I moved into a ghetto apartment and it was somewhat dirty but I figured "this is about what i should expect for 500 a month" so I didn't make anything of it. Now that I have moved out for a few weeks they send me a letter saying that I owe 345 and break down all the things wrong with the apartment.

ac vent dirty-15
bathrooms dirty-60
carpet drity-80
oven fridge and dishwater dirty-150
trash left-40

All of these things were somewhat dirty when I got there and when I left. I cleaned these things before Ieft but they were still somewhat dirty. They weren't what you would call "dirty" but they weren't move in ready either. I have never left an apartment move in ready. As a landlord, I know that I have to clean places between tenants. Thats just part of the game. Why doesn't this ghetto complex understand that?

6/9/2011 9:09:12 PM

they do understand that. they're just hoping you won't fight it.

6/9/2011 9:17:39 PM

Aside from speaking with management, how do I fight it? Can't they ruin my credit? If you remember my older threads, I just wasted a lot of money getting bullshit off of my credit and it literally just recovered by 100 points so I am scared.

6/9/2011 9:25:44 PM

Fuck no. That's why you pay a deposit. They can't charge you for cleaning.

6/9/2011 11:16:35 PM

a good rule of thumb is to leave the place and appliances the way you found them (which from the way you describe the place, they were probably all somewhat nasty to begin with)

though the dirty AC vent is a bunch of bullshit

6/9/2011 11:32:23 PM

the place that you are moving into... take pictures of it now to prevent any similar problems in the future.

6/9/2011 11:46:12 PM

Pictures pictures pictures.

And no, they can't charge you for normal wear and tear stuff.

Good summary of NC tenant rights: http://www.ncsu.edu/stud_affairs/legal_services/legaldocs/LandlordTenantHandout.htm

6/10/2011 8:14:43 AM

what does your lease say? mine lists a specific charge for trash left and bathrooms dirty upon leaving. thats a separate issue from normal wear and tear.

the onus is on you to, upon arriving, document if the place is not clean. if you don't have a record of that on your move-in condition checklist you may have a tough time fighting cleaning charges for leaving it dirty.

6/10/2011 8:26:07 AM

Quote :

"ac vent dirty-15 bathrooms dirty-60 carpet drity-80 oven fridge and dishwater dirty-150 trash left-40"

^ This, but barring specifics in the lease they can't just make up arbitrary numbers to punish you. They can only charge the actual costs to clean/repair damages. I'd be asking for receipts showing that they paid $150 for cleaning the oven, fridge, and dishwasher. If they can't produce them (which they won't be able to) then they need to refund your money.

They have 30 days in NC to either refund your money or produce proof of repairs/damage.

[Edited on June 10, 2011 at 10:27 AM. Reason : l]

6/10/2011 10:26:27 AM

$345 for basically cleaning? Nothing needs to be replaced or anything? Fuck that noise

6/10/2011 10:45:42 AM

Tell them you will hire the cleaning company if it is that big of an issue.

cut your losses and pay for the cleaning. I can guarantee it won't be $345.

[Edited on June 10, 2011 at 11:40 AM. Reason : I bet LivinProof78 would do it.]

6/10/2011 11:39:40 AM

^Not disagreeing with you ($345 is pretty steep for an apartment), but I do want to point out the fact that professional housekeeping services are not cheap.

Receipts: likely this will be produced by their in-house cleaning staff, unless they're dumb enough to outsource cleaning.

Also ask for visual proof (pictures) of the excessive filth that they had to clean in order to justify the charges.

6/10/2011 12:06:03 PM

You definitely want to take pictures of a place before you move in, especially if there are pre-existing conditions (i.e. damage, dirt, etc etc). Most apartments have you do a move-in checklist where you list everything that is wrong with the place before you move in, but I would still take pics.

6/10/2011 3:06:33 PM