tenant damages - Landlord Forum thread 321589

tenant damages by Ted (CA) on July 21, 2014 @17:31

Hi LPAers and thanks again for your inputs on the "tenant moving on last day" topic!

Wanted to share my plans regarding deducting from the tenant
because of the following damages:
1) He spilled bleach on the carpet so there is white spot (10"x10" in size) which cant be cleaned. Plan to deduct the changing of the carpet for this room ~$600. Carpet is very dirty so we are changing for the entire apt but will charge him only for this room.
2) He left his shave foam can to rust and colored the bathroom enclosure which is not porcelain but some kind of composite so not sure if that can be fixed. Can I charge him with replacing the entire enclosure if we can't clean that.

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Re: tenant damages by Bill on July 21, 2014 @18:18	[ Reply ]

You will only be able to charge off the remaining depreciated live of the room with the damage. How old was the carpet? If it was more than 7 years old it has no life left to charge off. If it is time to change the carpet because it is too dirty to clean and worn out then it would seem it could not be also "damaged" by bleach. If you charge the tenant any amount for carpet damage you are over reaching. The carpet is already headed for the garbage. How can it be damaged? Shaving cans leave rust rings along with a number of other hair care products like hair spray. If the enclosure is a cabinet you will not be able to replace the whole cabinet because of a rust ring especially if it was a cheap cabinet made of a composite material. Paint over it. It seems more like normal wear and tear.

Re: tenant damages by Big Bill (NeYark) on July 21, 2014 @21:53	[ Reply ]

You might be able to replace the bleached carpet area with a piece from inside a closet (easier to replace carpet in a closet with a similar new piece of carpet, or pergo-type flooring- not as noticeable). The cost of the repair can be deducted, but a whole new carpet is iffy due to depreciation, and temper-mentality of local Judges. As to the tub enclosure, some are now made from solid surface materials such as Corian. It may be possible to buff out the stain with a VERY fine grit sandpaper. You may want a more experienced eye to look at it first.