More important then your damages i would think is that your landlord has said that he is not releasing you from your rental agreement. Now...he can't do this as hopefully you signed a lease that said from blah blah 2001 till one year later 2002. This would indicate to me that he is also trying to hold you hostage for rent. Some states allow liquidated damages on move outs but that is just advertising ect. i would take it to court cause that had to be some prtty great shampoo. Actually they should have done a move in inspection with you and walk through at the end....carpet and paint unless disgusting are normal wear and tear.
Logical1: My lease had a clause about automatic renewal unless I failed to reject the renewal within 15 days of the end of my preceding lease. It sounds odd, but my lease ended 10/01/02, and would not automatically renew as long as I rejected a continuation by 10/15/02. Given that I was gone before they sent the "automatic renewal" letter, and had notified them I was moving out, it'll be interesting to see if they have any theories claiming I'm a tenant.
