Can my Landlord do this?

My boyfriend and I moved out of our small one bedroom apartment at the end of February. We Just now received a notice/bill charging us 1200.00 for damages and repairs. When we left the place, it was cleaner than is was when we moved in, and the damages that he is charging us for were their prior to our arrival. The thing is, he never cleared the place with us before we moved in, and in our lease there was a place that stated that the landlord DID NOT inspect the premises with us before moving in. Here are a few examples of what he is charging us with:
15.00 for removal of one sweatshirt
400.00 cleaning (I KNOW that we cleaned the place, the only thing we didn't clean thoroughly were the walls)
90.00 to fix the front door (which previously didn't close completely, and leaked when it rained)

Also, we smoked in the apt, and in the lease there was NOTHING that prohibited smoking within the apartment, yet he is charging us 80.00 in labor cost for removal of the smoke.

I am just curious, if all the things that he is charging us with are just a matter of his word against mine, then who will win.

Also, I mentioned to him, the fact that he violoated two huge building codes:
NO second means of egress
and the front stairs (and only stairs) were completely illegal.

Won't he be in more trouble than me for violation of the building code?
How can he charge SO much for small wear and tear damages?

Thanks anyone who can help!

[OHlandlord]

First, I don't know what state you are in. The amount of time a LL has to send you back this deposit statement varies by state and can range from 14 days to 60 days. Please post your state so I can give you the time limit.

Next, the items charged must be itemized. They must be damages, not wear & tear. Many people are confused on the difference. Wear & tear is the natural deterioration of an item based on the number of people and pets on the agreement who live in a unit for the specified length of time and who use the item in a normal and responsible manner. A faded or worn pattern in a carpet is w&t, a dirty carpet is not. Some fingerprints around a light switch could be w&t, an entire wall that needs washed down is not. A few nicks on the paint from moving furniture is w&t, a 2 foot scrape down the stairs would not be. The difference is sometimes hard to explain. But his charges must be for damages, not for w&t.

Does it say $15 to remove a sweatshirt?!?! (Probably not. What does it say?) $400 for cleaning is not specific enough. For cleaning what? How many hours were needed to clean? He needs to specify what exactly he charged for. (A correct itemization would say something like "$400 for 40 hours of cleaning due to filthy conditions. Cleaning was required of the kitchen cabinets, appliances, cabinets, floor and walls; the bathroom fixtures, toilet, tub, and sink, floor; carpets cleaned in LR, BD, and hall; baseboards and windows washed throughout; walls washed down throughout; ..." and so forth) $90 to fix what problem with the front door? $80 to remove smoke smell (how did he do that?) The list you gave here isn't specific enough to know what had to be done or what/why he charged you with. If that's all he listed, it's not enough for most courts. (My lists are much more specific - sometimes even breaking down labor and material costs.) BTW, what are the other costs for? You only listed part of the $1200.

I suggest you write him a letter disputing each of these charges individually. State that you don't know what was cleaned, or what he had to do to fix each item, or how much time he spent doing what. Let him know what items were already in that condition when you took occupancy. Send it to him by certified mail, return receipt requested, and keep a copy of this letter for yourself. If he doesn't respond satisfactorily, you may have to take him to small claims court. If he failed to return the list within the time limits (or close to them), or he willfully withheld funds wrongly, you may be able to claim more than your deposit as some states have laws stating you can get double or triple the affected amount.

Who will win is another matter. This depends on the evidence. You have a statement that he did not do a move in inspection with you. But had he done one just prior to your move in? Did you get any condition report with your lease? Do you have any proof that those items were in that condition when you moved in? (Any letters to him to have them fixed? Witnesses to testify as to their condition? Photos you took when you moved in?) Photos you took when you moved out? Does he have any proof? (Move out inspection? Photos of before & after - I always take these.) He will have to prove that you did the damage to the court to prevail and win the money.

The building code violations are a completely separate matter and won't be discussed in any case about your deposit. Did your report these violations? Write any repair requests to have them fixed? Were these an issue that caused you to move out? If not, the judge will not allow any testimony about them as they are immaterial to the issue of the deposit. If you failed to complain about them when you lived there, the judge will conclude that you either didn't care about them or that they were not an issue.

The code may or may not be violated without a second form of egress. Most current building codes call for them (including the national code), however, not all buildings have to meet the current code in all areas of the country. Many areas will allow a "grandfathered" building. This means the building met the codes at the time it was built or converted to apartments, but it doesn't have to meet the current code. The city allows it to continue to operate under the old code. There are many examples of grandfathering. A house I bought had the old knob & tube wiring with knife switches instead of circuit breakers or fuses. (To explain a knife switch - think Dr. Frankenstein - "Throw the switch Igor!" A big lever you had to push up into a metal contact.) The house hadn't been remodeled since the new building code took effect, so the building was allowed to stay that way until it was remodelled in some manner electrically. Once I touched the electric, I had to bring it up to current code and it would no longer be grandfathered. (I had planned to anyways since I knew that electric system wouldn't meet today's electrical needs of people.) But if I had wanted, I could have just painted the place and rented it right back out again. It was grandfathered under the old law and didn't need circuit breakers. So it's possible the building may be grandfathered in and may not need to install a second egress. Only the city's building inspector could tell you for sure. Even if it doesn't meet code, it would probably only be a small fine and a citation forcing him to install a second egress. Hope this helps.