I moved out of my apartment in Arlington at the end of October. A little less than a month later my landlady calls me and tells me that she is taking $100 out of my security deposit for cleaning. I think that is a bit much, but whatever. There is still a question of $700 coming back to me. She then states that there are little dents in the floors from shoes. She said she got some estimates and the cheapest one was about $2400. She was looking for me to pay the difference. I've looked through several articles on what is considered normal wear and tear...i didn't find anything really on hardwood floors. Understandably i would pay for the floors to be re-done if i scratched them, but dents from shoes...there is not much i can do about that unless if i tell everything that they can't wear shoes in the house. To me that is some cheap hardwood. Plus if you go to any mall/stores around that has hardwood, you will see dents there as well. Anyways...i told her that i wasn't paying. She told me that her lawyer will be contacting me...it has been 3 months now and i haven't heard anything. Is there a time limit that she has to go on with these proceedings...or should i have gotten my money back by now? I am tempted to call her and demand my $700 back.

Did you get a written notice? You have an out This might be your way to get the whole deposit back. The landlord must notify you in writing upon rental and return of the apartment of any defects.

http://laws.uslandlord.com/laws/vastatelaw2.html


Inspection of premises.
The landlord shall, within five days after occupancy of a dwelling unit, submit a written report to the tenant, for his safekeeping, itemizing damages to the dwelling unit existing at the time of occupancy, which record shall be deemed correct unless the tenant objects thereto in writing within five days after receipt thereof. The landlord may adopt a written policy allowing the tenant to prepare the written report of the move-in inspection, in which case the tenant shall submit a copy to the landlord, which record shall be deemed correct unless the landlord objects thereto in writing within five days after receipt thereof. Such written policy adopted by the landlord may also provide for the landlord and the tenant to prepare the written report of the move-in inspection jointly, in which case both the landlord and the tenant shall sign the written report and receive a copy thereof, at which time the inspection record shall be deemed correct. (Chap. 13.2, § 55-248.11:1)

Security deposits.
A. A landlord may not demand or receive a security deposit, however denominated, in an amount or value in excess of two months' periodic rent. Upon termination of the tenancy, such security deposit, whether it is property or money, plus any accrued interest thereon, held by the landlord as security as hereinafter provided may be applied solely by the landlord (i) to the payment of accrued rent and including the reasonable charges for late payment of rent specified in the rental agreement; (ii) to the payment of the amount of damages which the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with § 55-248.16, less reasonable wear and tear; or (iii) to other damages or charges as provided in the rental agreement. The security deposit, any accrued interest and any deductions, damages and charges shall be itemized by the landlord in a written notice given to the tenant, together with any amount due the tenant within thirty days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession.

Nothing in this section shall be construed by a court of law or otherwise as entitling the tenant, upon the termination of the tenancy, to an immediate credit against the tenant's delinquent rent account in the amount of the security deposit. The landlord shall apply the security deposit in accordance with this section within the thirty-day time period.

The landlord shall notify the tenant in writing of any deductions provided by this subsection to be made from the tenant's security deposit during the course of the tenancy. Such notification shall be made within thirty days of the date of the determination of the deduction and shall itemize the reasons in the same manner as provided in subsection B. Such notification shall not be required for deductions made less than thirty days prior to the termination of the rental agreement. In the event that damages to the premises exceed the amount of the security deposit and require the services of a third party contractor, the landlord shall give written notice to the tenant advising him of that fact within the thirty-day period. If notice is given as prescribed in this paragraph, the landlord shall have an additional fifteen-day period to provide an itemization of the damages and the cost of repair. If the landlord willfully fails to comply with this section or if the landlord fails t o return any security deposit and interest required to be paid to the tenant under this chapter, the tenant may recover such security deposit due him together with actual damages and reasonable attorney's fees. This section shall not preclude the landlord or tenant from recovering other damages to which he may be entitled under this chapter. The holder of the landlord's interest in the premises at the time of the termination of the tenancy, regardless of how the interest is acquired or transferred, is bound by this section and shall be required to return any security deposit received by the original landlord and any accrued interest that is duly owed to the tenant, whether or not such security deposit is transferred with the landlord's interest by law or equity, regardless of any contractual agreements between the original landlord and his successors in interest.

B. The landlord shall:
1. Accrue interest at an annual rate equal to one percentage point below the Federal Reserve Board discount rate as of January 1 of each year on all property or money held as a security deposit. However, no interest shall be due and payable unless the security deposit has been held by the landlord for a period exceeding thirteen months after the effective date of the rental agreement or after the effective date of any prior written or oral rental agreements with the same tenant, for continuous occupancy of the same dwelling unit, such security deposit earning interest which begins accruing from the effective date of the rental agreement, and such interest shall be paid only upon termination of the tenancy, delivery of possession and return of the security deposit as provided in subsection A;

Dummy me actually asked for something in writing. But I will have to check to see if it was 30 days after or before the day i moved out. Plus she didn't send it certified mail...so she can't really prove that she sent something to me. But regardless...if she did submit something 30 days before then is this something worth fighting. I think the dents in the floor are normal wear and tear...so in that case i think i should get my money back.