Location: California
Moved into this duplex in columbus back in January like the place was rough like clearly the previous tenant trashed it and the landlord did the absolute bare minimum to make it rentable again. I’m talking scuff marks on every wall this weird brownish stain on the kitchen ceiling that definitely looks like old water damage, loose bathroom tiles, and a bedroom door that doesn’t even close properly because the frame is warped. Now here’s where I might have saved my own ass like my older brother went through hell with his last landlord and told me to document EVERYTHING. I spent like 2 hours on move-in day taking photos of every single thing wrong with the place. Felt a bit crazy at the time but whatever, better safe than sorry right?Fast forward to last week when I gave my 30 days notice (found a way better place closer to work). This morning I get an email from the landlord with a “damage assessment” claiming I owe $847 for various repairs. The kicker? Every single thing on his list is stuff that was already messed up when I moved in. The cracked bathroom tile water damage in the kitchen scuff marks even the weird stains on the carpet in the living room that I literally have dated photos of.I replied with some of my photos and basically said “nice try but I have proof this was pre-existing.” His response was basically “photos can be faked and I remember the condition when you moved in.” Like seriously??The guy is clearly banking on me just rolling over and paying it. Problem is my security deposit was only $600 so he’s trying to get an extra $247 out of me on top of keeping my whole deposit. I’ve got probably 40+ timestamped photos from move-in day that clearly show every single thing he’s trying to charge me for.I’m in Ohio if that matters for tenant rights. Can this dude actually take me to small claims over this when I have photo evidence? Should I be worried about this affecting my credit or anything? I’ve got enough saved up lately to hire a lawyer if needed but honestly I’d rather just send him a strongly worded letter with my evidence and call it a day.Anyone dealt with something similar? This feels like such obvious BS but I don’t want to underestimate what landlords can get away with.