My Roommate Took Off $400 From My Security Deposit For Bugs And Pieces Of Hair
I moved into 1bd/1ba suite of a 3bd/3bd house in August of this year, and signed a sublease from the master tenant stating I would get my deposit back in full provided there were no damages to the property and no additional cleaning was needed. I decided to move out around October (mostly for monetary reasons) and sent her my two months official notice as stated on the sublease, however I packed up and moved out prior to the end lease date since I was heading home to a different state for the holiday break. She was out of the house the week I was packing and moving, and came back a few days after I left, stating I left my room and kitchen in a disgusting state, and she needed to hire cleaners to fix what I had messed up. She also claimed I damaged a bunch of her cookware which needed to be replaced.
I initially offered to hire the cleaner but she said she needed to book it in order for them to meet her schedule. I was in the middle of searching for someone I thought would do a proper job, but she went ahead and booked them anyways. She then told me the cleaner took 2:45 to finish their job, and that she would need to hire an additional, more competent cleaner to finish the job in the kitchen. For context, the mess in my room that supposedly took almost 3 hours was a few gnats that had gotten stuck to the wall that I had missed while cleaning. When I first moved in, the room was in a similar state, which I assumed was just because we live in a humid area and I was on the ground floor. The additional cleaning in the kitchen was 20 photos she sent to me of the most minute dirt/food stains/literal strand of hair. The total cost she billed me, including cleaning, replacement cookware, and utilities for the two weeks I won’t be at the house came to $400, taken from my security deposit. I feel this is beyond the bounds of what would require cleaning of any kind, and is purely out of spite at this point. Do I have any legal backing in requesting any of that returned to me?
More info: I had asked her about two weeks before moving out to itemize exactly what cleaning would be required of me in order to get my deposit returned, and what she sent me after I left was not included on that list.
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