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I recently moved out of a 1 bedroom apartment that I lived in for a little over 4 years in Dallas, TX. I am being charged $626 for carpet replacement. Does anyone know if there is a specific time frame of occupancy that a tenant can no longer be charged for carpet replacement? The carpet was worn from general wear and tear mostly. There were no more than two spots that could most likely have been steam cleaned out, but given the age and quality of cheap apartment carpet, I don't see how they would allow a new tenant to move in without replacing the carpet even if a professional cleaning was done.
My final account statement doesn't show that they even attempted to clean the carpet.
The manager at my old complex told me you couldn't be charged for carpet replacement after 4 years, but I don't know if that was specific to that complex or applied to all Texas rentals.
One other thing to keep in mind is that the complex I just moved out of has been under new management this past year and is strongly advertising "upgrades", etc. to hike up prices to get old tenants out so they can charge new tenants significantly higher rates. So 4 year old carpet would absolutely not be an "upgrade" or warrant higher rent fees.
Any advice is greatly appreciated. I don't have $600+ to shell out and even if I did I don't ethically think that it's right.
Most judges will allow 10 years and some will allow more than that if there is proof that otherwise good carpet had to be replaced due to damage.
Even the cheapest carpet will last far longer than 10 years if it gets normal routine care. You are really hard on carpeting if you ruined carpet in only four years.
The manager at your old complex doesn't know what he is talking about. Many apartment mangers have no special knowledge and are just managing because they get a free apartment. They are the rental equivalent of the minimum wage clerk: not a good source of legal information.
$600 wont install new carpet even in a small unit, so I suspect that you are being charged a prorated amount, not the entire carpet cost.
I recently moved out of a 1 bedroom apartment that I lived in for a little over 4 years in Dallas, TX. I am being charged $626 for carpet replacement. Does anyone know if there is a specific time frame of occupancy that a tenant can no longer be charged for carpet replacement? The carpet was worn from general wear and tear mostly. There were no more than two spots that could most likely have been steam cleaned out, but given the age and quality of cheap apartment carpet, I don't see how they would allow a new tenant to move in without replacing the carpet even if a professional cleaning was done.
My final account statement doesn't show that they even attempted to clean the carpet.
The manager at my old complex told me you couldn't be charged for carpet replacement after 4 years, but I don't know if that was specific to that complex or applied to all Texas rentals.
One other thing to keep in mind is that the complex I just moved out of has been under new management this past year and is strongly advertising "upgrades", etc. to hike up prices to get old tenants out so they can charge new tenants significantly higher rates. So 4 year old carpet would absolutely not be an "upgrade" or warrant higher rent fees.
Any advice is greatly appreciated. I don't have $600+ to shell out and even if I did I don't ethically think that it's right.
How often, in those four years, did you clean the carpet? Stains are not wear and tear..it’s damage.
Was carpet brand new when you moved in? Say it was 4 years old when you moved in, add to that the 4 years you lived there. So only 2 years left on the life of the carpet (most I think figure on 10 years maximum life on a rentals carpet. You should only be stuck with maximum of 20%.
Hope fully you took a bunch of pictures before you turned over keys. Does no one do a walk through with LL or rental agent anymore with a check list of possible issues. One thing I always did was take lots of pictures that included that days front page of that days newspaper to prove date pictures were taken on day of move out.
I thought judges considered 5 yrs for life of carpet in a rental unit. I know if carpet lasted 5 yrs in ours, I'd be happy, but we get cheap landlord carpet.
I thought judges considered 5 yrs for life of carpet in a rental unit. I know if carpet lasted 5 yrs in ours, I'd be happy, but we get cheap landlord carpet.
No, the five year thing is often mistaken as a state or court legal standard when it's just the IRS time period to depreciate carpet for TAX purposes. Absent any state regulation or case law, the general standing is 10 years from install or the manufactures serviceable life but usually not to exceed 10 years. So even if a carpet is only 6 years old, if the serviceable life span is 5 years, the landlord gets nothing for damages. This is a little known quirk in the law that only gets used by smart tenants.
So I've been in my apt since 2014 and when i moved in the carpet was not new. In the past couple years i have had new property management and just recently a new management team has taken over. Well the last 2 told me they couldn't change my carpet. Im almost certain that the new property management that just took over a month or so ago is going to say no as well. Can i be denied a carpet replacement now? Just renewed my lease last month. Thanks
........ Can i be denied a carpet replacement now? Just renewed my lease last month. Thanks
Why do you think anyone owes you brand new carpet? Why do you need new carpet?
You do know that in order to replace carpet, everything has to be moved out, stored and then moved back in. Are you happy to make arrangements and to pay the expense of moving everything you own out and then in again, and to go through all the inconvenience?
After that amount of time, when you actually move out, the management is not going to be able to charge you for carpet damage, so there is that as a plus.
Even the cheapest of carpets will last well over 10 years. I've had it last 20 years when it got average good care, and that was with three dogs living on it..
Are you vacuuming regularly? Are you having the carpet cleaned, a couple of times year, or at a minimum, yearly? Are you cleaning up spots and spills as soon as they happen? It is your responsibility to take care of the carpeting, just like you are responsible for cleaning.
If you don't like the way the carpet looks, or you don't like the color, buy yourself some pretty area rugs. You can take those with you when you go and both Costco and Home Depot have decent quality, good looking 8X10 rugs for under $200. That's plenty big enough to dress up any room.
So I've been in my apt since 2014 and when i moved in the carpet was not new. In the past couple years i have had new property management and just recently a new management team has taken over. Well the last 2 told me they couldn't change my carpet. Im almost certain that the new property management that just took over a month or so ago is going to say no as well. Can i be denied a carpet replacement now? Just renewed my lease last month. Thanks
Texas (like many) is not a state with an "age replacement requirements" for carpets. If the carpet is damaged, unsafe, pest ridden, smell saturated, threadbare or otherwise is not considered serviceable, there are requirements that mandate the landlord replaces it. If any of those conditions are due to damages from you, beyond normal wear and tear, the landlord may have the right to recover certain cost from you for that replacement.
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