u/celestic1

Summary:

Moved out of a rental in Las Vegas, NV in late summer. Total deposits paid were just under $5,000 (security + cleaning + key deposit, per the lease).

On move-out day, when we handed over the keys in person, the landlord verbally told us he'd send the full deposit back via Zelle. About a month went by with no communication at all — I had to reach out and push him for an update. When I followed up again, I reminded him that he was already past the 30-day window and that Nevada law requires landlords to return the deposit (or provide an itemized accounting) within 30 days of move-out.

That's when he sent an itemized deposit statement showing several thousand dollars in deductions. The biggest single item — roughly $1,800–2,000 — is listed as an "HOA Violation" related to yard maintenance, with zero supporting documentation (no HOA letter, no invoice, nothing — just a line on his spreadsheet). Also when I pushed him more on the deposit, he started bringing up irrigation work that he never charged us for.

Key context:

• Rarely communicated with us. Whenever an issue happened at the property, I would ask him to come fix it, but he would either not show up at all or say he is showing up and then not show up.
• All HOA mail is addressed to the landlord's name, not mine — I never opened it (not my mail to open).
• HOA letters were sent to his property that I was renting instead of the house he currently lives in.
• I texted him over a year before I moved out letting him know there was HOA mail sitting at the house. He never responded about it, never mentioned a violation, and never brought it up even when he stopped by in person once during the lease. The HOA mail is about a dead bush in the yard so I pull out immediately.
• The first time I hear "HOA violation" is in this itemized statement — well over a year after I flagged the mail to him, and only after I had to push him past the legal deadline for the deposit.
• He's offered to pay the undisputed portion (a little over $2,000) right away; I've asked for the actual HOA invoice/notice for the larger charge and haven't received it yet.
• There's also a smaller discrepancy (a couple hundred dollars) between what the lease says I deposited and what his statement lists as my starting total.

Questions:

1. How strong is my case given the documented year-plus gap in communication, plus the fact that he initially promised full repayment in person and only itemized deductions after I pushed past the legal deadline?
2. Should I accept the partial payment now (with a written note reserving my right to dispute the rest), or hold off entirely?
3. At what point should I continue to negotiate with him vs just suing him in small claims court and serving him.