My tenant put down carpet without permission (lease, security deposit, house)
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Right after the tenant moved in she had carpet put down in our living room. It was installed over ceramic tiles. She is getting ready to move out and offered to leave the carpet. Although the carpet looks nice, I am moving back into the house and have 3 large dogs and the carpet will not last long. I am also concerned about removal without damaging the tiles - the carpet tack strips were glued down to the tiles.
Is it best to tell her to remove it before she leaves?
The lease said
Tenant shall not paint or disturb any painted surfaces or make other alterations to
the Dwelling Unit without Landlord’s prior written approval.
The tenant did not have our permission to install the carpet. As I said - the carpet looks nice, but the style (loose berber) catches on their nails and will either snag and ruin the carpet or pull out their nails (happened before and it is both very painful and very messy).
Right after the tenant moved in she had carpet put down in our living room.
It was installed over ceramic tiles.
Did you immediately advise them of this lease violation?
Quote:
She is getting ready to move out and offered to leave the carpet.
Is it best to tell her to remove it before she leaves?
It is best to INSIST that the floors be restored to the prior condition.
This includes adhesive or fastener damage from the tack strips.
That's MINIMUM.
Insist = legal language and process as per your local Court/Law.
Carpet is not always an upgrade, and besides, a "great tenant" doesn't violate the lease by installing something that damages the existing floor.
I would withhold her security deposit AND bill her for the carpet removal/tile repair.
^This. That was a stupid thing to do on her part to just install carpet that is altering/damaging the flooring beneath it and she should be entirely responsible for the removal and repair (or replacement) of flooring beneath it. A tenant should always get pre-approval for any changes/alterations/modifications to the structure of their unit unless their lease states otherwise. That is considered damage, not normal wear and tear.
Same thing goes with people who just take it upon themselves to paint bold dark colored walls, put too many holes or large holes in the walls, etc., without prior approval. If it is not pre-approved by the LL OR approved prior to leaving that it can remain with the alterations, then they need to be responsible and pay to remove or repair it to return the unit in the same condition as it was when they moved in, less normal wear and tear.
If the tiles are damaged during the carpet removal, can I charge her for the full cost of repair or is there some depreciation needed?
She will move out next month. Is it better to let her take care of the removal and then charge her for any further repairs that are needed or should I just take care of it myself? I only have one month security deposit, so I thought it might be better to let her take care of removal and then charge for any damage. Not sure if the cost of the removal/damages would be more than a month deposit. I only have a couple extra of the original tile and am not sure if it is possible to match the color if more than a few are damaged.
Any idea how easy it is to remove the glued on carpet tacks without damage to the tiles?
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