I recently vacated an apartment in Florida and the apartment complex sent me an itemized billing of the charges they have taken out of the security deposit. Of them, the most egregious were the replacement of the carpet (which was remotely spotless for 2 years wear and tear), they charged us for the cleaning of the bathrooms (which were wiped down and swept before we left, but were not bleached and windexed), and lastly they charged us for mailing out the letters certified mail. I'm outraged, the carpets I have photo's of and witnesses that would attest to them being very clean for the entire two years we've lived there. Without stating it in the lease, can the landlord deduct general cleaning of the apartment from our security deposit? Along those lines, can they charge us the cost of their certified mail when it's there responsibility to send the documents certified mail under Florida statutes. What should I do in this situation, one of the former residents needs to cash the check and I told him to do so by addressing it "without waiver, " but is there anything that I can cite or do to ensure they give me those portions of my security deposit back?

