tenant moved out and didnt clean carpet - Landlord Forum thread 359853

tenant moved out and didnt clean carpet by nancy7 on October 22, 2019 @00:06

Hello,
I have this situation: My tenant just moved out but did not professionally cleaned carpet as required by the rental agreement. The tenant said that the carpet is old and needs to be replaced. Though the house was build in 2001 and the carpet is about 10-12 years old.
Should I take money out of the tenant's security deposit to clean the carpet since the rental agreement requires the cleaning? Also, should I replace the carpet because its 10-12 years old?

Thank you.

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Re: tenant moved out and didnt clean carpet by Garry on October 22, 2019 @07:57	[ Reply ]

The actual age of the carpeting has nothing to do with whether to clean or replace it. The question is, what CONDITION is the carpeting in TODAY ? And only YOU can determine that, since none of us on this forum can actually see the carpeting. Is there lots of spots and stains? Is there freyed places on it? Is it well worn in the high traffic areas? Do you feel if you just have it cleaned, will it show nice enough to a new, prospective tenant, that they will want to rent your place, and not comment about the carpeting? By IRS standards, carpeting has a "useful life" of 7-9 years. Since yours is [past that, if you choose to replace the carpeting, you cannot charge the former T anything at all towards that replacement. If you choose to have it cleaned, yes, you can charge the T for the cleaning. BUT, if you THEN decide to still replace the carpeting after being cleaned, you should return the cleaning fee back to the T. In other words, YOU must determine NOW, which way to go. And if you have it cleaned, and keep the old carpeting there, a new T must live with it until they move out.

Re: tenant moved out and didnt clean carpet by Richard on October 23, 2019 @03:31	[ Reply ]

In this case, you can compare a carpet condition before a tenant arrived and after they moved. Even though it is an old carpet, tenants are responsible for its cleaning. Apart from wear and tear damages, if a tenant has worsened the carpet condition with stains and spots, you can ask for its cleaning cost. But now you have to face tenant turnover, so, replacing an old carpet with a new one will be a wise choice. It will add value to your property and will help to attract potential tenants. Following tips will help to handle tenant turnover: https://promanagement.home.blog/2019/09/11/handling-tenant-turnover/

Re: tenant moved out and didnt clean carpet by Brendan on October 25, 2019 @20:26	[ Reply ]

#1. Are you replacing the carpet when house is vacant? If so, don't charge. If not, then charge for cleaning