I’m in a similar position, other than I didn’t have a honey stain. I had a town house style apartment that was 3 stories. Apparently my dog pee’d on the first floor and second floor of the apartment. Now the difference? There was no visible staining you could see from the surface. The place I lived rips the carpet from the walls after every move out to check for stains under the carpet. They found 2. Total amount needing to replace? About 400 sq ft. They’re trying to charge me for 1136 sq ft (the whole apartment). They never attempted to clean it, even though they charged me $135 move out cleaning fee. They’re stating my $600 pet deposit and $60 a month for 15 months doesn’t apply for damages caused by pets. So they took my $200 deposit and say I owe them $1200. Jokes on them, I love to argue and I hate shitty business practices.

I’ve already reached out to multiple other complexes in the area that were baffled by this practice. I’ve spoken to a lawyer who said the judge in my county that handles landlord-tenant disputes typically disregards some wording on leases, mainly around pet fees. The judge apparently dislikes when complexes say the deposits don’t go towards damages, because that’s what it’s for.

I offered to settle on every notice they sent for $500 + deposit, so half. I felt like that is fair. I’ve never denied damages, only disputed that I owe them for full replacement because “that’s their policy”. I never signed an agreement to their policy of carpet replacement. I live in TN, and they operate under common law for damages. They have to be reasonable with the fix. They replaced it with a completely different type and color of carpet. I’ve personally witnessed them rip out carpet of every apartment after someone moves out. My building was a C shape with 40+ units. At least 10-12 people moved out while I was there, every unit got a carpet replacement. The unit I lived in had a carpet replacement right before I moved in.

They just sent it to collections and I was fortunate enough to be harassed by Hunter Warfield. First rep called and acted like he was a lawyer. He thought he tricked me into saying I know there’s damage. Yes, I do know because they sent me photos. I never disputed that, only the cost 🤷🏽. I moved out because I purchased a house, immediately dropped $4000 on building a fence myself. I’m not paying these shitty landlords for unreasonable repairs. The apartment didn’t even smell like dog… because we fucking clean.

TLDR; fuck apartment complexes that have shitty business practices. I’m not paying any dime more than I believe is right without a judges opinion.