Apartment Tried To Charge Rent For After My Move Out Date, Now I’m Being Threatened With Eviction

Location: Dallas, Texas

I live in an apartment complex that is owned by a corporation. My 15 month lease ends November 19th and I gave more than the required 30 days written notice that I was moving out. I received confirmation via email from the office that they received my notice. When my account was charged for rent on the 1st, there was a line item for prorated rent 11/1-11/19, prorated rent 11/20-11/30 and a month to month fee.

The 1st was a Sunday, so I couldn’t call until Monday. In my lease, I have a 3 day grace period to pay rent. The portal doesn’t allow partial payments, so I was anxious to get this sorted before the grace period ended so I wouldn’t risk a late fee. And I couldn’t afford to go ahead and pay the full amount, even if I trusted them to refund it later.

I called the office to remind them I’d given my notice and that these charges needed to be removed. The guy I spoke to said he’d pass it along to the office manager to get it taken care of.

On the last day of the grace period, I hadn’t heard anything, so I called again and the guy told me the manager probably hadn’t got around to it yet. I told him I was worried about a late fee and he said, “You shouldn’t be charged one.” I asked to get that in writing and he said I would have to talk to the manager… who was conveniently unavailable to talk on the phone.

So I called their corporate office and spoke to a lady who pulled up all my paperwork and said I had everything in order, so she’d get this sorted out. An hour later the office manager called me and said she’d send a link so I could pay what I owe and nothing more

Today, two days later, I received an email from the office stating I was late on my rent payment and facing eviction if the remaining balance isn’t paid by 11/8. On my account I’ve also been charged a late fee.

My main concern now is that this will be reflected on my rental history and make it harder to find housing in the future. My rental history has been flawless up till this point. I could go ahead and pay it, but I’m looking at $500 I don’t have and don’t owe. I did everything I was supposed to do and I have documentation of that. How do I proceed in this situation and how can I protect myself?

I’m going to talk to them again in person tomorrow and likely call the corporate office again, but what are my options if this doesn’t get fixed?

Thank you in advance for any guidance.