Hi

I just moved out from New Jersey to New York with my husband and 10 month old daughter. The previous landlord not return our security deposit and claim that we damage the wood floor with surface scratches, color spot, and something I don't even know what it is. She wants us to pay her for brand new wood floor of the whole apartment.
My questions are:
1. Until now, the landlord still not let us know where she put the security deposit.
2. The landlord said she has no liability to notify us when she do the inspection and she has no liability to do the inspection with our presence. We did invite her to come to do the inspection on the date we moved out. Do we have the right to be present on the date when the landlord to do the inspection? Does she have to notify us the date of inspection?
3. Does she have the right to ask us to pay her for the brand new wood floor in the whole apartment because those surface scratch.. (and things I don't know)?
4. Are those pictures took by landlord after we moved out without our presence valid? We don't even know where are those "damage" she mentioned.
5. Do we have the right to do some "repair" for those "damage" if we were told by the landlord she think those are "damage"? Since we moved out 2 days early before our lease end date.

Please help me about my issue..
Thank you.

Something similar happened to my boyfriend and I. But it was carpet and alleged pet stains. It was really water stains from the carpet shampooer. Either way. We got out of it because 1. We weren't there during the move out inspection and did not sign off on the move out form. 2. They only had pictures of the under side of the carpet not the surface. 3. The "professional" that looked at the carpet and deemed it uncleanable and said that it needed to be replaced had a standing contract with the apartment complex and was therefore biased. 4. They tried to charge us the full price to replace the carpet in the whole apartment (the carpet was four years old). 5. This would have cost us $1400, we settled in the depreciated value of $300. So I would say that it was fair. I would suggest doing something before they put this on your credit history. My complex put it on mine after ten days. During this ten days I was in the process of filing my small claim against them, it didn't matter. This is in the state of Washington. I don't know what the rules are there. But Google is your best friend!! Find all the info you can and if you need to take them to small claims.

And GOOD LUCK to you. I wish you the best!