Can a leasing office prohibit you from using a particular carpet cleaning company?

My apartment's leasing office is requiring that I get my carpets professionally cleaned before I move out next week. On the move-out instruction packet they gave me, they say they do not accept work done by a certain carpet cleaning company (who of course is the cheapest). Can they legally do this? It does not say anything about this in my lease...

I strongly doubt your states statutes allow provisions for a renting agency to determine what contractor you may or may not use. But since you're moving out anyway, I would probably go with the next cheapest agency because the time involved and the resulting headaches to get around this most likely aren't worth the money you would save by going with the cheapest contractor.

If your lease does not specify whom you can use and there is no other proision in regards to the leasing company being able to dictate whom a leasee can contract with then you can use whomever you want.

You can use any carpet cleaning service you want. The management has the right to accept the work of one or more specific providers.

I am guessing that they have had such poor results/performance from this one particular contractor that they simply gave up and refused to acknowledge their work.

Bite the bullet and get the next least expensive contractor. For the extra few dollars involved, you will probably do MUCH better at getting more of your security deposit returned to you.