Can A Landlord Charge You For Carpet Replacement

If you ve damaged the carpet the landlord is not likely to replace it on his dime.

Can a landlord charge you for carpet replacement.

Receipts if your landlord will replace the carpet in your rental unit then he must provide you with a copy of the receipts of the charges that they deducted on your security deposit. In fact he is entitled to deduct damages from your security deposit. However you retain the right to protest the charges and take your landlord to small claims court to recover your funds. Moreover the life expectancy of residential carpet is only 8 10 years so if the landlord has to replace the carpet after 4 years you should only be responsible for at most half of that expense.

But when it comes to a carpet that is badly stained or damaged a landlord can charge a tenant for cleaning costs or even to replace the entire carpet if it s that badly damaged or stained and they can do it by withholding all or part of the security deposit. Under california law unless the carpet is visibly damaged and that damage is not the result of normal wear and tear the landlord cannot hold the tenant responsible for the damage or the cost of replacement for the carpet. In some states the landlord may bring legal action against a former tenant if the damage exceeds the security deposit. A landlord cannot deduct the cost of repainting or replacing.

Additionally tenants cannot be held responsible for defects in the carpet that existed before they moved in. In most cases landlords should not charge tenants for a standard carpet cleaning. For example if you put down a 500 security deposit and caused carpet damage that led to 600 in replacement costs the landlord can send you a bill for the remaining 100. In disputes over security deposits courts have often considered basic carpet cleaning to be part of normal wear and tear.

Ordinary wear and tear does not justify a deduction from your deposit. He may also bill you for any additional funds needed. Because carpet cleaning is part of the overall turnover costs that is usually covered by the landlords. Using the same example with a life expectancy of nine years and if a replacement carpet of similar quality would cost 2 000 the landlord could properly charge only 222 22 for only one years worth of life use that would have remained if the tenant had not damaged the carpet.

You have a right to complete a check in check out form but no right to a walk through.