Landlord threatening small claims court after moving out
landlord tenant attorney Connecticut Aug 3, 2026
Location: Connecticut My partner's mother has moved out of her leased house (upon landlord's request) after nearly 20 years of residence. During this time, landlord has repeatedly delayed or refused necessary repairs. She was forced to pay out of pocket for many expenses that he should have be covering. Additionally, there has been a mold issue in the house for years that has never been properly addressed, and upon moving out she had to throw out many personal items. Her lease expired June 30th, but the move-out process took longer than expected as she did not receive adequate notice ahead of time. She and landlord verbally agreed to pro-rate the month of July while she finished moving out, which was completed by the 20th. Landlord refused to partake in the final walkthrough and did not contact her for almost 2 weeks following. Now he is demanding she pay rent for the full month of July, final utilities, and a laundry list of repairs that we believe to be unreasonable as they fall under normal "wear and tear" of almost 20 years. Some of these include: Screen door with a broken handle Rusted bathroom exhaust fan Window screens with small holes/tears Doorbell that has been broken for 5+ years Broken microwave Landlord was notified of all of these damages as they happened, but is now threatening small claims court for a total of almost $5,000 when she was expecting to pay around $2,000 for final month's rent and utilities. Are these reasonable repair charges coming from him? Does the burden of proof for these repair claims lie on him? My partner and I think that he is bluffing and is just trying to intimidate and squeeze as much money as he can out of her. He knows her financial situation is tenuous and that she does not have an additional $3k to pay him. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
