't feel safe around here anymore; and the book-keeping is horrible. Everyone is getting pummeled with fines and threats from the management, and getting screwed every which way. I have spoken to several tenants here that want to send a collective letter to the attorney general of Arkansas to testify and let them know about these injustices. If we do this, I am planning on including a report from the police dept stating how many times during the past 4 months they have been called to this property, and the severity of the
cont'd from above:
... and the severity of the crimes that they were called for. I am also planning on including a police report regareding the apartment complex that's just across the street that has virtually none of these problems, and is comparable in quality. this is in an effort to show that they apartment complex is irregularly unsafe.

[kari_wonder]

The day they were cashed does not have anything to do with late fees. The day they are received by the management, unless you post dated the checks or they bounced, the rent should be considered paid off. Just because they were too slow to get to the bank should not hurt you. I think you should band together with the other tenants.

It's just like when I paid the Electricity Bill for my family. I paid the day it was due, but the check didn't get cashed until the end of the following week, but that did not hurt my family's electricity.

[RNPKB]

You better make complain to local municipality and then Make FIR to Police against the landlord. At the same time make a front with other tenants for joint action. For safety and security get something repaired and deduct the cost from rent. Be Brave do not give up.