refund on deposit

[tiggerblm]

When leaving our last apartment in Orange County, California we had the carpets cleaned professionally. When we recieved our refund on our deposit they deducted for carpet cleaning even though they were informed that we had them cleaned already. They also charged us 75$ to clean the apartment, we had a professional come in and do a heavy cleaning on it.

My question(s): Can our cleaning reciept get us more of our refund?
What is the standard fee for cleaning a 2BD 2BA apt., we left it spotless.

 

[HomeGuru]

Dispute the charges.

 

[LL]

You might think that your cleaning receipt should get you some credit against the LL cleaning the place again.

However, I am a LL in California, and I often have the following problem, for which I have convinced my local judges is a valid concern:

I have tenants who think that they have cleaned the unit, but I disagree that they have cleaned sufficiently, and have to call in another cleaner. Sometimes the tenant gets a maid, but most maids do not do a good enough job of cleaning. The receipt shows only that you paid, not how clean you left it.

Consider the condition of the unit when you moved in (honestly). If it was really spic-and-span, then you should have left it that way, too, not just having wiped the counters and mopped the floors. Thus, your real problem is to document the condition when you moved in, and when you moved out. The LL may have a receipt, too.

By the way, I pay $75 to have a 2BR, 2BA cleaned, unless it is especially dirty, in which case I must pay more. The company that I hire is a contractor who has always done an excellent job for me. For $110, they will include cleaning the carpet.