Location: Kansas
Hi all. My wife and I just moved out of our apartment complex. As the title suggests, we got hit with quite a bit of move out charges that we think are excessive, mostly centered around cleaning. The charges were:
Cleaning the oven $80 (the oven was admittedly a bit dirty. We fumbled that)
Cleaning toilet and sink $60
Clean tub and surrounding areas $75 (this was because we had left some cleaning supplies in the vanity by mistake. We get double charged for this in the “removal of items” charge. I’m sure this was it because I asked the office)
Clean ceiling fan $35 (there is a STREAK of dirt from when we wiped the fans down)
Clean window and sills $20 (we cleaned the windows and sills)
Clean blinds $30 (just typical dirt on blinds)
Clean washer $25 (the picture they sent us shows a clean washer)
Clean dryer $25 (lint in lint trapped)
Item removal $25 (for the cleaning supplies)
Touch up paint per hour $100
Replace drip pans for stove $25
Vacuum, sweep, mop per room $35 (we vacuum, swept, and mopped. They claimed they have to vacuum again so they could clean the carpets)
Carpet steam clean $130
Replace light bulb $7
Total $707, after our security deposit was applied it came out to $382
The intent to vacate form we had signed said that we have to pay to professionally shampoo the carpet. The worker at the office that was overseeing us sign the papers said that a professional carpet clean would probably be expensive and that we should just use some of our security deposit. Yes this was probably foolish. Yes we know. It was our first and only time renting. The vacate agreement also says that drip pans have to be replaced. Drip pans and the carpet cleaning are the only two things explicitly stated that need to be either cleaned/replaced.
The big ticket questions are:
What qualifies as excessive?
Are a lot of these charges legal? These seem to very much be turn over responsibilities, which I was under the impression is the responsibility of the landlord.
My wife has free legal counsel through school for situations like this. Are there specific items she should ask about?
Thank you all in advance.