I tried to simplify, but this is the short version:
We lived in a rental property for over 2 years where 1 yr + 5 mos. contained a lease and then the following 8 mos. was month to month. When we moved in we had to clean the place to make it liveable & we were told we could paint it to make us feel at home . We gave a 45 day notice of intent to vacate due to work relocation beyond 80 miles.. Upon leaving we thoroughly cleaned the property, repainted back to neutral, & had utilities scheduled to be out of our name on the first of the month. As of the first of the month, we received an angry email that we had not given a 30 day notice & we had no right to not be paying the utilities. We sent them proof of our notice to vacate then they claimed we had 4 mos. left on our lease, so they said we could pay 2 mos. rent and they would release our financial responsibilities. We asked for this alleged lease to be faxed to us, but it never was. Fast forward over 40 days, we sent them a certified letter explaining that we filled our legal obligations & that they should do so as well–no deposit or itemized deduction yet–we requested it in 5 business days. they said they owed us nothing via email they gave us a quote of paint/labor: $518; same day utility fee; cleaning fee: $150; Carpet cleaning fee: $165; face plate fees: $25. we responded that we would accept the carpet cleaning since it was in the original lease + less than $5 of face plates (useful life left of old, dirty, cracked faceplates that we had replaced &/or painted to make them presentable). One of the main questions is if we are given permission to paint & then return to neutral can they charge us to paint (they say 2 coats in 2 rooms & 1 in another)? plus wouldn’t after 2 years they have to paint for new tenant? we have pictures of a white, clean rental property. As for the cleaning, we cleaned from top to bottom, so wouldn’t this fee be normal wear & tear after 2 years? Please help me with our legal grounds. (We have pictures of the property the day we turned it back to them plus emails through the entire residency. ) basically, they are trying to intimidate us to just settle for no refund; however, I feel that we have enough evidence to get the majority back minus a carpet cleaning fee listed on original lease. thank you