Have you talked to a leasing agent or your property manager about it yet? Maybe if you just explain and promise you won't do it again they'll let you off the hook.

Not yet. I kinda wanted to know where I stood before talking to them. Thank you.

no, he wouldn't have to prove it. He's an agent of the landlord; anything he sees, the landlord sees. It's not a criminal charge; the "innocent until PROVEN guilty" does not apply.

But it is a DEPOSIT, so can you prove the cat is gone, and ask to "get it back"?

Talley Sue,

Thanks for the reply. At this point I haven't paid the charge yet since they left a note on my door saying I owed them the $300. If I didn't pay it, could they try to collect that money with whatever means possible, i.e., collections agency? Thanks

"I looked in my lease and it does state that they do enforce a pet charge even for temporary pets,"
OK ... they have the right to charge you, it's even in the lease. Let the landlord know it was a short-term "cat-sitting" favor for a friend and pay whatever you owe them for the temporary pet. They are probably hitting you with the full pet deposit because the maintenance man had no way of knowing how long the cat had been there.

"If I didn't pay it, could they try to collect that money with whatever means possible, i.e., collections agency? "

Yup, they sure could. And they can ruin your credit rating in the process.

Thank you. One more question. I tend to try to analyze/over analyze everything angle. Can an apartment complex charge someone a pet deposit fee for a guest? Let me elaborate. Let's say I'm having a party. And one of my guests has a dog who he/she brings with them to my party. The party lasts a couple of hours and everyone goes home. Can I be charged for a pet deposit for that? And if not, does that mean that yes, an animal can be at the apartment for an undisclosed period of time before it's considered a pet even on a temporary basis? I promise that was my last question. :-) Thank you.

Justdaniel, I think you are going to get the best result by just saying " Sorry, I didn't know, can you pls help me out here?"