Being charged $1400 for "curry smell" by apartment at end of lease

[ibarrio]

Originally Posted by armor1111

The apartment which i lived in Scottsdale for 9 months have charged me 1400$ for new carpets, full unit paint, duct cleaning, ozone cleaning for the curry smell coming from the apartment after i ended the apartment lease. We have been living in US for 5 years and we never had this problem in the other apartments which we lived. Does anyone know if this is even legal to charge this much amount for the curry smell?

Check the laws. I don't think they can charge you for carpet that old regardless of damage. I know for a fact they cannot do that in California so I would check in Arizona

[jimj]

Originally Posted by ibarrio

Check the laws. I don't think they can charge you for carpet that old regardless of damage. I know for a fact they cannot do that in California so I would check in Arizona

The OP has no idea how old the carpet was/is. Reread the post and you will see they were only there for 9 months.

[smoochaz]

Originally Posted by Chelito23

First of, I will state I am a liberal and progressive and embrace diversity. With that said, I don't see this as discrimination or prejudice at all. I don't think any potential tennants want to move into a new apartment that has a heavy smell of cooking from the previous tennant, regardless of what it is. I think it is entirely reasonable for the landlord to bill reasonable costs to eliminate strong odors. Just because they can't be cleaned and eliminated with a heavy duty run of the mill cleaning doesn't mean the landlord is out to rip off the tennant.

If curry was changed to any other strong odor, I don't think people would be hating on the land lord.

Perhaps they should have changed the wording from curry smell to strong cooking odor. But it is what it is. Would you rent an apartment with an intense smell of cooking from previous tennants and just accept that as normal? Probably not. If I saw an apartment with a heavy odor, I would not rent there or sign the lease and just hope to air it out.

Did you pay a non-refundable cleaning deposit? if so, that should've taken care of the smell unless there were splash or damage marks that require deep cleaning and/or repair.Please read your tenants rights and if you want to contest there should be a website on this document for you to follow - > best of luck!! https://www.aaronline.com/wp-content..._04Mar2016.pdf

[More Rock]

I have a couple from Tamil Nadu that will move in, no questions asked.

[suzy_q2010]

Apparently not all curry is created equal. If it is oil based, it can coat every surface and seep into carpets and drapes and be virtually impossible to remove. It is very similar to cigarette smoke in that regard.

OP, that is not normal wear and tear. It's damage, and you are responsible for remediating it. Pay up.

Look here at the measures to remove curry odor to sell a house - from a site about curry:

How to eliminate Curry smell?

"How to eliminate Curry smell to sell the house?
You will need about two weeks to prepare the house
1. Change all the air filters. Remove and discard curtains, and other upholstered furniture.
2. Wash all the surfaces with Vinegar solution (One cup of water, Two Tablespoons of white vinegar). Spray the carpet, and walls to a damp. Keep the windows open to let the house air-dry.
3. Buy 'Live Microbial Agent' sold at most of the hardware stores. Prepare a spray with equal amount of water. The Microbial agents have a live bacteria that eats odors. Spray the entire house with the live microbial agent (ceilings, walls, carpets, furniture and equipments). Keep the windows open to let the house air-dry for 2 days. Repeat this process 4 more times.
4. Paint the house. Add two Tablespoons of vanilla extract to every gallon of paint."

That is not what a landlord should have to do to turn over an apartment. It also doubt it would get the odor out of carpet.

Unless you are prepared to frequently wash the walls, ceilings, cabinets, and every appliance, light fixture, and article that will remain behind when you move out, expect similar charges when you leave your new apartment. You could reduce the expense by choosing an apartment with no carpeting at all.

[ibarrio]

Originally Posted by jimj

The OP has no idea how old the carpet was/is. Reread the post and you will see they were only there for 9 months.

Still on the ownership to prvide proof. Otherwise any 20 year old carpet is only 1-2 years old.