landlord keeping our deposit for "window cleaning"
Hello everyone, would appreciate people's input and advice.
We recently moved out of an apartment. We did do a move-out inspection and walkthrough with the landlord, during which the landlord noted some dirt and rust that had accumulated on the window tracks and inner window frames. Admittedly, we forgot to clean the window tracks before the walk-through and they were a bit dirty. (I should note the rest of the apartment was reasonably clean and there were no other concerns noted on the inspection report). On the inspection report, the landlord wrote a comment that the window frames had "black scuffs" and we signed at the bottom to acknowledge that this was accurate.
Now our landlord has followed up, claiming that they've had a contractor to assess the apartment, and the window frames need to be completely refinished and repainted to a tune of over $1200. They are claiming that the window frames are damaged due to neglect and us not cleaning them properly during our tenancy. We were quite shocked by this amount.
A few more details:
We did a do an inspection and walk-through when we moved in and there were no comments on the windows. Tbh I suspect some of the marks on the window frames were there originally, but I didn't take any photos of them at the time.
We did provide a forwarding address, on paper, on the day of the walk-through and gave this to the landlord.
We signed the inspection report describing the windows, but the report did not specify any specific costs or dollar amounts to be deducted. I have not yet provided any written agreement they can deduct anything from our deposit.
I want to push back as I think the cost the landlord quoted is totally crazy. I'm very willing to pay for a cleaning, but refinishing the window frames altogether seems beyond the scope of what we should be held responsible for. My question is, are we totally screwed because we signed the move-out document describing the window marks? My landlord has been quite aggressive and unpleasant throughout our tenancy, and I am sure they will take this to the RTB.