Hello PF,
I moved out of an apartment with security deposit of $1000. Received a return deposit with deduction of $450, stating the kitchen and bathroom was very dirty. To give size, only 1 person could stand in the kitchen at one time. There's no dining space but counter. Bathroom was small enough there's only the shower and no tub. I'd say the flat rate to clean this tiny one-bedroom apartment (professional service) would be $150 max.
I did take "general pictures" of rooms when I moved out, however, I didn't take pictures of every tiny thing like the sink, the toilet etc.
How do I dispute this exorbitant charge? The letter only states "kitchen and bathroom were left very dirty", no other damage mentioned.
I do have pictures and an email from when I moved in that the entire place was NOT cleaned. I never received any rebates or rent reduction from that, and now they claim a cleaning charge of that tiny kitchen and bathroom to be $450.
Please advise.
Edit: I was in a rush so I didn't have a lot of time to detail out. Also on mobile so please excuse format.
I definitely did NOT "trash" that place. Normal wear and tear is expected, but it was way cleaner than the condition I received. I did very extensive cleaning with that apartment as I usually do with rentals. I've only stayed at 2 other prior places and with both, I received my deposit in full. So no, I definitely am not that kind of tenant to trash their place.
If any thing, I was very patient and tolerant with them. There was a flood last year that damaged the roof and subsequently my ceiling. This happened when I was out traveling. They never notice or was aware until I came back 2 weeks later to my ceiling plaster falling and exposed. They then took a week to restore the ceiling, during which time I had to temporary move out staying with a friend. I never received rent deduction for this either. Then there were also raccoons up on attic that they took months to take care of, and by the end, there was still one up there but they kept denying it and told me I was mistaken. I let all of this go because I didn't feel like arguing with them every other month.
So I was extremely upset that for all my tolerance with a lot of their incompetence, they now are charging me a cleaning fee for just the kitchen and shower of $450--which, again, I have already done extensive cleaning (scrubbing soap scum, using rust-free product for the kitchen sink etc.). I would have in fact not bothered with this, but my American SO (I come from a culture where we are not very confrontational) encouraged me to at least try to work out this ridiculous charge with them.
Overall, I'd be okay too if they had kept some deposit back, like 150 or so for professional service to clean the entire place like new for the next tenant (which they did not do that for me). However $450 cleaning that tiny toilet and kitchen and saying it was "very dirty" is simply untrue and leave a very bad taste in my mouth.
Thanks for reading and for any advice you could offer.
Submitted May 02, 2019 at 09:28AM by JanuaryWinter12 http://bit.ly/2DJNjnP
