Some apartments will have some or all of the utilities individually metered.

I guess from a big picture karma point of view, I'm not sure you wouldn't be better off just working this out and returning most or all of the deposit.Also, your statement that "she breached the contract so legally I don't owe her a penny" is likely not correct.

My logic behind this is that the pet owners have more incentive to make sure the pet is taken care of in a manner that limits its ability to cause damage if they know they can get some or all of their deposit back.

Inadequate support can result in countertops being broken.  

I think in my state or all states an LLC can “own” other LLCs but not sure yet.So if the piercing process looked like this,Mother LLC (assets) owns LLC-1 and house 1, owns LLC-2 and house 2, etc., and the legal process is to rule against LLC-1 and or LLC-2 first to determine fault, then rule against Mother LLC it make a hierarchy of defense and legal complexity.

If any person takes any adverse action with respect to any consumer that is basedin whole or in part on any information contained in a consumer report, the person shall (1) provide oral, written, or electronic notice of the adverse action to the consumer;(2) provide to the consumer written or electronic disclosure(A) of a numerical credit score as defined in section 609(f)(2)(A) used by such person in taking any adverse action based in whole or in part on any information in a consumer report; and(B) of the information set forth in sub-paragraphs (B) through (E) of section 609(f)(1);(3) provide to the consumer orally, in writing, or electronically (A) the name, address, and telephone number of the consumer reporting agency (including a toll-free telephone number established by the agency if the agency compiles and maintains files on consumers on a nationwide basis) that furnished the report to the person; and(B) a statement that the consumer reporting agency did not make the decision to take the adverse action and is unable to provide the consumer the specific reasons why the adverse action was taken

I only ask out of curiosity because my sister (with 9 rental properties) is there.She hates landlording and is ready to dump some or all of the properties.My thought is she grew pretty quickly and she's NEVER had a property manager.

This rule applies whether the negotiations are oral or in writing.

Water seepage in basement.lawn cutting weeklyplanting perennialsmulchCleaning out trash from the garageDeep cleaning the kitchens and baths5 plumbing issues under the various sinks and snaking the bathtubsreplacing a vanityreplacing old ceiling tilesthermostat not working due to inadequate wiring in the wallfire alarms beeping - some needed replacingmissing CO2 detectors per codelots of paintinginstalling new laundry machines (x4) and required plumbing and ventingadd a stair railing per codecode issue with main floor drain pluggedInstalling blinds in bedroomsIf you plan to give everything to a GC or handyman - they will bleed you for the number of visits required to get an older place ready and all issues that are common when buying an older place.  

If it is not written then it is an oral lease or inferred by action, meaning the action of the tenant paying rent creates a lease.