u/Crunchwrapfucker

I lived in this location for about 6 months, $900 a month and a $500 deposit. Moved in end of june, early july noticed brown stains and streaking on walls. I documented this with photo and video, but did not bring this up to the owner. I assumed it was something the landlord/roommate didn't care to clean or fix. The housing was to be temporary so I didn't care. Besides my landlord, there is one other roommate.

Upon move out it was agreed that he would keep $200 for utilities for that last month. About a month and a half after move out I inquired about the deposit, and he said he paid a cleaning lady to clean my room and the kitchen because I didn't. He said:

"There was tons of dust on your fan/light and blinds, stuff dripped down the walls, stuff stuck to the floors that weren't mopped, cobwebs in the corners, windows were dirty, kitchen wasn't cleaned at all, entryway/hallway wasn't cleaned/vacuumed."

While I did not wipe down the shared fridge or kitchen, I did go over my room with clorox/vacuum and cleaned the trim/window/windowsill. I did forget to dust the blinds and fan and didn't mop a portion of the floor where honey or something spilled (bc the housing was temporary I had all my old pantry non-perishables in a box/bin)

I have inquired about a bill from the cleaners, and have mentioned that $300 was high for a single 12x12 room and wipe down of appliances. And have sent him documents from as early as july 5th documenting the stains.

I have recently learned that the stains are "surfactant leeching" from latex paint and humidity. I don't mind paying a cleaning fee, i understand many units will hire a cleaner by default. However I asked to have him return some of the $300 because I didn't feel I should be billed for stains predating my residence there

A side question that I have, is the surfactant leeching something I would even be responsible for if it had shown up during my residence?

I do not want to take this to small claims, but him not notifying me of deposit deductions/furnishing receipts or record of cleaning within 20-30 days I think would allow me to receive double my deposit (minus the 200 for utilities)

I rented a single 12x12ish room for about 6 months. I paid a $500 deposit, and was paying $900 a month. My landlord and one other person shared the house with me, so there was a shared bathroom/kitchen/fridge. (Upon move in there were stains on the wall/things dripping down, I took photos and videos within the first few days of moving there)

I moved out end of February, but agreed to pay rent for the month of March because I did not receive a job offer out of town soon enough to give full 30 days notice.

Upon moving out I agreed that he could deduct the $200 utilities bill from the deposit to simplify. However after moving and getting settled in a new apartment/job, about a month and a half later I texted him inquiring about the deposit because I had not heard from him. He told me the $300 was for a cleaning service he had hired because I did not dust the blinds/ceiling fan, cobwebs in windows, dirty windows, and the grease had not been wiped from the stove/range and the fridge had not been wiped down.

$300 felt high to clean a small bedroom, then paying for the shared kitchen and shared fridge to be cleaned/the hallway vacuumed. He also cited the things dripping down the wall in the room. When I inquired about the fee, he said "$300 was a pretty good deal" and he could "start itemizing damages and send me a bill". I asked for a receipt from the cleaning company and a list of items he would have wanted to deduct from the deposit and have not heard back. I cleaned as best I could, it's not like the kitchen, fridge, room were a wreck, as most of these were shared and i was mindful of messes.

I can understand me by default paying for my space to be cleaned. That feels standard practice for other rentals i've had. But him citing the wall messes gave me the impression he did not hire a cleaner or look at the room closely when the tenant prior to me moved out. The mess was there prior to my move in and it is documented.

The bill also being larger to pay someone to clean a shared space that was used frequently by 2 other people also feels shady. I don't think i cooked meals in my final week or so in the house. While I suppose i could have wiped the fridge down where my few items were upon removal, some of this feels like a reach.

I understand this is about $300 or less and the juice probably isn't worth the squeeze. But I was curious as to the thoughts of others