my landlords took my money!

[XOMichelle]

ug! It's been two days and I am still very upset. My landlords charged me $290 to clean and fix damages to my 180 sqft room that I lived in for 8 months. I left the place as clean as when I moved in, and never put anything on the walls. I'm writing them a letter and disputing the charges. I understand they want to charge me something, but $290 is overboard and in "bad faith". I hope to get them into a mediaton process so we can come to some kind of compromise.

We never did any kind of walkthrough, before I moved in or after I left, so neither of us has any proof that damage was done. I know that was stupid. Hindsight is 20/20!!! I know that if I had proof I could get out of all charges, but since I don't I will pay for it. That's ok with me, but I feel almost 300 dollars is too much to pay for no proof.

Here's the thing: I did leave some scuffmarks and dirt that couldn't be cleaned off one wall (I tried- it's cheap paint), and since the landlord is obsessive about cleaning, she spent a long time cleaning the clean room. I would say that all of those things fall under normal wear and tear, but again, I have no proof. So, I'm willing to give them something for those efforts. What do you think is reasonable? I was thinking $100-$150 would make sense, since you can charge max $126 without documentation in the state of CA for cleaning or damage. A professional could clean the bathroom/ bedroom for about $50 (the fee for my other 700 sqft apt was $100, so since this was half the size, I imagine it would be half the price), and the paint would cost another $50 or so for touch ups. What do you think?