Reply #8: In Seattle, there are deposits and fees

[LisaM]

and there is a very specific difference. They can't take cleaning fees out of the deposit, only out of the fees. You might research that angle of it.

I don't know why they do this. I got into it with a landlord once who said we didn't clean an oven. I told him that I had (true) and he first said, "well, not to my specifications!" but as it increasingly became clear that he had not actually looked, he agreed to give me the money.