I’ll be spending $8,000 on the project with materials and labor.

Although landlord labor may not be seen as a legitimate deduction, the cost of materials you needed to restore those items back to pre-move in condition may be (for example, replacement of a broken glider on a drawer or replacing broken blind slats not due to age but over handling).  

Who pays for repairs who pays for maintenance is he going to give you access to those funds or is he going to buy materials.

But here's a rough idea of the basic steps involved and what it cost when I did it:STEPS:~ Drain the pool~ Remove pool equipment & cap off water lines~ Remove/cap off any unused electrical~ Knock down the edges around the pool and make holes in the bottom of the pool for drainage ~ Fill pool with "clean fill" material (i.e. soil, gravel, rock, sand, etc)~ Tamp the fill material as you put it in to compact it and reduce the chance of it settling over time once it's all fullCOSTS: (we did the labor ourselves so this is just for the material)~ $450 to buy a jackhammer to knock down the edges around the pool and also to make the holes in the bottom (we could have rented a jackhammer for cheaper but this way we own one and can use it on future jobs)~ $1600 for the fill dirt (it was a lot of dirt!)

From my understanding, he'll be essentially working for free but spending the money on materials and paying those who are doing the work when needed.

For a dryer vent, often a handyman can handle it, unless ducting through a firewall, roof, or unusual type of material.

Reading plenty of material is a good start and reaching out to the community here at BP will certainly serve as resourceful!

Where I am that is probably a $500-750 job, material included.

The material and training works, you just have to apply most people do not apply, thats why I mentor.

Even when I use basic materials, when I am done with a unit i always admire how decent it looks in its pre-tenant glory.