Tenant moved-out - scratched wood floor - Landlord Forum thread 359402

Tenant moved-out - scratched wood floor by Dan on June 17, 2019 @10:51

Hello,
Our tenant moved out and scratched the hardwood floor (4 slats). The scratch is deep and a lot. I'm selling the house and I'm not going to get it repaired.

Can I still charge the tenant for the damage she caused even if I don't get the floor repaired? Based on the settlement charges guide, it would be $95.00 to repair hardwood floor.

Thanks!

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Re: Tenant moved-out - scratched wood floor by Garry on June 17, 2019 @11:59	[ Reply ]

This is just my opinion, but I would say that, yes, you c/should charge the T $95-$100 for the damage. Just don't tell the T that you are not planning to have it repaired before selling the house. Remember, if you don't repair it, the future buyer will very likely ask for a reduction in the purchase/asking price for the scratch that they will have to either repair or live with. And in a buyer's mind, that may be a $200-$400 amount. If there are other little things wrong with the house, your scratch amt may just be rolled into a larger amt of $2-3,000 off the purchase price. If you can, go to Lowe's or Home Depot, and get a little finger-sized dabber from their floor refinishing dept. to try to match the color of your stained floors. Then dab it on to at least not make the scratch show so much.

Re: Tenant moved-out - scratched wood floor