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Location: Sometimes Maryland, sometimes NoVA. Depends on the day of the week
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This came up on another forum I visit. A tenant had cats (as did the previous tenant). Landlord did a blacklight test on the carpet, and now wants to charge for carpet replacement (carpet is ~3 years old). Anyway, I hadn't heard about it before, but did a bit of research on it. Was wondering if any of the LLs here use it and what you think of it?
I have not used it... but, I have on occasion pulled back the carpet to reveal staining throughout the carpet... it shows much easier on the backside...
Carpeting and rental units really seem to be a royal pain in the arse. The LL should just get wood or laminate flooring, easier maintenance than the carpet crap, who is gonna clean, what is normal wear & tear, who smokes, who has a cat.....ugh !!!!So many problems over carpeting.
Hello, carpeting does not last forever.
That kind of sucks unless the LL is going to do that test as part of your initial walk-through with you to note any existing damage. That damage could have been there before and the tenant is never going to know.
Carpeting and rental units really seem to be a royal pain in the arse. The LL should just get wood or laminate flooring, easier maintenance than the carpet crap, who is gonna clean, what is normal wear & tear, who smokes, who has a cat.....ugh !!!!So many problems over carpeting.
Hello, carpeting does not last forever.
I can't begin to count... well I can... the number of times I could not rent units because of hardwood.
In 1995, I took over a medium sized building for lease-up... the owner was rehabbing the building and had all the hardwood refinished/restored... it looked great... the problem was only one unit rented after the first two weeks... more than half of those not interested cited hardwood as the reason.
I had two units carpeted and they rented immediately.... soon, I had all the units carpeted and the family with the hardwood wanted carpet too... carpeting made a dramatic difference in noise... no more hardwood echo with wall to wall carpet.
A couple of years ago... I had a visit from code compliance because a toddler tripped while walking and landed squarely on the side of his face... the grandmother told the inspector her grandchild would not have been injured if the landlord would have carpeted the home... can't win for loosing.
On the flip side... home buyers very much want hardwood. I've sold a number of rental homes and had the hardwood restored prior to showing...
That kind of sucks unless the LL is going to do that test as part of your initial walk-through with you to note any existing damage. That damage could have been there before and the tenant is never going to know.
The incident I cited was a brand-new never lived in home with new carpet... the tenant had lived there 2 years and the place smelled of cat urine... even though the carpet looked like new.... pulling the carpet back revealed a minefield of urine stains that no amount of cleaning would remove.
Tenants have to be careful about blacklights and other props. Unless the LL can prove that the same test was done prior to the tenancy these tests have no value unless the occupancy was on a new never-lived in rental. Tenants must be weary of LL's trying to collect damages that were done by previous tenants and especially on normal wear items.
If you rent a property that you suspect a previous tenant may have had untrained pets I suggest you get a report in the form of an estimate from a reputable carpet cleaner and furnish your LL a copy of the same.
I use a product called Petzyme. You can get it a PetSmart. It has live bacteria and enzymes in it that actualy neutralizes stains and odors. It works on all kind of stains. You can use it directly or in a steam cleaner. If in a steam cleaner don’t dilute it.
Tenants have to be careful about blacklights and other props. Unless the LL can prove that the same test was done prior to the tenancy these tests have no value unless the occupancy was on a new never-lived in rental. Tenants must be weary of LL's trying to collect damages that were done by previous tenants and especially on normal wear items.
If you rent a property that you suspect a previous tenant may have had untrained pets I suggest you get a report in the form of an estimate from a reputable carpet cleaner and furnish your LL a copy of the same.
Most States only allow the landlord to charge up to your deposit when you moved in the unit, and amounts past that is the landlords responsibility, I would check the tenant laws in your State. I would also ask to see the receipt for the new carpet from 3 years ago and would ask for written proof that the stains were not there prior to you moving in. I highly doubt that they have any records.
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