signed lease, then realized the whole house smells with pet urine (tenants, renters)

[denverizzles]

Hi all!

This is my first post!

So the problem i'm having is that we signed a lease to rent a townhome at night without having inspecting it during the day (our fault). When we first entered the townhome, we immediately smelled something that reminded us of urine. The landlord reassured us that it was the ammonia from the carpet cleaning and that there were no pets. The next day, we signed the lease no questions asked.

Yesterday, during the day, we were about to paint and noticed that the smell has not gone away. But since it was daytime, we were able to see the urine stains in all different colors. yellow, red, etc...The smell is even worse now that we turned on the heat.

My goal is to have the landlord replace the of the carpeting. Do you think it is the landlords responsibility to replace the carpet? should I have an expert take a look at the carpet prior to calling the landlord, since the landlord stated there were no pets with the prior tenant? Also, if he doesn't replace the carpet, would i be justified in breaking my signed lease?

any advice is appreciated!

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by denverizzles

we signed a lease ...without having inspecting it during the day (our fault).
The landlord reassured us that it was the ammonia from the carpet cleaning

This implies that the LL was aware of the odor.
The problem is getting from a verbal implication to anything substantial.

My goal is to have the landlord replace the of the carpeting.
Do you think it is the landlords responsibility to replace the carpet? Not really.

...would i be justified in breaking my signed lease? Sorta
any advice is appreciated!

ASK the landlord (in writing!) for your deposit money back and then focus on start over.
Next time look in daylight and trust your instincts better.

[Sabinerose]

Ammonia used in carpet cleaning?! I hadn't heard of that before...

Every correspondence with your LL while you deal with this needs to be in writing from now on. (That really needs to be in capital letters!).

Some options:

If you like the place and want to stay (minus the smell) - ask about having professional carpet cleaning done. Call around and see what some companies have to say about removing pet stains / odors. The LL may be willing to pay for this as opposed to losing you as renters.

Replacing the carpet. Ask the LL if he is willing to do this because the home is uninhabitable the way it is.

Get a black light, turn off all the lights at night and shine it around close to the visible stains. Urine (human or animal) will glow a greenish / yellow color. Video this procedure to show to the LL if needed.

I would think the LL would be willing to pay a couple hundred bucks for cleaning, as opposed to losing you for a full year of rent (assuming your lease is a one year model).

Good luck to you!

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

If the urine has soaked through to the subflooring, that might also have to be treated. The carpet pad is probably ruined.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Dog and human urine can be gotten out by a good professional carpet cleaner.

Ammonia is used in a carpet cleaning process to remove colored stains, so yes, it is used in carpet cleaning.

I suggest that you contact the landlord and insist that something be worked out before you move your stuff in.

[bentlebee]

Ammonia to clean a carpet....?

I would make picture with time and date stamp...You can have a lab. person take some samples and see what the result is and go from there.

Write the landlord a letter, send it certified and state what your issues are and how you missd it due to signing it in the evening.

I have no clue if your side of the story is completely different from the LL side of the story something often happens as we know from being in the business of doing property management.

[sware2cod]

You must bring this up asap or YOU could be blamed for the stains and be charged upon move out for having pets that you never had.

Even if prior tenants had not pets, they could have had visitors with pets. Or could have lied about having pets.

[satman40]

If possible just pull the carpet back, black light works, but will also show up other things,

It could have very easily went through to the padding, and that too can be cut out, and patched,

Urine can be cleaned and neutralized, that is what damage deposits are for and another reason my LL say and mean no pets.

[denverizzles]

So I talked with the landlord and he seemed willing to make a compromise on the carpet, but when we set a meeting to talk about it, he did not show up and has not called since.

We haven't moved in, but have signed the lease. I really think after this experience i dont even want to be his tenant, but is there a rule as to when a landlord should return your call?

[Kim in FL]

Originally Posted by denverizzles

So I talked with the landlord and he seemed willing to make a compromise on the carpet, but when we set a meeting to talk about it, he did not show up and has not called since.

We haven't moved in, but have signed the lease. I really think after this experience i dont even want to be his tenant, but is there a rule as to when a landlord should return your call?

Nope, no calling rule. But I'd document it anyway.


As for the urine....unless he replaces the carpet and padding and seals the sub flooring, you are going to smell pee.

I don't care who you hire...a carpet cleaner won't be able NOT get urine out of padding or subflooring.

Have you used a black light to look at the carpet? It will show protein stains (milk, blood..etc) but it will also show the pee.