The part about the landlord saying the fee was non refundable is what gets me. In Colorado that law has been on the books for years, so either he didn't know or he was hoping you wouldn't push back. Did you have to send a second email before he paid up, or did the first one do it? I'm curious if he argued at all or just cut the check once he saw the statute cited.

That glare and fingerprint smudge are exactly what makes it hit harder than the finished prints. I've seen this done well when the tablet stays unlocked so people can actually scroll through the layers, versus when it's just frozen on one screen looking like someone forgot their stuff. If there's no way to interact with it, it reads as lazy, but if you can poke around the process, it's the most honest thing on the wall.