Tenet Laws, Landlord wants 10K

I moved out of Seattle a year ago, less than 30 days from moving out my landlord sent a paper copy and email of our move out fee stating they took our 5k deposit and wanted 5k more. We requested photos and receipts. Photos were sent and they said they would update us with receipts & invoices.

Almost a year later no word from them, when suddenly a debt collector contacted me for 4k via text with their name on it.

Thoughts and next steps. Losing the 5k was already hard enough

My only hope is I found this on https://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/

Read the letter carefully to know why your landlord says they are keeping your deposit or that you owe money.

If your landlord says you damaged the rental unit, your landlord must also include copies of estimates, invoices, and other documents to prove the charge(s) for repairs. If your landlord does not send you supporting documents within 30 days, your landlord must return your deposit.

Unless the landlord can show circumstances outside their control for failing to send you documents within 30 days, the landlord cannot:

• charge you for damages,
• report the damages to a consumer reporting agency, tenancy screening service, or prospective landlord, or
• submit it for debt collection.

Your landlord cannot keep your deposit for normal wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises.

Your landlord may claim that other damages are owed, such as unpaid rent or fees. You may request a copy of your tenant ledger to review if there are any mistakes. For example, if you prepaid last month’s rent at move-in and this payment was never applied to your ledger (account), you should write to let the landlord know this was already paid with proof of last month’s rent (for example, a receipt, copy of the check).