Two women moving out of Form 15, an apartment building on Market Street in downtown San Diego, found a $550 painting charge on their move-out bill.
Alexis Norman and Nicolette Cochran called the property owner, Essex, to ask about it, and the company couldn’t find any paperwork showing the unit was painted, a lawsuit says. Additionally, Essex billed them for a carpet cleaning, even though their floors were concrete.
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Now the former landlord, Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS), is involved in a $19.25 million settlement for them and other former residents. The San Mateo, California-based company owns apartments in California and the Seattle area. The payout also cancels $8.7 million in move-out charges Essex says former tenants still owe it.
Essex denies the allegations. An attorney for the company told Times of San Diego it settled because dragging out the case would be risky and expensive. Essex has not responded to Moneywise’s request for comment by publication time…