Idaho rental law - landlord charging $1200 to replace carpet older than 8 years (hardwood floor, rentals)
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I cannot seem to find the local statute's, but I thought carpet older than 7 years wasn't the tennants responsibility?
We were under covid quarantine ( sister in law that was helping pack tested positive) and our landlord wouldn't extend our move out date ( after she already broke our signed agreement of Feb 15th and demanded we were out Jan 24th) so we had little time to clean.
Faucets should be general wear and tear? They were older and the cold handle quit working (she had been notified)
This was her list of expenses in response to not returning our deposit.
Just looking for some guidance on what she can and cannot do.
1275.32 for carpet
34.67 for blind
322.27 for faucets
House cleaning $300
Last edited by MikesChevelle; 02-14-2021 at 05:54 PM..
stuff is expensive , kiss your deposit goodbye , take the loss, move on, its not worth the headache. corruption is so rampant now in the treasure valley, I would expect it.
Don't let them walk all over you. Push back. It sounds like you already have a good start with understanding some of the laws. From what you stated it sounds like general wear and tear, but the carpet could be a wild card without seeing the condition. Too many landlords will try to get away with bullying tenants into funding their renovations. It's sickening to see how bad the rental corruption has gotten here. Look how much money is taken in on applications alone and you hear about too many of them basically going right to the trash can.
I wish I could offer advice about which steps to take but I don't know the correct channels to pursue.
As noted, without seeing the condition of the items, it is impossible for any of us to judge, and it would really take a court or arbitration to look at them and decide. I cannot imagine a set time would be associated with the carpet by law, but it could be in the lease agreement.
Let's start with seven years is not the depreciation period for carpet in a rental. That is the depreciation for carpet for federal income taxes, which has absolutely nothing to do with the life expectancy of carpet. $1275 is very unlikely to cover the cost of new carpet for an entire house, so the charge for carpet is going to depend upon how many rooms were replaced and why. If the entire house had to be replaced, you are already getting a prorated price.
Your relatives getting Covid has nothing to do with the landlord and when you have a move-out date, you must be out by that date. Little time to clean? You didn't keep the house clean all the time while you lived there? Cleaning at move-out, after all the furniture is out, shouldn't take more than a couple of hours unless you have allowed grime and dirt to accumulate. $300 for house cleaning is cheap. Your landlord found you a bargain. I pay more than that to have an already clean house polished up and made move-in ready. Professional house cleaning is expensive and if you don't want to pay for it, clean yourself when you move out.
$34.67 is less than the cost for one small blind to be replaced. Either you didn't damage most of the blinds, or you were charged for cleaning some of the blinds. Don't forget, when a blind has to be replaced there is labor cost as well as the cost of the blind. Again, your landlord is using someone who charges bargain rates to do work. You got off light on this one.
I have no idea about the faucet without seeing it, but the price charged is very fair, considering how much plumber costs. Faucets don't break for no reason, but I didn't see the faucet myself so don't know why you were charged for it.
If you are not happy, you can take all of your before and after photos and all your proof of condition to small claims court and let a judge decide what is fair and what is not.
Let's start with seven years is not the depreciation period for carpet in a rental. That is the depreciation for carpet for federal income taxes, which has absolutely nothing to do with the life expectancy of carpet. $1275 is very unlikely to cover the cost of new carpet for an entire house, so the charge for carpet is going to depend upon how many rooms were replaced and why. If the entire house had to be replaced, you are already getting a prorated price.
Your relatives getting Covid has nothing to do with the landlord and when you have a move-out date, you must be out by that date. Little time to clean? You didn't keep the house clean all the time while you lived there? Cleaning at move-out, after all the furniture is out, shouldn't take more than a couple of hours unless you have allowed grime and dirt to accumulate. $300 for house cleaning is cheap. Your landlord found you a bargain. I pay more than that to have an already clean house polished up and made move-in ready. Professional house cleaning is expensive and if you don't want to pay for it, clean yourself when you move out.
$34.67 is less than the cost for one small blind to be replaced. Either you didn't damage most of the blinds, or you were charged for cleaning some of the blinds. Don't forget, when a blind has to be replaced there is labor cost as well as the cost of the blind. Again, your landlord is using someone who charges bargain rates to do work. You got off light on this one.
I have no idea about the faucet without seeing it, but the price charged is very fair, considering how much plumber costs. Faucets don't break for no reason, but I didn't see the faucet myself so don't know why you were charged for it.
If you are not happy, you can take all of your before and after photos and all your proof of condition to small claims court and let a judge decide what is fair and what is not.
you nailed it. Even if small claims gives you a judgement , they still can refuse to pay you. Most rentals are part of this corporate beast system now. Sticking folks for everything . Application fee's, dog fee's, every dime they can get.
Does anyone know if there's a particular state agency contact for clarification on these matters?
We actually rented our house back from our buyer for a few month's while we're waiting to close on our next house and move in, which is very near. I'm curious if they'll try any stunts considering they plan to rent it after we move out. It's clearly not a typical rental situation and it'll actually be in even better condition from when they bought it. They never stepped foot in the house after they signed the contract. They never even made an attempt to remedy the mold in the attic even though we gave them credits at closing specifically for that condition. Sounds like a health hazard to me They even expect it professionally cleaned! Good luck next renters! Good luck Idaho!
Let's start with seven years is not the depreciation period for carpet in a rental. That is the depreciation for carpet for federal income taxes, which has absolutely nothing to do with the life expectancy of carpet. $1275 is very unlikely to cover the cost of new carpet for an entire house, so the charge for carpet is going to depend upon how many rooms were replaced and why. If the entire house had to be replaced, you are already getting a prorated price.
Your relatives getting Covid has nothing to do with the landlord and when you have a move-out date, you must be out by that date. Little time to clean? You didn't keep the house clean all the time while you lived there? Cleaning at move-out, after all the furniture is out, shouldn't take more than a couple of hours unless you have allowed grime and dirt to accumulate. $300 for house cleaning is cheap. Your landlord found you a bargain. I pay more than that to have an already clean house polished up and made move-in ready. Professional house cleaning is expensive and if you don't want to pay for it, clean yourself when you move out.
$34.67 is less than the cost for one small blind to be replaced. Either you didn't damage most of the blinds, or you were charged for cleaning some of the blinds. Don't forget, when a blind has to be replaced there is labor cost as well as the cost of the blind. Again, your landlord is using someone who charges bargain rates to do work. You got off light on this one.
I have no idea about the faucet without seeing it, but the price charged is very fair, considering how much plumber costs. Faucets don't break for no reason, but I didn't see the faucet myself so don't know why you were charged for it.
If you are not happy, you can take all of your before and after photos and all your proof of condition to small claims court and let a judge decide what is fair and what is not.
That is what I was trying to understand, is there a point in a carpets age where wear and tear damage isnt on the tenant?
As far as "move out date" we had a signed document stating we had to be out no later than Feb 15th. My landlord sold the house she was living in faster than she planned so she told us she had to move back into the house we were renting much sooner. We tried to be as accommodating as we could but I could have just as easily pushed back and stuck to the date we signed on.
As far as cleaning, we kept the place pretty clean, like we paid a cleaner once a month to come through, but there are just somethings you really cant get to until you get all your stuff out.
Our family getting covid absolutely had a lot to do with the timeline, going from having plans for friends and family to help moving to having to move all by yourself makes thing a lot more difficult. A LOT
Were we at the end of our Feb 15th agree'd date then fine I see your point, but her breaking our agree'd date and then having no flexibility once we were in COVID quarantine.... We were rushing just to get our stuff moved out, let a lone have time to clean. The house was 80% hardwood floor that just needed general vacuuming. only the bedrooms were carpeted.
The faucet's, independent knobs for hot and cold, the cold one, something inside the handle was worn out as the water would never fully shut off. They were likely original to the house.
In the end we decided against the headache of pursuing anything with her, just move on with our lives. She is a petty person and has been for the 4 years we rented.
That is what I was trying to understand, is there a point in a carpets age where wear and tear damage isnt on the tenant?
As far as "move out date" we had a signed document stating we had to be out no later than Feb 15th. My landlord sold the house she was living in faster than she planned so she told us she had to move back into the house we were renting much sooner. We tried to be as accommodating as we could but I could have just as easily pushed back and stuck to the date we signed on.
As far as cleaning, we kept the place pretty clean, like we paid a cleaner once a month to come through, but there are just somethings you really cant get to until you get all your stuff out.
Our family getting covid absolutely had a lot to do with the timeline, going from having plans for friends and family to help moving to having to move all by yourself makes thing a lot more difficult. A LOT
Were we at the end of our Feb 15th agree'd date then fine I see your point, but her breaking our agree'd date and then having no flexibility once we were in COVID quarantine.... We were rushing just to get our stuff moved out, let a lone have time to clean. The house was 80% hardwood floor that just needed general vacuuming. only the bedrooms were carpeted.
The faucet's, independent knobs for hot and cold, the cold one, something inside the handle was worn out as the water would never fully shut off. They were likely original to the house.
In the end we decided against the headache of pursuing anything with her, just move on with our lives. She is a petty person and has been for the 4 years we rented.
Face it, it's just not worth the headache , the woman is corrupt. The lady will get hers in the end, they always do.
Corruption is rampant all through the treasure valley.
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They even expect it professionally cleaned! Good luck next renters! Good luck Idaho!
