A similar thing happened to us. We rented a house for a year, and the entire time we lived there our landlord was a complete ass. We had around $1200 deposit that we didn't get a cent back from. He said we ruined the hardwood floors, even though when we moved in, you could tell that carpet was just pulled up because there were still staples in the floor. And then he charged us for ruining the carpet in the basement that WE put in.. He also said there were scratch marks on the walls from our cat, but our cat is declawed..

I once got charged a $300 carpet cleaning fee when moving out of an apartment but found out from my neighbors/friends who still lived there that the property management company had torn out the (20 year old) carpet and replaced it. Contacted them and got my money back.

The professional cleaning could also have pulled up dog hair/smell from deep inside the carpet if people who used to live there had dogs and didn't clean the carpets properly. I second the opinion that you should check your agreement and the law, they should only be allowed to keep the amount it costs to clean the carpets.

Ugh, I agree with others who say go to a lawyer, or fight him. You have a receipt for cleaning, that shoudl be sufficient. His opinion of how the apartment smells isn't enough to keep $950. All the comments here show how important it is to go over everythign in a new apartment with a fine-tooth comb, document it, and get the landlord to sign off on it when you move in. keep a copy of the sign off. then you can't be charged for problems that were already there. Plus, if the landlord knows you've documented everything, chances are they'll think twice about trying to keep your deposit, if they know you're going to fight them for it.

I am unable to imagine what it must have smelled like before the cleaning. I could also see someone smelling a little dogish. Question: Are there dogs on the shampoo you use? I've got some interesting info on that.

Contest it. If you did everything you're supposed to (got it cleaned) then they can't keep your whole deposit. If they claim it's not clean "enough" you need to take it up with the carpet cleaning company. They need to justify *why* they're keeping the money. It's not going to cost them 950 to get the carpet cleaned. A lot of landlords try this on with people they think look gullible enough to accept it. Every house I've moved out of has tried to keep my deposit. Once I contested it, and produced receipts etc, they *had* to give it back. One landlord I had to threaten with going to the residential tenancy authority. But I got it back.

If u are going to shampoo ur carpet before moving out. Never do it the day. Score. Allow a week for the smells in the carpet to die down. May not even be your smells, Ut the shampooing will bring the smells out.

The company you used to clean your carpets apparently has a lot of customers with dogs. I would get your money back from said cleaning company first! Explain it to the landlord and they may be able to cut you a deal. $950 for carpet cleaning is waaay off base!

STL! Represent!