TX- Moved out, and charged for Carpet Replacement (apartment complex, security deposit, credit report)

[kimjin3933]

Hello,

On Feb 7th, I moved out of an apartment complex in Dallas, Texas to move in with my family to reduce my monthly cost.

The carpet was new when I moved in a year prior, and I took good care of it until I accidentally sprayed a cleaning solution that contains bleach.

I've seen the carpet guys while I lived there, and they did do patch works, so I figured i'll just let the apartment complex do that after I move out.

After I moved out, the apartment complex came back to me with $350 charge instead of $300 security deposit, saying that they needed to replace the carpet because they no longer work with the same carpet vendor.

So I called the said vendor to see if they still do carpet for the complex, and he said 'yes', and I asked how much it'll cost to do a patch work, and he said $75 if the area is as I described it (foot by foot at most).

Then, I went back to the apartment complex to see if they actually changed the vendor and replaced the entire unit's carpet, and they provided me with an invoice from another carpet vendor.

in the email, the manager at the apartment said they expect at least 5 years on the life of the carpet.

So my questions are:

1. Although my damage was only $75 and older vendor with the same exact carpet was available a phone call away, can the apartment complex make me pay for replacement of the entire unit's carpet?

2. Since the landlord said in an email that he expect the life of the carpet to be at least 5 years, and I lived on it for a year, shouldn't I only need to pay 4/5 proration of the damage/re-installtion on the carpet?

[kimjin3933]

So I just had a call with the management, and they were trying to charge me for:

original carpet installation cost * 4/5

but the new installation was cheaper then above amount by $50.

so they want me to pay for the entire cost of replacement of the carpet instead ($50 cheaper).

[Katie1]

You messed up the carpet you pay.

[AZ Manager]

1) You can be charged for the entire room even if you think it could have been patched, a patch in the middle of a room looks horrible and wears very poorly.

2) They can likely prorate out at 10 years even on the cheapest of cheap carpet.

Sounds like they might be over charging by a couple bucks but the court costs will be way higher, when you lose you will pay for their court costs and attorney fees, so I'd just pay it and move on.

[JONOV]

Eh...It was new carpet when you got it.

And, you did burn a hole in it.

They aren't "obligated" to fix it, they are within their rights to replace it.

For $350, I would pay it and move on with my life.

[Lacerta]

It sounds like they are charging you $650 total (your $300 deposit not being refunded, plus an additional $350 bill).

Is carpet that expensive in your area for one room? In my area, carpet, pad and install is under $400 for a room, sometimes as low as $200 if cheap carpet is used.

So that seems high to me.

But they can charge you 4/5 of the cost to replace that whole room. They aren't required to patch.

[adjusterjack]

You can file a lawsuit in small claims court. It likely will cost you about $100 to file and serve, which you will get back if you win.


I agree you pay for the depreciated amount and the LL has no obligation to "patch" regardless of your beliefs.


If you want to spend a hundred to get a hundred or two back, be my guest.


But either pay or sue. Don't ignore it. If you ignore it, it goes to collections and bill grows and grows and grows and trashes your credit.

[kimjin3933]

Thanks everyone.
I gave in and paid the full amount that the apartment demanded.
I'm planning on buying a house sometime within a year, and I really need to have one less ding on my credit report to save multi grand or more.
Thanks everyone, and I'll consider thing event as an another expensive lesson learnt.