Today, I found out that I spent 3 whole days cleaning my apartment thoroughly and paid $100 to get my carpet professional cleaned to not get my $950 deposit back because the carpet smells like dog. I don't have a dog. FML
Collection
Halloween
A failed costume, stolen candy and a very real scare: Halloween, the one night when fear is allowed.
Today, I spent all day cleaning the carpets in every room. I own two dogs and a cat, so deodorizing and deep cleaning the carpets is an all-day chore. At 9 p.m., after I was done with the last room, I went out to the living room and saw one of my dogs had been sick all over the place. Had to reclean the carpet. FML
Today, I was able to land a nice apartment solely based on the fact that my puppy is potty trained. During the required pet interview, my dog 'got sick' and defecated all over the apartment office. I now have to clean the mess knowing that I will not be allowed to live there. FML
Today, I finally broke down and paid someone to clean my condo. Sometime after she finished, my cat threw up. Then my roomba went off, smearing regurgitated mackerel all over the freshly washed floors. There goes $150. FML
Today, I got up at 5am, brushed my teeth, shaved and showered to get ready for work only to step barefoot in a huge pile of dog crap in the middle of my living room floor. I don't own a dog. FML
Today, a downstairs neighbor of mine claimed money from me because apparently my dog took a dump on the fire escape, and the poop fell through the grates and on her groceries. I don't have a dog, but I paid the money anyway, because I was too ashamed to tell her it was my husband. FML
Today, I was at my summer babysitting job. The family's dog puked on the carpet and I proceeded to clean it up with baking soda and a mix of water/vinegar. Instead of blending in with the other areas of the carpet, the one spot I cleaned is white while the other areas are still darkened by filth. FML
Today, after spending two weeks renovating my room and $1000 on paint and a new floor, my landlord told me that he's sold the house. Also, he was kind enough to inform me that unless I paint the walls back to white, I won't be getting my $500 deposit back. FML
Today, I came home after a two week vacation to find that my wonderful dog had pooped and peed all over my room. My mother was kind enough to dog-sit; however, instead of helping me by cleaning up the horrid mess, she just left me coupons for Glade plug-in air fresheners. FML
Today, I cleaned my entire apartment hoping to find the source of the terrible odor I've been smelling for the past week. It's me. FML
Today, after a month of living in a pigsty of an apartment with my roommates, I spent the day cleaning the place out. When everyone returned home, instead of thanking me, all they could do was point out the spots I'd missed. FML
Feel like sharing it with the other FML users?
Thanks, your FML was submitted, and will appear in the moderation queue soon!
Top comments
Dat_Class_Tho 26
They are keeping the WHOLE deposit because of the carpet? I'd check the fair housing/rental guidelines for your state to see if they can do that legally. In California, they can only keep enough of the deposit to fix whatever you messed up. For instance: if they have to spend $200 on a heavy duty carpet cleaning company with special deodorizing treatments, they would keep that amount and you'd get $750 back.
RichardPencil 32
By the process of elimination, you, my friend, must smell like a dog.
Add a comment · Reply to
You must be logged in to be able to post comments!
Comments (39)
RichardPencil 32
By the process of elimination, you, my friend, must smell like a dog.
zeffra13 31
More likely that the cleaning product the professional cleaner used smells like dog, or the landlord is just hoping OP won't contest it & they can keep the money.
tounces7 28
More like the Landlord is just a greedy Pig.
Nats4444 11
$950 deposit? You must live in a penthouse. In my state they can't charge you for the carpet if you've been in residence for longer than a year.
piker117 11
Where I live an efficiency apartment sometimes has a deposit of around $1,000
VampObsessed 16
Wow, I was thinking 950 was actually low. We just rented a one bedroom and plopped down a security deposit of 1450. Our security deposit for the two bedroom we're currently leaving was 1800. I wish we lived in a penthouse but not even close.
arstef90 5
Deposit amounts depend on where you live. In Boston, where typical rent for a 1 bed is around 1600, the deposits are around there, and lots of times even more than that.
Catdragon 40
That's way too much. How can the people on disability afford to live?
GlennGuagmire 20
Hire a lawyer
Dat_Class_Tho 26
They are keeping the WHOLE deposit because of the carpet? I'd check the fair housing/rental guidelines for your state to see if they can do that legally. In California, they can only keep enough of the deposit to fix whatever you messed up. For instance: if they have to spend $200 on a heavy duty carpet cleaning company with special deodorizing treatments, they would keep that amount and you'd get $750 back.
cocacola999 27
Some letting agencies are really bad. I've never lived in US, but the ones in UK are often awful. A friend lost part of her deposit because she cleaned the oven better than it was when she moved in and thus it "no longer matched the before-photos". I lost 30 pounds of my deposit because I threw out the white polyester curtains (worth maybe 50p) that were mouldy when I moved in and bought new ones, which I left there. Additionally, I wanted to leave some cleaning products there so that I'd have to carry less to my new place and the new tenants wouldn't have to buy everything immediately. Luckily, the lady working at the agency was nice and gave me a heads-up - they would have charged me 6 pounds per every bottle that I left there. But losing the entire deposit sounds illegal.
KatyMarie 7
I lost my $575 deposit on my old place because I'd spilt red hair dye on the carpet (which I admit was my own fault, but it was only in one tiny spot, smaller around than a tennis ball! And I'd attempted to clean it when it happened....but red dye on gray carpet) but they claimed that it took the entire amount to attempt cleaning then replace the carpet....I was PISSED
Inkoseh 33
I would have asked what company they used, and asked for the bill. If you don't get the bill, call the company and ask what they charged for that clean! (They may remember the room and bill, or they'd give you the price to fix it) Then you'd go to small claims court! Well, go after telling the landlord's you have proof of cost!
caterfly 14
Wet carpet smells very much like wet dog. Not really fair of them to penalise you so heavily based on a smell though.
aruden 25
I don't know the exact rules in your state but you can take them to small claims court. Depending on the age of your apartment and how long you lived there it could be considered normal wear and tear that they should be responsible for. They could be using your place as an excuse to replace the carpets with your money. Most people don't challenge shady land lords. $950 is extreme for a smell. Best of luck to you.
Inkoseh 33
Definitely this! It does not cost that much, and you have proof of paying for a carpet clean too!
XxfrenchyyXx 12
Wish we knew this. My family lost their deposit to a shady land lord because he claimed the carpet smelled so much that nobody could live in the house. We've professionally cleaned it, people have visited many many times and said everything was fine and then out of nowhere the land lord stated that he used our money to replace the carpet. We took him to court but dropped it since my parents and I were scared of what could happen due to us not being citizens and not knowing much.
nider 19
In my state if the rent is $250/week or over then bond is 6 weeks rent. I wish I had a bond as low as yours (currency conversion taken into consideration)
writerchic85 26
Landlords will find any excuse to keep that deposit. When I moved out of my place i went over every day for a week to scrub. They only returned $50 of my $700 because the $5 blinds were dusty and they spent "4 hours soaking them" but had to throw them out.