District Court awards tenant half of disputed carpet-cleaning deduction

The District Court awarded Lena Whitcomb half of a disputed carpet-cleaning deduction after she sought the return of the full $250 withheld from her deposit. Presiding Judge Xavier's October 30, 2026 judgment states the award as £125 and says each side is left with £125.

The dispute turned on a patch of carpet near a bedroom door: landlord Darren Cho said it was dirty, while Whitcomb said the carpet looked ordinary for a lived-in apartment.

After hearing the parties, Xavier said there was no way to determine what had happened and awarded half the deduction. The brief judgment did not explain how the judge assessed the individual pieces of evidence or identify a legal rule governing the deduction.

The record describes the deduction and cleaning charge in dollars, but the formal judgment uses pounds for the award and the amount left to each side. It does not explain the difference.

Whitcomb said she vacuumed before returning the keys and that Cho deducted the cost of cleaning he would have done anyway. She said her move-out photo showed much of the carpet, but not the area behind the open bedroom door.

Cho said he saw a noticeable dirty patch near the bedroom door and paid $250 to have the carpet cleaned. He acknowledged that the receipt did not document the carpet's condition and that he had no other proof of the patch. He also said he did not clean carpets after every tenant moved out.

The dispute concerned Whitcomb's former Portland apartment. Asked how long she had lived there, she said she could not recall whether it was more than a year.

During questioning about a possible compromise, Whitcomb said she would consider receiving $125 but could not say what would be fair without knowing more. Cho said he would agree to return $125. The recorded outcome was the judge's award, not a settlement, and the judgment did not resolve whether the alleged dirty patch existed.