LL charging me full price to replace 11 year old flooring (tenant, construction)
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My landlord is charging me nearly $1,000 to replace a small section of extremely low quality rollout flooring that was installed back in 2007. She has chosen a replacement that is much more expensive than the original. Also before I moved in the original flooring was faded, scratched up, yellowing with age, and it was already damaged with 2 huge stains. All I did was drip a little red candle wax on the floor (about the size of a golf ball) and the red won't come out.
I've searched for hours and can't find what I'm looking for. I need to print out official documentation about the universal concept of prorating/depritiation for replacing flooring damaged beyond normal wear and tear. Landlord has never heard of prorating and thinks it's unfair for me to ask her to share the expense. I think she will be reasonable if it is explained to her with proper documentation. We have always gotten along great before this. Any help is greatly appreciated!
My landlord is charging me nearly $1,000 to replace a small section of extremely low quality rollout flooring that was installed back in 2007. She has chosen a replacement that is much more expensive than the original. Also before I moved in the original flooring was faded, scratched up, yellowing with age, and it was already damaged with 2 huge stains. All I did was drip a little red candle wax on the floor (about the size of a golf ball) and the red won't come out.
I've searched for hours and can't find what I'm looking for. I need to print out official documentation about the universal concept of prorating/depritiation for replacing flooring damaged beyond normal wear and tear. Landlord has never heard of prorating and thinks it's unfair for me to ask her to share the expense. I think she will be reasonable if it is explained to her with proper documentation. We have always gotten along great before this. Any help is greatly appreciated!
How long did you live there? Any photos of the condition when you moved in? A pre-move-in walk through that might have noted the condition at that time?
First of all, did you take photos of the floor when you moved in?
What you are looking for is called depreciation.
Where do you live, because rules for depreciation can vary from location to location?
What kind of flooring? Sheet vinyl? I assume it is not carpet.
You would need to know what the expected life of the product is. Ask to see the receipt for the flooring. It should tell you the date of installation and the manufacturer and then you can find out how long it could be expected to last in a residence. Your landlord can only charge you on a prorated basis for any remaining life in the product, based on the cost of the old flooring, not the new.
In other words, if the flooring has a 15 year life expectancy you can only be charged for 4 years at 4/15 of the cost of the old floor.
If it were carpet, you would probably owe nothing, because carpet is considered by most courts to be fully depreciated at 10 years.
Last edited by suzy_q2010; 04-10-2018 at 02:31 AM..
First of all, did you take photos of the floor when you moved in?
What you are looking for is called depreciation.
Where do you live, because rules for depreciation can vary from location to location?
What kind of flooring? Sheet vinyl? I assume it is not carpet.
You would need to know what the expected life of the product is. Ask to see the receipt for the flooring. It should tell you the date of installation and the manufacturer and then you can find out how long it could be expected to last in a residence. Your landlord can only charge you on a prorated basis for any remaining life in the product, based on the cost of the old flooring, not the new.
In other words, if the flooring has a 15 year life expectancy you can only be charged for 4 years at 4/15 of the cost of the old floor.
If it were carpet, you would probably owe nothing, because carpet is considered by most courts to be fully depreciated at 10 years.
Wrong, the prorated amount is on the cost of the new as long as it is a like product, low quality carpet cannot be replaced with high quality carpet for example. I could be wrong for a VERY specific example but I'd be shocked if any state had a law or court rulings that say what you suggest. The major reason the new cost is used is inflation. Why should the party in breach of contract, failure to return the premises in an undameged state is the breach, not have to pay the higher cost of an item? Could you imagine the problems if we ever saw 10%+ inflation and the original price was used, we're heading there in some markets on construction related items already.
My landlord is charging me nearly $1,000 to replace a small section of extremely low quality rollout flooring that was installed back in 2007. She has chosen a replacement that is much more expensive than the original. Also before I moved in the original flooring was faded, scratched up, yellowing with age, and it was already damaged with 2 huge stains. All I did was drip a little red candle wax on the floor (about the size of a golf ball) and the red won't come out.
I've searched for hours and can't find what I'm looking for. I need to print out official documentation about the universal concept of prorating/depritiation for replacing flooring damaged beyond normal wear and tear. Landlord has never heard of prorating and thinks it's unfair for me to ask her to share the expense. I think she will be reasonable if it is explained to her with proper documentation. We have always gotten along great before this. Any help is greatly appreciated!
At worst, you could be on the hook for a prorated amount, which should be very little with the age of the floor. Why should you be stuck with the bill for a small stain when previous tenants have produced larger stains?
Kind of sounds like she just wants to change the floor now and is using your spill as an excuse to stick the cost on you.
How long did you live there? Any photos of the condition when you moved in? A pre-move-in walk through that might have noted the condition at that time?
Lived there 1.5 years. LL documented condition of floor when we moved in. She doesn't dispute the original stains were already there.
sheet vinyl is simple and cheap to replace, you should pay no more than 25%.
She thinks she gets to trade the old for new, and expects tenants to pay 100%. I need documentation to present showing her the way it's actually supposed to work. She has several rentals and she's enriched her properties like this before. She's an older lady and doesn't use the Internet. I need a pamphlet or something to hand to her.
She thinks she gets to trade the old for new, and expects tenants to pay 100%. I need documentation to present showing her the way it's actually supposed to work. She has several rentals and she's enriched her properties like this before. She's an older lady and doesn't use the Internet. I need a pamphlet or something to hand to her.
Full stop, she is already in the wrong. At best, you can be charged for a fraction of the cost. Probably a maximum of like 10% and that may even be high considering the floor is over a decade old.
This is kind of an unfortunate situation for you. I wonder if she collected penalties from prior tenants who stained the floor, and then just never fixed the floor. I’d ask her why the floor wasn’t replaced then and why she is targeting you now.
I don’t know why LL think they get to update decades old infrastructure at the expense of a tenant. Tenant has 0 equity in the place. LL needs to update on their own time with their money
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