Landlord missed the 14 day deadline and took $400 out of my security deposit. Should I fight it?
TDLR: I moved out of my apt two days late but my landlord missed the 14 day security deposit return and deducted $400 for wear and tear. Should I fight it?
I moved out of my old apt in April, however my roommate (not on the lease) wanted to apply to sign the new lease. I passed on their details to the landlord and left them to sort it out themselves. I was under the impression it was sorted and they would be staying....until the last day of March when the roommate texted me saying his guarantor fell through and the landlord denied him and he was moving out asap. I contacted the landlord immediately to let him know that I would have the place cleared out asap. The roommate ended up leaving on April 2nd two days after the lease ended. I emailed the landlord as soon as everyone was out that it was vacant and gave the keys to the super.
Three weeks passed and I never heard anything from the landlord so I contacted them asking about security deposit and finally today I received a check in the mail for it but they put in a letter saying $400 was taken out because "excessive floor scratches, holes in walls and doors and debris (step ladder and curtain pools) left behind for removal by maintenance"
I have a video that I took of a walk through I did when moving out but didn't send it to them so I have a back up as I don't think the apt was left in bad condition. The apt was also lived in by the same tenants for 4+ years so I feel like this is normal wear and tear?
Basically, I'm unsure whether to fight them over $400 since we were two days late moving out of the apt even though they didn't communicate anything in 14 days after moving out.