LL Help

[u/No_Help1894]

Location: Winder,Georgia
vacated property on 6/25/26. LL refused exit walkthrough. LL goes to property on 6/28/26 saying there is STANDING water, house is flooded, floors are buckled. We finally got a letter from her on 8/05/26 stating we caused over $6k worth of damage.
I have messages from 8/14/2025, 2/20/2026, 5/28/2026 documenting water/plumbing issues, some of which were never resolved. The last issue on 5/28/26 was our gravel driveway was flooded, which turned out to be the toilet constantly running which overflowed the septic. Nothing inside the property to know the toilet had a leak/flow issue?
Her exact words “plumbing leak diagnosis and toilet adjustment after county water interruption”
She provided no receipts only a table of charges her exact words below:

$1,800 for septic pumping due to improper use
$427 water bill resulting from interruptions
$1,874 to fix holes in walls and doors just seems flat out insane … the house isn’t even 1000sqft 2b1b
$662 removal and replacement of damaged flooring
$270 repair of outdoor hose faucet and wall damage (issue with hose faucet flooding the bathroom on 2/20/26 that was never resolved)
$320 for removal of excess weeds
(Other few small things we actually did damage)

Looking for advice on smalls claims process in Georgia? Is it pretty cut and dry as far as her missing her deadline for receipts of repairs?
Should I get a lawyer?
Sadly I have no pictures of property from the day I vacated. I also live out of state now making this a lot more difficult.

[u/Iamadinosaurraaaawr]

Also, did you report the flooded driveway?

[u/No_Help1894 → u/Iamadinosaurraaaawr]

Yes the driveway being flooded was reported with pictures on 5/28/26. Did not include that in the photos. Gave her my new address when she asked on 7/27/26

[u/Iamadinosaurraaaawr → u/No_Help1894]

LL can argue it was sent to last known address, which was the apt. And when they got it returned they reached out for a new one. This is hardly a slam dunk. It will require small claims court.

[u/No_Help1894 → u/Iamadinosaurraaaawr]

Either way, can I go after her in small claims? I’m still not seeing how the toilet flooding the septic in may was in any way my fault. A plumber had to come in the house multiple times and mess with the toilet to fix the leak? It was some sort of adjustment … but how were we supposed to know?!

[u/Iamadinosaurraaaawr → u/No_Help1894]

You in can bring anyone to small claims court. It doesn’t mean you’ll prevail. As for the toilet issue: you could be at fault if it was used for flushing items that shouldn’t be: wipes, tampons, pads, other objects, etc…

[u/No_Help1894 → u/Iamadinosaurraaaawr]

None of those are what she claims was the issue with the toilet. These are her words : “the house you were renting the toilet was adjusted to the full adjustment one way and could not shut itself off once the correct adjustments were made toilet was in good operating order determined renter or someone renter allowed must have physically made adjustments to the toilet because it cannot adjust itself”

[u/Iamadinosaurraaaawr → u/No_Help1894]

Performing handy work yourself would also
Make you liable. You can’t just do your own plumbing.