Security deposit to cover unauthorized pet fees?
Can a security deposit be used to cover unauthorized pet fees in a rental? I have a tenant that moved out and they had two unauthorized pets, a cat and a dog. I confronted them about this since the lease clearly states that no pets are allowed, and further calls for a fee of $50 per day, per animal. They admit to having the pets and acknowledge they would owe all fees. They even specified the date they got the animals and calculated what they owed, which was well over $10,000. I know there is no way they could ever pay that, but now that they have moved out, can the security deposit reflect that they owed significant pet fees and they will therefore not be receiving a refund of their deposit? To me the easy answer is yes, but I wanted to get some other thoughts. Many thanks.