Unreasonable withholding of security deposit (apartment, rent, landlord)

[Janet F]

my granddaughter rented a small apartment in Hallendale, Fl for 1 year. Her landlord is trying to keep $387 of her $850 security deposit. All holes from her pictures and wall display were filled, would only have required touch-up paint. She superfically cleaned and there was damage to a cheap blind. The agent for the landlord did a walk-through with her and signed off on the condition being okay. Now they are charging, $300 for cleaning and repainting. They have charged for two gallons of paint for the ceiling! Bottles of cleaning products, re-finishing the bath, a drill bit etc. She would have no problem with a charge for cleaning but this apartment had to be less then 600 sq.feet. (Small living room and small bedroom, kitchenette and bathroom). Can he legally withhold her deposit for so much when it should have been covered by normal wear and tear?
Does she have enough to go to small claims court? Thanks for your help, $387 is a lot of money for her and seems unreasonable to me.

[vagabondsquirrel]

Damage and Security Deposits are not deductible for "normal wear and tear", this is why her landlord is giving an itemized list for what her purchased (he is covering himself). The question probably comes with what your granddaughter considers acceptable and what the landlord sees this as.... IMO, she should have never filled the holes from hanging photographs etc.; that would have fallen under normal wear and tear, but if she improperly patched holes, used cheap filler and the holes were messy or oil stained, then that is not normal wear and tear and would have been an expense caused by the renter. I'm not quite sure about how he is classifying ceiling paint as an expense to her though. As well, if she has no photographs showing the condition she left the apartment in, then she has no way to prove that she left it in good condition.

[Janet F]

Thanks for your reponse. My husband filled the holes and did so cleanly with proper filler, we assumed apparently wrongly that it would be easier for the landlord to use touch-up paint (this is what we do with the apartment we rent out), I can't believe this guy has no tins of paint left over from the 8 he has decorated all the same. As I said she also has a signed walk-through from the agent saying all was okay. I agree that the ceiling is a big question mark, she definitely did no damage to it at all.

[Donna-501]

If he signed off that every thing was OK then he can not deduct money after the fact. Hopefully she got a copy and I would take them to small claims court.

[vagabondsquirrel]

I might be inclined to agree with Donna..... If his agent signed off saying the apartment was ok and you can prove it, then the agent should be responsible to the owner for the decision. Really sound like a shady landlord to me. I would definitely check around to see what can be done!