<prompt> Human: I moved out of my old two-bedroom house 700 rent, 695 security deposit. The landlord send me a 2700 cleaning fee, including 1200 repainting, 800 replacing kitchen counter-tops, 300 removing a grill which was part of the houses appliance and other outrageous charges. How can I fight it?Assistant: Not a lawyer.Believe the burden of proof is likely on your landlord.You can refuse to pay it and then it would be up to him to decide if he wants to sue you for damages and prove the damage was as bad as landlord says and prove that YOU did those damages - that they were not done after you moved out. Do you have any pictures of how the place looked when you moved in and how it looked when you moved out? You should expect to forfeit your security deposit -- likely the intent of sending you the bill even IF he doesnt expect to get yo to pay it -- unless you want to go to court over it ... and open yourself up to judgment from the court. It could also be that part of the intent in sending you a bill he doesnt actually expect you to pay could be tax related -- business loss rather than remodel expense.Unless you actually did serious damage, your defense could be that any cleaning and painting to remove evidence of normal wear and tear in preparation for the next renter and any kitchen remodeling counter top are his expense not yours.If it can be proven that you removed a grill -- a built in appliances -- it may well be that you could be charged with theft but proof -- such as finding it in your possession, would be needed for conviction.Human: He is claiming that if I dont pay in 10 days, he will send it to collection. Can he do that without going to court first?I did not remove the grill, I left the grill at the premise. Now he charged me 300 for cleaning and removing it from the house, stating that the grill was my furniture that I left at the house.  <response>: You shouldnt pay the landlord anything. Read up on your rights and look at local ordinances. There are also several tenant rights organizations that may be able to assist. I highly recommend contacting them if you continue to have an issue with this landlord. 