I have lived in my rental house in CA for a year and a half. The carpet was old, worn in areas, had some visible stains, and faded in others. Shortly after we moved in we had to have the landlords replace one room of carpet because it smelled so badly of pet urine. They said they tried to mask the smell but after a couple of weeks it came back. This is a house with two floors and we had another couple living in the downstairs floor. They had a dog that pooped on the carpet down there. That couple only lived with us for about 2 months and moved out. Since then we have shampooed the carpets a couple of times and there is no visible damage or other evidence of the dog poo. Also during the time we lived here the downstairs flooded due to heavy rains. My landlord did minimal to help, but I spent days cleaning and trying to dry everything up. It seemed to work OK, but the carpet has a smell to it, not sure if it is mold or not. We are moving next month and the landlord is trying to tell us that because the dog soiled the carpet they are required by law to replace it, and they plan to charge us for it. Which seems funny considering they didn't replace the other carpet that wreaked of piss. Can they do this? We paid a $200 pet deposit and $4600 damage deposit and it seems more like they just want to keep as much of this as they can.

Do you have photos of the conditiion of the carpet when you moved in?

If the landlord keeps more of your deposit than you think is justified you can certainly go to Small Claims Court with your proof/documentation and sue to get your money back.