Re: Apartment rental security deposit
Posted by:
Landlord
()
Date: February 29, 2012 02:42PM
Sure they can. Whether they choose to do so, and whether you decide to pay, is a different matter, however. If you don't pay the difference, then they can take you to small claims court. But they're not going to do that for $50, unless the time and expense to aggravate you is worth it to them (in other words, unless you're a dick).
I'm betting that your real security deposit was not $150 - more like $1,500. And the issue is probably not "cleaning" - more like "removing a truckload of crap" from the place (which can get VERY expensive).
But you can eliminate this possibility to begin with. Most leases require that you leave the place "broom clean". If you don't want to do that, then hire a cleaning service to do it for you. But I suspect that there's more to this story...