I just learned my apartment (Avalon Springs) uses the security deposit to repaint walls, replace the door lock, and clean the carpet, even if these were left in good condition.

This site says the landlord cannot charge the tenant for these things, if it's just normal wear and tear:

http://texastenant.org/security_deposit.html

I am about to move out of my place now, and I am concerned they will steal my money. My friend, who just recently moved out of the same complex, was charged:

--$136 to repaint the whole unit
--$75 for professional carpet cleaning
--$10 for some electricity fee
--$40 to replace door lock (she had returned all keys too)
--$15 for some minor mark on the stove

she got just $100 of the $350 deposit back. She left the apartment in pristine condition, with no damages. Is an apartment even allowed to charge for these things? I re-read the lease/addendums and no where does it mention any of these things.

[This message has been edited by aggie09whoop (edited 8/2/2014 1:47p).]

By law they are not allowed to. I had an issue with re-carpeting my apartment in Houston after I left. They kept trying to say it was "beyond wear and tear" yet it was not damaged. Went through the whole bit of the carpet is replaced every 5 years, pro-rated, etc and we were only 1 year in. There was a roughly 4'x5' area of high traffic area that was worn but not damaged. They then claimed that all the carpet had to be replaced, even the downstairs that were not connected to the upstairs carpet. They also were trying to play hard ball with incorrect dates and threatened for failure of payment. After I got a lawyer buddy involved with a demand letter, had them fail to show pictures of "more than wear and tear" carpet, and had no quotes on the job nor the invoice of work done, they rolled over pretty quick and waived the fee and gave back the entire deposit. Document, document, document.