Have you received an unfair moving out bill?

Read about real-life examples of moving-out bills:

• Hamid & Amina

  Hamid, Amina and their four children lived for 6 weeks in temporary accommodation while their home was replumbed. When they moved back, they received a 4,900kr cleaning bill. However, Hamid and Amina were sure that they had cleaned thoroughly. Therefore, they enlisted the help of Hyresgästförening (The Tenants' Association) and disputed their bill in writing. The real estate company did not reply and so the case was written off.

• Rashid & Riswan

  When Rashid and Riswan moved out of the rental apartment they had lived in for a couple of years, they received an unexpected 12 200 kr bill. Although they did not believe they had worn out the apartment as much as the landlord claimed, they got scared and paid the bill. They had not been informed that they could dispute the bill.

• Abrihet

  Abrihet received a 7 832 kr bill when she moved from a rental apartment she had lived in for over 30 years. Abrihet contested the invoice as she believed that small grease stains, holes from paintings, and scratches on the floor constitute normal wear and tear. She enlisted the help of the Consumer counselor at the library. They helped Abrihet dispute the bill. The real estate company then halved the original cost of the bill.

• Andrea & Caitlin

  Andrea is at home during the final inspections and asks why they should pay for small boreholes and marks from hanging paintings. The inspector says that they have to use putty and paint and threatens that the landlord will send a bill if they don’t. Andrea doesn’t back down and replies that boreholes and board marks are normal wear and tear. They argue about this throughout the inspection. After the inspection, Andrea emails the landlord directly stating that they do not intend to pay. The landlord did not reply and did not send a moving out bill.

• Sitare

  Sitare received a 4 350 kr bill when she and her two children moved from the home they had lived in for 15 years. The bill had been sent to Sitare's previous address after she moved, so she was surprised when she suddenly received a letter from the debt collector. She emailed the real estate company and questioned whether she had to pay for a tear in wallpaper that was hung up during a renovation a few years earlier, among other things. The real estate company responded in a long email where they claimed that Sitare caused the tear without providing any proof. Sitare got scared and paid the full amount.

• Oliver & Hanna

  Oliver and Hanna received a 7 632 kr bill when they moved from the apartment they had lived in for 12 years. They disputed the invoice because they believed that small grease stains and smaller nail holes were normal wear. The real estate company sent out the bill for collection. Oliver and Hanna replied via email that they were still contesting and that they did not intend to pay the bill. Neither the real estate company nor the debt collector got in touch again after that.

• Johan

  When Johan was about to move, he and his landlord agreed on an inspection time. The landlord did not show up, and instead just sent a bill for alleged wear and tear. Johan disputed the bill via email and demanded to know why the landlord did not show up at the agreed time. He received a long answer in which the landlord demanded that Johan should pay. Johan replied with a new email with the same questions. The landlord did not contact him again.

• Christopher

  Christopher’s moving cleaning was approved, but the landlord still sent a 3900 kr cleaning bill. Christopher disputed the bill via email and sent photos of the clean apartment that he had taken just before moving. The landlord did not contact him again.