witholding a security deposit-lack of cleaning and gardening

[Irma Duran]

my tenant of two years  received a $70 monthly rent credit in exchange of maintaining the front and back yard. This agreement was written into the lease. The front yard was maintained but the back yard was over grown with weeds and uneven from their dogs digging holes and most of the grass dead. The sprinklers were no longer working. They were buried in dirt or broken off. The cheapest quote I received from a gardener was $400. I deducted $300 from the deposit. The house was not cleaned at all, there was no attempt to clean anything, it was filthy. Their children scribbled with permanent marker/crayons/nail polish/paint on a 2 year old carpet, walls, ceilings, doors, cabinets and backyard stucco. Pet damage to side door to garage (had to be replace$60) and scratched windows on french doors. I received a quote from Merry Maids for $400. I deducted $200 for more than the ordinary wear and tear cleaning cost. We are in California and it is legal to withhold a security deposit for cleaning. We did all the work ourselves so wanting to be fair I didn't charge the quoted amounts. My ex tenant is upset and is requesting their $560 back. They feel that they were over charged and would like the receipts for the work done. I do have all the home depot receipts but not labor receipts. I had sent them an itemized list of the deductions along with pictures of the damage and their cashiers check of their remaining security deposit. I would appreciate any advice.

[Lynn McGeein]

Actual receipts are key, and do not send fake ones as mentioned above.  When a tenant leaves a unit requiring more than normal cleaning, I have learned to hire out and have the company itemize standard charge and then excessive charges.  I pay their standard charge, the tenant is billed the excessive charges.   Same with the lawn work.  A tenant left a HUGE pile of dog poo just outside my back fence covered in branches thinking we wouldn't notice it.  Instead of us removing it, I hired out and charged the tenant.  If I had done the work myself, I couldn't charge for its removal.  So while I don't like paying the standard cleaning fee in order to charge the excessive amount, it is much better than me working my tail off for hours cleaning up their mess and not being able to bill them for it.   

If you are in a state that allows you to charge for labor, you'd probably be better off charging the accepted labor rate for your actual time rather than taking a percentage of an estimate from a company you didn't hire.