My apartment wants to charge me 737.09 to replace my carpet after I moved out. There were a few pet stains in the bedroom, yes, but none anywhere else. They told me they need to replace the whole carpet.

The pets were kept in the bedroom the entire time I live there. Does this sound reasonable?

3/5/2008 11:08:11 AM

They can't charge you for the whole cost of the carpet replacement, just the devaluation that you caused beyond "normal wear and tear."

3/5/2008 11:10:42 AM

you cant just replace parts of a carpeted apartment. so yes, sounds reasonable. not to mention if there are pets, they generally have to do the whole shebang if they find any stains, because of the possiblity of other invisible spots, dander, et al. that could be allergens to future tenants.

but they cant charge you more than your deposit, and it depends on the terms of your lease.

in the absence of anything ^ sounds right.

[Edited on March 5, 2008 at 11:11 AM. Reason : .]

3/5/2008 11:11:19 AM

my deposit was like 150 bucks. they aren't applying any of the damages to the deposit since I am breaking the lease early.

(They are keeping the deposit and charging me for damages on top of that.)

[Edited on March 5, 2008 at 11:14 AM. Reason : ]

3/5/2008 11:12:28 AM

Quote :

"What will happen to my security deposit at the end of my lease term? If you stay for the entire lease term and you have paid all rent due, the landlord (or agent) may deduct from your security deposit only the actual cost of repairing any damage which you have done to his property. He cannot charge you for damage caused by "ordinary wear and tear. " What constitutes "ordinary wear and tear" must be determined on a case-by-case basis. For example, if you are the most recent tenant in the property, the landlord cannot charge you to replace such items as carpet, plumbing and appliances which need replacement because they are old and worn out. In fact, you cannot be charged for even contributing to the normal wear and tear of such items. On the other hand, if you caused the item to wear out because of your mistreatment of it, you may be charged for the amount of unusual wear which you caused (but not the entire cost of replacement). Ordinarily, costs for routine cleaning and maintenance (painting, carpet cleaning, etc.) may not be deducted from your security deposit. However, if you leave the property so filthy that unusual or extraordinary measures are necessary to clean or restore the premises, the landlord may deduct the cost of such cleaning from your security deposit."

[Edited on March 5, 2008 at 11:15 AM. Reason : That's from http://tinyurl.com/2ktk97]

3/5/2008 11:14:23 AM

they want a free carpet out of you. I suggest you bend over and give it to them.

3/5/2008 11:16:10 AM

You should forward them that link and tell them that if they don't charge an amount proportional to the damage you caused in that isolated area alone (and this damage needs to be less than the cost of brand new carpet in that room unless they can prove the carpet was new when you moved in and it needs to be applied to your deposit) that you are going to get a lawyer and fight them on it. If you really wanna get spiffy, get a lawyer to write up a nice letter for you about the landlord being in violation of the law on the issue and use that to argue your case.

I imagine that would turn them around pretty quick. What were their terms for breaking the lease early anyway? Did it actually include a statement about them claiming the deposit to make up for you breaking it off early and charging you for repairs on top of that?

3/5/2008 11:20:13 AM

Quote :

"The pets were kept in the bedroom the entire time I live there. "

Were you allowed to have pets in the apt?

3/5/2008 11:26:48 AM

yes, and I paid the pet deposit.

3/5/2008 12:42:05 PM

they got more pet deposit than they wanted from the sounds of it... ho ho ho. i made a funny.

3/5/2008 12:56:11 PM

lol

3/5/2008 1:35:53 PM

lol, if they get many like you to pay, sounds like a profitable business.

3/5/2008 3:13:06 PM

If you read the statutes ( I'ts only a couple of pages, iirc... http://ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_42/Article_6.html ), it is deliberately vague about what constitutes damage versus normal wear and tear.

Skwinkle has a great secondary point about the depreciated value of the carpet. The main thing will the definition of "damage".

They need to give a greater detailed explination of why recarpeting the entire house was necessary...a stain in one room doesn't take away the fuctionality of the carpet in the rest of the house (you still walk around on it). You really have to have good reason to replace the entire carpet in a home. One room I could see, but not an entire house unless the pet(s) tore it up completely.

If you're still in the home, make notes of damages to the carpet that you see and take pictures. If you have to lawyer up over this, you'll want that in hand.

I have to deal with security deposits and damages for my company's beach rental homes. If you like, pm me what they sent you and I might be able to help you out.

Quote :

"you cant just replace parts of a carpeted apartment"

Sorry. That's just wrong. Professional carpet folks patch holes, runs, iron burns, etc. all the time.





[Edited on March 5, 2008 at 3:32 PM. Reason : .]

3/5/2008 3:26:16 PM

I just went through this exact same thing with the Ashborough Apartment complex. They threatened to turn the issue over to collections for over a year because I refused to pay the fee.

After consulting with a lawyer i found out that you can not be charged the price for a new carpet. You can only be charged the depreciated value of the carpet. However, you will be responsible for all installation fees since they do not depreciate.

I am including the details of my coorespondences with the Ashborough because I think this is part of a scam that they run on people who pay a "Pet Fee". Keep in mind, a "Pet fee" is in no way a deposit. Basically, they can screw you very easily with this. I called 5 on Your Side about it and they are looking into it. After nearly 6 months of running around about it, the property manager suddenly discovered that the pad had never been replaced since the place was built. Fucking NASTY!

Also remember that as a Student at NCSU you are entitled to free Legal Services from the Student Government. This helped me out alot.

If you have ever had this issue with the same apartment complex, please let 5 On Your Side Know. Also report it to the BBB.

Quote :

" Christine, I have attached part of the email chain which was related to the carpet pad charges I told you about in my previous email. I received the invoice back in May of 2007. Over the last 6 months or so we basically went back and forth over how I didn't feel that we created the stains in the first place and that I didn't believe the charges were valid. The complex threatened to turn the invoice over to collections, which would have affected my credit. After consulting with a lawyer on this matter I found out that if we were going to be charged for a carpet pad replacement, we were entitled to only be billed for the depreciated value of the carpet pad, excluding any installation fees. As you can see from the email, after I started questioning the specifics of the charges, they were suddenly able to see that infact, the carpet nor the carpet pad had ever been replaced. The reason we were billed for the stained carpet pad was an issue is because the urine and other things that caused the stains posed a health problem. If we didn't cause the stains, then that means they were there while we were living in the apartment. You can see that this issue has raise a lot of conserns for me: 1. This apartment complex did not sufficiently check the carpet pad before we moved in. This could have affected the health of people living there. 2. My credit could have been affected if this issue had been turned over to collections 3. Had I paid the money, I would have been out $500 4. How many other people has this apartment complex done this to? I believe all these issues are good points for you to look into. Thank you for your time,"

Quote :

" From the Ashborough I did get a chance to review the invoice and exactly how long the padding was in place. Fortunately I was misinformed by the carpet company as to when the carpet and pad was originally put in place, and it looks as though it has never been replaced. I do give padding a 7 year life span and it has been just about that time when you moved out. I apologize for the inconvenience, and would like remove all charges regarding the carpet/pad replacement. If you have further questions please feel free to call me. Thank you for your patience in this matter. Sincerely, Property Manager The Ashborough Apartments From: Me To: Ashborough Subject: RE: Carpet Pad Replacement Any update to my request? From: The Ashbrough I did receive your email and I will address it early next week. I am going to have to pull your information and get those figures for you. Right now we are a little short staffed and I will get to it as soon as possible. Thanks To: Ashborough Subject: Re: Carpet Pad Replacement I'm not sure if you have received my last few emails. Below is the request I sent yesterday: "I just have a couple of more questions about the invoice. Is it possible for you to break down the charges for me? i.e. which charges were for labor, which charges were for the carpet pad. Also, do you know how long that carpet pad had been in the apartment? I would like to get a better understanding of the charges to ensure that they are fair." Thanks Ashborough wrote: As you discussed with ---- the carpet pad was replaced in your apartment. Since you were a long term resident at The Ashborough I didn’t think it was necessary for you to pay for the replacement of the carpet. The initial look of the carpet was not bad at all. Unfortunately stains from pets and other liquids seep into the carpet and get into the padding very easily. Though you might clean the carpet so much that there are no stains to see, the padding underneath will leave a smell of pet urine. Our maintenance team goes into each apartment after it has been vacated and determines whether the padding needs to be replaced, because it is not always visible through the naked eye or through pictures. Very rarely do we actually change out a carpet pad unless we feel there is a need to do so. In this case our maintenance team felt that the padding was stained with urine and smelled of it as well. What I can send or fax to you is a copy of the invoice from which we replaced the padding. If you provide me with a fax number or up to date mailing address I will send that over right away. If you have any other questions or concerns please feel free to contact us. "

3/5/2008 3:35:40 PM

I guess it should be noted on here that the management companies that rent property have to be staffed with real estate brokers licensed by the NC real estate comission.

If you feel that your property manager is doing something in bad faith or otherwise unethical/illegal, you can write to the NCREC voicing your concern with the broker's actions/decisions. They then open an inquiry with the broker. Believe me, agents take those brown envelopes from the commission VERY seriously.

Quote :

"Keep in mind, a "Pet fee" is in no way a deposit. Basically, they can screw you very easily with this."

They can, they do, and unfortunately, they're allowed to. There is one sentence in that law that gives them the right to charge a pet fee, provided that it is reasonable. I think its 42-53.

3/5/2008 3:45:46 PM

How convenient.

They were too short staffed to look up the invoice, but not too short staffed to threaten collection activity.

Nice.

3/5/2008 3:46:33 PM

Please provide me with more details about how to lodge a complaint that way. I couldn't believe the hassle this woman put us through over this only to, in the end, go "oops".

3/5/2008 3:55:01 PM

http://www.ncrec.state.nc.us/FAQs/faq.html

I think that link has the complaint form and a quick bit on how the process works.

3/5/2008 3:58:09 PM

call the police and tell them that a gunman broke in a damaged your carpet the fled into the woods towards campus when you found him

3/5/2008 4:11:21 PM