What are my rights in a damage dispute?

[Donedeal]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia

My property management company claims that the carpet in my apartment is "uninhabitable" and I will be charged to replace the entire carpet throughout the apartment.

I have lived in this apartment for less than 1 year. They claim the carpet was new upon my move in.

I had a dog living with me in the apartment, who did pee in the house on occasion near the door. I had the carpet professional steam cleaned (as required in our lease) and there are no longer any stains throughout.

They are claiming they tore up the carpet to the pad and found stains in the padding. They are now charging me over $1000 for full carpet replacement. They have a $200 security deposit and a $100 credit (I overpaid by accident).

Can they legally keep my credit?
What are my options?
Can I take them to small claims court?
I'm assuming they will just hand this over to a collection agency, will this ruin my good credit?

Thank you.

 

[Cvillecpm]

If the carpet was only a year old, they have a good case....and they will probably have a piece of the SMELLY carpet sealed in a plastic bag to present it to the judge....the carpet and pad may well have to be replaced AND the subflooring extracted with water to remove the dried urine.