I rented an apartment in Las Vegas NV or 7 months. My lease clearly states that security and cleaning deposits are waived. I cleared the apartment when my lease ended and there was no mention that I would be charged for carpet cleaning. The person that did my walk through with me said they always clean the carpet and paint any places that they thought needed touch up and that the apartment looked great. There were no spots on the carpet at all. It looked brand new. I said good and thanked him and we parted ways. The next week, I received a bill for $45 for carpet cleaning. Can they legally charge me for this? I feel if they were going to charge for carpet cleaning, then they should have done so by charging a cleaning deposit upfront.

Did you get a check list signed after the walkthru?

It appears they can "bill" you for it, but unless it was dirty from more than normal wear, they should not be charging it.

No I did not get a checklist after the walk through. I do not understand how a checklist would help/hurt.

The carpet did not even look dirty. I do not wear shoes inside. Like I said before, it looked brand new. I thoroughly cleaned the apartment after moving out. It was better than when I moved in. I need to know if they can LEGALLY charge me. I know they have no morals. Thank you.

If you hada signed checklist that said the carpets are in excellent condition don't you think that would help?

Yes they can leaglly charge reasonable costs to prepare the unit for the next tenant. Whether this is reasonable remains to be seen. Send them a letter stating you believe the carpets did not need to be cleaned so you feel the charge is invalid. It will probbly cost them more to sue you for it then they would get.