I am a landlord in the state of north carolina- I charged a $350 non refundable pet deposit to tenants that had 3 cats- they moved out - there was damage to one room of carpeting- from coffee and excessive wear- the tenant says that the cat spilled the coffee- I deducted from his security deposit the amount to cover replacing the carpet - I depreciated the amount because the house is 3 years old- the tenant is claiming that I should be taking the money from the non refundable pet deposit- my understanding is that the pet fee is just that- for the privilege of having cats in the house- it should not be used for the replacement of the carpet- am I correct?
Please advise
Thanks