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Our living room carpet has been damaged (fraying on the edges). We've lived here for three years, and don't know the age of the carpet, but let's assume at worst that it was brand new upon move in. The landlord wants us to pay for a brand new carpet at full cost. She's quoting our lease saying that the house must be returned to "original condition", and since we damaged it, original condition would be a new carpet without any fraying. We were told by her that depreciation and normal wear and tear doesn't count for the three years we lived here, because the lease says "original condition", not "condition after three years of use". Can she do this? Does original condition mean paying full price for a brand new carpet, even if it was new when we first moved in?
Our living room carpet has been damaged (fraying on the edges). We've lived here for three years, and don't know the age of the carpet, but let's assume at worst that it was brand new upon move in. The landlord wants us to pay for a brand new carpet at full cost. She's quoting our lease saying that the house must be returned to "original condition", and since we damaged it, original condition would be a new carpet without any fraying. We were told by her that depreciation and normal wear and tear doesn't count for the three years we lived here, because the lease says "original condition", not "condition after three years of use". Can she do this? Does original condition mean paying full price for a brand new carpet, even if it was new when we first moved in?
HELP!!
--Phoenix, AZ
Just my opinion but your LL is pushing it and I doubt her argument would hold up in court. "The house" is the house, not its fixtures and furnishings. If she wants to replace it that's on her but she can deduct from your security deposit what it would cost to repair the carpet (edging can be fixed) if that damage is beyond normal wear and tear. I don't believe under any circumstances she can charge you for the purchase and installation of brand new carpeting.
I agree, I would think "normal" wear and tear would be fine. I'd also be surprised if her argument would hold up in court.
Any and all damages to a rental property have to take into account "normal wear and tear" and whatever the landlady thinks her lease says can't supersede state law. Guess she's hoping for a nice bonanza! OP, did you do something out of the ordinary to cause the carpet edges to fray - a dog scratching, for instance? Good carpets don't fray at the edges but cheap ones certainly do and should be properly bound to prevent this happening. You'll find AZ landlord tenant laws linked in the first "sticky" on this forum (or you can google "AZ landlord tenant wear and tear" for a bunch of related articles which will probably help). Good luck with your dippy landlady!
Any and all damages to a rental property have to take into account "normal wear and tear" and whatever the landlady thinks her lease says can't supersede state law. Guess she's hoping for a nice bonanza! OP, did you do something out of the ordinary to cause the carpet edges to fray - a dog scratching, for instance? Good carpets don't fray at the edges but cheap ones certainly do and should be properly bound to prevent this happening. You'll find AZ landlord tenant laws linked in the first "sticky" on this forum (or you can google "AZ landlord tenant wear and tear" for a bunch of related articles which will probably help). Good luck with your dippy landlady!
Yes, well the fraying originally started because we have sliding doors. Over three years, the edges just wore down too much, and the nails started to be exposed underneath. We are willing to take some responsibility to help replace the carpets, but she is insisting that we pay entirely for the replacement and installation. She also told us we weren't allowed to patch it up, because the carpet was too old and it would be too obvious.
Yes, well the fraying originally started because we have sliding doors. Over three years, the edges just wore down too much, and the nails started to be exposed underneath. We are willing to take some responsibility to help replace the carpets, but she is insisting that we pay entirely for the replacement and installation. She also told us we weren't allowed to patch it up, because the carpet was too old and it would be too obvious.
Then that's "normal wear and tear". Your landlady is wrong, wrong, wrong. She can insist 'til she's blue in the face but the law doesn't in any way support her demands. Read the state laws and pay attention also to the laws about security deposits, when and how they're to be returned to you when you leave the premises. Suggest you also take pictures of the carpeting in relation to the sliders - even a video showing how the doors hit the carpet edge. You may need them for small claims court. Take a bunch of dated photos before you close the door for the last time. Your LL is sadly uninformed.
Where's Lovehound when you need him? lol He owns property in Phoenix I believe.
I agree with everyone else, your LL can't charge you for the new price of the carpet. The most she can do is charge you for what life it had left. Meaning if she bought 5 year carpet for $1000 and it was brand new when you moved in (which by the sounds of it, I doubt that) then she could only charge you for 2 years pro-rated because you lived there for 3 years which would be $400 - does that make sense?
I'm certain she would also have to prove the carpets original cost and age in court as well.
By the way, OP, every lease in every state, whether residential or commercial, contains the standard clause about restoring the premises to their original condition.
Carpet has what is called a useable life. It's depreciated over time. Yes you have to return the property to original condition but it's usually less wear and tear. I'm not sure how a carpet wears on the edge. That's usually at the wall. Do you mean edge as in where its curved around the edge of a step/landing?
In AZ, a tenant has a duty under ARS Title 33 to notify the landlord of any condition that could result in damages. The courts allow landlords to make their case as to if the damages could have been remedied or mitigated if the tenant had performed as required by law and notified the landlord. If the judge agrees that the condition could have been prevented or reduced by proper notification, they allow the claim to go as damages and not normal wear and tear.
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