Is $450 cleaning charge legal?

Q: I recently vacated my apartment and am in a dispute with the resident manager about the proper charges for cleaning and repairs. We had a three-bedroom unit, and I lived there for two years with my spouse and our four young children. I don't think we damaged the property significantly or that the cleaning needed is unusual after the length of time we lived there, especially for a family our size.

The resident manager walked through the apartment a few days before we moved out to assess the condition and said that there would be some charges, but we thought they would be minor. We just received our accounting paperwork for our security deposit and were expecting the majority of our $1,000 deposit to be returned. But the manager has charges totaling nearly $1,500 and says we owe them money.

When I called she said we left the property in horrible condition and she expected that we were going to thoroughly clean the property upon vacating. We admit we were too tired from moving (plus it isn't easy with four young children), but we also thought that the overall condition was reasonable in light of "ordinary wear and tear."

They claim it cost $800 to completely repaint our apartment, and they are deducting $600 from our deposit. Then they are deducting the entire $450 they paid to clean our apartment. There was an additional charge for unpaid rent and some other damage, which we really can't dispute. We acknowledge that there were some holes in the walls and some crayon marks in the kids' rooms. Actually all of the walls were pretty dirty because the landlord uses a flat paint and not a family-friendly enamel that can be scrubbed without taking off the paint.

But to make us pay for the majority of the painting seems unreasonable. The unit wasn't clean enough to move someone else in, but $450 seems like a lot. We have read your prior columns and did ask for receipts, which were provided, and agree with what they told us on the phone. But we still are wondering if all of this is legal?

A: Security deposit disputes are the No. 1 problem in landlord-tenant relationships. Many owners or resident managers see a tenant's security deposit as a source of additional income that's theirs for the taking. However, as a business practice, returning the security deposit in full is actually much better for the owner.

I always advise landlords that they can minimize arguments with former tenants and avoid small claims courts by making only fair and reasonable deductions and providing the security deposit accounting and any refund within the legally required time limits.

I am not sure in your case if the charges were unreasonable based on your own admissions about the damage to the rental unit. It seems the only charges you dispute are the painting and the cleaning. There is a difference in how each of those items should be addressed, in my opinion. The painting is subject to ordinary wear and tear, while the cleaning is not. Legally, the landlord is entitled to charge you for damages beyond ordinary wear and tear. But virtually all disputes over security deposits revolve around this elusive definition. ...CONTINUED

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