Me and my friends had an apartment for a year. Once lease was over we moved on. During the year whe we were in the apartment , it had changed its management. And today i got a letter from the management that we owe them $2000 for all the cleaning and changing the carpet. On the top of that we had paid $800 security deposit which we never got it back. The carpet was alreday old and had few dark spots when we moved in. I was wondering what happens if just ignore the letter and move on. But , they have our SSN and wondering if they can give us  legal problems. Suggestions are greatly appriciated.

If you ignore, the apartment management will send the amount you owe to collection agency and you will start receiving calls and letters from the collection agency. If you don't dispute the charge or settle with collection agency within 30 days, they will report to the credit bureaus and your credit will looks bad; not worth it.

In this scenario, go to the apartment, talk to the manager about the charges. Ask them to provide you the breakdown of charges. Then analyze it. They cannot charge you for normal wear and tear. A carpet has a life of 5 years. They can only charge the prorated amount for the damage on carpet. For example, if the carpet had cost them $1000 when they had been layed on the floor 3 years ago, you owe them only $400.

2,800 is a lot if you didn't do any physical damage to the walls or door. To my understanding, the maximum charge should look like:

1. Cleaning/ Spray - $100
2. Carpet Replacement (if damaged, for a 900 sq ft apartment) - $600
3. Ozone treatment (if you smoke) - $100

Your deposit should take care of the charges when you moved out. It is ridiculous that you owed 2.8k.

TIP: In most cases, the apartment manager is not helpful. So, you ask the number of the regional manager to your apartment manager and talk to him/her. If the regional manager is not so helpful again, then ask for the corporate manager number. Corporate doesnot want any trouble. They will waive all your charges. You might even get some portion of your deposit. Been there, done that.

@ Furke, Thanks . I don't think they got coporate manager in this apartment.  There were total 6-8 apartments in this house. Anyway,I will email them , and lets see what happens. Thanks again.

$150 dollars were deducted out of $200 from my deposit where I stayed for just 5 months. I repeatedly called them and told them its unfair since I didn't damaged anything. Later they decided to gave back $70 more. So, I think calling them and being resolute will work.