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STT - do you think there is such a subjective opinion about things that landlords keep security deposits because of what is considered normal wear and tear vs damage. since it is a gray area and sometimes sits on a boundary line, what can be done to make something more absolute, not just someone's opinion. Even I am stumped. I mean how can you tell when you have crossed the line? and do you think landlords are more stricter about what is wear and tear vs damage than the renter?
STT - do you think there is such a subjective opinion about things that landlords keep security deposits because of what is considered normal wear and tear vs damage. since it is a gray area and sometimes sits on a boundary line, what can be done to make something more absolute, not just someone's opinion. Even I am stumped. I mean how can you tell when you have crossed the line? and do you think landlords are more stricter about what is wear and tear vs damage than the renter?
It's not a difficult concept to understand and obviously different landlords have different standards and tenants likewise - which is precisely why there are steps to be taken to resolve differences through the dispute process. If that doesn't work to everyone's satisfaction then a judge decides.
I once scrubbed, cleaned and polished (and had pre and post photos as proof) a unit I was vacating from top to bottom and the nutty landlady decided to withhold $100 from my security deposit because of "a cobweb in one corner" and, "some white dust/powder in a kitchen cabinet". When she laughingly said, "you wouldn't take me to court for $100" I assured her I most certainly would and if I didn't have the full security deposit returned by xxxx date she could expect to be served a summons. I got it back.
It is a little bit subjective. Even within my office, we sometimes disagree. My boss will think we should charge a tenant for something that I consider to be normal wear and tear. And he has things he'll let slide that I would absolutely charge for. Usually after we fight it out on our end, and send it to the tenant, we all end up in agreement, but sometimes end up doing some negotiating.
For example, we had one recently where the tenant had gotten like 4 dogs and 5 cats without permission. The carpets were trashed from the pets. However, they were old enough that they were totally past their depreciated time, even though they were in good condition when he moved in. To complicate things further, the tenant had replaced some of the carpets while living there (without permission, but on his dime), and then trashed those, too. My response was that the carpets were older than any pro-rations, so replacing them couldn't be charged to the tenant. My boss and the owner of the house insisted that it was all pet damage from pets that weren't supposed to be there in the first place, so it should be a charge, and that if we took all the photos to a judge, he'd likely side with us. We're still negotiating with the tenant. They had a huge list of other damages. I believe our last response we agreed to not charge anything for the carpet, but they still owe money for other items.
I had one apartment that had damages, I had installed 3 decorative wall shelves (10 inch x 3 inches each) which I removed when moving and the screws made large holes, I didn't realize it, and the carpet had wear on it from my computer chair digging into it. the landlord manager came by, assessed it, and I paid for the depreciation value of the carpet which also had pet stains, and I thought that was fair.. he didn't charge me for the screw holes in the wall, just the carpet, I have always been told that I scrub the place far more than I needed, and then got told about how some tenants leave paper, litter. big stains on the wall, pet damage, furniture, trash, grease on walls, handprints on walls, etc. I thought I did just an ok job ,, but apparently they thought it looked great. I also paid the building's painters to paint the walls back to white for $120 and it was worth it to me not to be bothered.
My last apartment I paid for shampooing the bedroom carpet which had winter snow & dirt stains on it, looked ok, but I wanted it free of bugs in case there were any, I paid $125, I should not have.. he clearly took advantage of me. but I was in a tizzy so I just paid it. sheesh.
do you know how to figure out depreciation? you take the life of the carpet, (how long do you think the carpet is expected to live) and divide by the number of years it has been on the floor and thats how much it is worth. so a $500 carpet, you lived with it a year, it should last for 5 years, you now pay $400 for a new one. next year it will be worth $300.
OP you will prevail.
That is NOT how depreciation is calculated.
A LL must have dated receipts.
Must use the IRS tables.
I wish LL's would stop installing carpet on floors, there is never anything happy about it, and there are always problems when tenants move out.
carpets don't look like new forever. So much easier with wood floors, especially with pets, because of the re is an accident, chances are on a wood floor you will discover it a lot fast than on a carpet....
For example, we had one recently where the tenant had gotten like 4 dogs and 5 cats without permission. The carpets were trashed from the pets. However, they were old enough that they were totally past their depreciated time, even though they were in good condition when he moved in. To complicate things further, the tenant had replaced some of the carpets while living there (without permission, but on his dime), and then trashed those, too. My response was that the carpets were older than any pro-rations, so replacing them couldn't be charged to the tenant. My boss and the owner of the house insisted that it was all pet damage from pets that weren't supposed to be there in the first place, so it should be a charge, and that if we took all the photos to a judge, he'd likely side with us. We're still negotiating with the tenant. They had a huge list of other damages. I believe our last response we agreed to not charge anything for the carpet, but they still owe money for other items.
Wrong.
Not subjective at all.
A LL can not charge replacement cost for depreciated items against a deposit.
Photos mean nothing in this case.
Withholding the deposit and harassing your former tenant will land you in court. You will loose. You will refund the deposit plus damages (interest and fees accured by tenant ) And hopefully the case will be refered to the local authorities for investigation.
Question please. I just moved out of my apartment that I left totally clean. I have a small dog and I did see a couple of urine stains which I treated but did not have carpets cleaned as the maintenance said they use their own people. I have been out of the complex now for 2 weeks and they just called to say that the carpet that that installed one year ago has to be replaced. They said that pet urine and spots cannot be removed from carpet which is a bunch of bull. They are now charging me to replace the carpet in the whole unit. Small Claims????
Colleen,
Any Land Lord or professional manager know that this is BS. Either you LL is bully or inexperienced. Dollars to donuts the Land lord or his/her manager don't have the proper records: Orignal receipt and IRS tables.
Ask them send you it in writing. Once you get the letter, proceed with small claims action. If you don't get a letter or refund of your deposit in the next week, proceed with small claims.
Plant both feet firmly on the ground. Show the Judge your original lease and the LL letter. And the ISR table. Tell the Judge that the LL did not produce an receipt of invoice for the orginal carpet (the one you ALLEDGELY damaged), therefore, you are unable to calculate the remaining un-depreciated value. Tell the Judge that the LL has no cause to retain the deposit because the LL can not prove that the carpet has any remaining un-depreciated value.
After you win in court, report you LL to the local authorities.
Who dropped the ball on that one where a tenant was able to get away for a prolonged period with having a bunch of pets in a "no pet" unit?
It was really a messed up deal, I agree. The owner wanted us to make the tenants get rid of the pets, but wouldn't let us evict them or terminate their lease (we basically begged her to let us before things got worse). There really isn't another option other than asking nicely, which didn't work. Our choices were evict or put up with it, and the owner took one of those choices away. Finally, we did terminate the lease, as the owner wanted to move back in.
Also, it was her tenant. They already lived in the house when we started managing it. They were on her lease, not ours.
Normally, we don't allow this sort of thing. If the owner wants to be that involved in the decisions, and is that deadest against our recommendations, and has a tenant who won't sign our lease, we just give them back to the owner, but this owner was a long time friend of my bosses. There is a reason they say "don't do business with family or friends".
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