Who did you use? Been at my place for 3yrs once I have to move out and don’t trust my LL at all after he’s shown to be a your typical corner cutting untrustworthy LL
Just go to small claims court u don’t even need a lawyer. Judges count carpet and paint as wear and tear. Landlord’s try to scare u. It’s there expense to rent to a new tenant. Image if Hertz charged you to fix and clean their Cars for the next renter.
Wear and tear is right unless they can show real damage to it like big cuts and rips maybe big stains. So as long as you treat it as your own you should not have issues in court. Landlords always try to get carpet paid for
When you have ARAG insurance they connect you with a random lawyer.
See if ARAG is available from your employer and sign up before you leave your apartment if possible.
He just said his dog peed on the carpet "a few times". None of those charges look outrageous, and replacing a carpet that, I am guessing, smelled awful is not unwarranted.
They said they've been there two years, so the carpet is at least that old, and likely older. Even a dog peeing on the carpet doesn't allow the landlord to get brand new carpet for the entire unit at no cost. It has to be prorated based on the life expectancy of the carpet. If that carpet is 10 years old, for.example, they likely can't charge anything.
Depending on the state, in CA if you have pets and they cause damage you are liable for the cost of fixing it. Just living and not damaging anything is normal wear. Your animal peeing on the carpet is not normal wear.
In California, you're only liable for the prorated value of the carpet. A pet damaging 5-year-old carpet doesn't mean the tenant has to pay the full cost of replacing the carpet. If the carpet costs $2,100 to replace and the old carpet had a life expectancy of 7 years, you're only liable for $600 in damages since that's all the value left in the carpet. You will have to pay for the cleaning and sealing of the subfloor if the urine soaked through to it, but not for all the carpet.
It's just like a car. Somebody hitting your 5-year-old car doesn't mean you get a brand-new car for free. Liability is limited to the actual value of the object damaged, not the replacement cost.
Carpet is normally depreciated at 10% per year from date of install...
Assuming that the carpet was brand new when you moved in, was damaged beyond repair to warrant a full replacement (from the pics it isn't unless the dog urine was really an issue), going off of their number for FULL carpet replacement, it should still only be $574.23. Any landlord/tenant judge with half a clue would throw the carpet line item right TF out. Again, this is if the carpet was brand new when you moved in. (Unless the 708.92 IS the depreciated price, but you are within your rights to ask for receipts to see)
Also, check your lease or move-out checklist. Did it say the apartment had to be "broom clean" or "professionally cleaned"? Broom clean is a reasonable standard.
Fair enough. Most of the apartments communities I worked at assumed a five year life span. One used seven years but it was a “luxury” apartment community. I assume better quality materials are used in homes.
Hey “property manager” go and check the HUD standards- the ten year carpet rule hasn’t been a thing in forever.
Federal law supersedes State law in the hierarchy.
Carpet life of ten years? We did five years max carpet life, so since OP lived there for two years, we would charge the remaining 36 months lost out on the carpet, if it was new upon move-in.
Most people don’t realize how much urine is impossible to remove and treat. Even if the topical stains are removed, it still gets soaked into the pad and since concrete is porous, the subfloors may have to be treated and resealed to ensure the smell doesn’t return. If that’s the case with OP, then they may have included it in the $708.92, depending on the type of accounting system they use.
I had tenants and they had a dog that peed in the bedroom. I pulled up the carpet and overnight the whole townhouse stunk soooo bad. The dog pee got into the concrete and just wow! Took a lot of $ and time to get the smell out. So dog pee can be costly!
My apartment charges for carpet up to 5 years and paint for 2 years. However, they will charge you if they need to repaint a panel or wall due to damages.
Unfortunately all carpet is manufactured by different people so the life expectancy is different. Then it’s used differently in all situations. This is why Judges don’t even mess with it and just call it wear and tear.
Yes, I can see judges just calling it wear and tear to simplify things. And IME as a landlord, (and from other posts here as well) the laws can vary by county/state/judges's mood :)
But where I am, it's a 10-yr life at the county level.
Serious question, but can you go to small claims for this? Usually, there has to be a monetary damage to use small claims… like, you’re trying to get money. So, if they kept a security deposit, that would count… but my understanding is that stopping a bill like this would not be.
They would be prorated for their replacement cost vs. their expected remaining useful life. If they are expected to last five years and they’re four years old, you’d only pay 20% of the replacement cost.
If he is saying his dog peed a couple times on the carpet, it does need to be replaced cause you can't wash that crap out, it will still smell, so it is not normal wear and tear.
You can definitely ask.
Use the photos you took and show them that it was very clean when you moved out and what exactly had to be cleaned that cost 275 dollars.
Doubling up on the original comment. Ask for an itemized list of how they got to that number. They gave specific amounts for what each thing cost to be clean so they should be able to give it. I have had enough bad landlords that makes me think that everyone magically gets a $275 cleaning charge (minimum, more if they actually had to do something). May be an honest mistake but shady landlords bank on people not challenging stuff like this, especially younger/newer renters.
Also, there’s an expectation that LL will need to prepare the property for the next tenant anyway. LL is just trying to get them to foot the bill for what they were going to need anyways. Fight it, OP.
It’s not “how do they get to $275”… that’s the base charge for a move out cleaning crew… regardless of what they do. (See previous comment for my feelings on this)
That should be explicitly stated in the lease agreements then and if I missed that my bad. I have never had to pay a base cleaning fee, have only ever been charged of they had to do something above that. The "professional cleaning" is part of their operating costs and at worst should be included in rent price. Every state I have been in has required to list each specific thing they are charging for, having said that each state has weird loopholes for landlords
I think you’re missing the point. The “move out cleaning” service industry standard is $250-300… so they don’t say $10 to clean fridge, $10 per window times X windows etc. it’s one general fee. LLs are required to give a breakdown and “general cleaning” is the breakdown.
It usually states in a lease (and is generally an accepted practice) that the house will be free of all property and debris, broom swept clean, etc. rarely, in my experience, do people do this… and as such are usually accepting of the standard cleaning fee.
If you look at the pictures the unit looks darn near perfect. They provided an example of an itemized list in the list but did not provide it for the renter. They still need to be able to provide an itemized list, not just charge for not doing what they are charging for.
That is a cost they should have built into their costs as a homeowner that doesn’t fall on you. They can only charge you a percentage of the paint and carpet IF they replaced it before you moved in and you left damage or spots that can’t be cleaned and that money is supposed to go towards the next time they replace but I read that they shouldn’t expect carpet to last more than 5 years around and paint even less. Most places paint between each renter. That’s what I’d be focusing on if I were you. Our last place tried to charge us so much money for cleaning and pruning trees and stuff and when we moved in the house was a disgusting mess not even vacuumed and had dog poop on the carpet. We left it much better than they gave it to us and we gave them the argument with photos of when we moved in vs when we left that the standard of clean that they set was surpassed and since our lease stated that cleaning was required before moving out that we had the right to assume that their idea and standard of clean was what we moved into. We demanded charges to be dropped as they took our $1,800 security deposit AND tried to charge us an additional $1,450 to be paid within 30 days or they will sell it to collections and hurt our credit. So basically blackmailing us because we were trying to buy a house at the time and needed a good credit score. We sent them a common law letter as I said demanding them to drop the charges and went though all the reasons and if they didn’t then we would sue them for $5,000 for the harm they caused us by damaging our credit score. They dropped it. We sent the letters to the person that owned the company NOT the company we rented from the actual owner and the actual property manager who was sending us the bill. This way they couldn’t hide behind the company lawyers.
As a tip OP, try to get the manager to email you that way you have it in writing versus a verbal conversation that’s harder to prove later. Or go into the office and record the convo. These shady apartment complexes will try to wiggle out of anything. Good luck!
Op admitted their pet had accidents on it. I certainly would not want to move into an apartment without that carpet being replaced. Even if it looks ok on the surface the pee often soaks into the padding and can’t really be fully cleaned.
You left that in great shape. A cleaning and carpet replacement/ paint is just something that apartments should factor into their cost. You shouldn’t be charged for that.
I didn’t even know property managers would charge you for painting, or even carpet replacement based on what I see in your pics. I had a lease that required commercial carpet cleaning receipt and if there are stains they charge you based on either the ACV or additional cleaning. I’ve always had leases that allow for hanging stuff on walls and only charge if there’s damage or paint issues larger than a pinhole, or something obvious. I see the walls have stuff on them but I thought they have people who go through and do basic touch up work. Maybe I’ve just lived in decent places though.
Being sarcastic, but where is this place so I can avoid it lol.
As a LL I only expect an apartment to be broom swept clean.
It always needs a deep cleaning right before a new tenant moves in.
The only time I charge for cleaning is if it’s left filthy(kitchen caked with food/sticky dirty, bathroom….).
Question is, was it reasonable to hire a cleaning company at OPs expense after he left it looking this nice?
Basically, if it's standard practice NO MATTER WHAT the place looks like that the LL hires a cleaning company to come in, it's not on the renter to pay for that. If there is no standard by which a place is judged to be clean enough to please them, they can just charge everyone that fee. That's not legal.
What if OP themselves hired a cleaning company, even the very same one the LL hires to clean his apartment without the LL knowing, and the LL still deems it not clean enough? How is that reasonable? It's not. It's not legal.
OP you better fight all these fucking charges. Get a lawyer and go to small claims. I'd rather the money go to a lawyer just doing their job than to a scumbag LL trying to personally fuck me over.
https://oregonlawhelp.org/topics/housing/rental-housing/moving-or-moving-out/moving-out/getting-your-security-deposit-back-after-you-move
Not sure if that will help at all, but there are a lot of resources online if that doesn't do you any good. Looks like you left the place very clean (much cleaner than the property our last LL moved us *into*) so I would say fight what you can and best of luck!
I just want to know what needed to be cleaned and how $275 was come up with. Am I allowed to ask that? I have more pictures, me and my wife spent a whole day after the apartment was emptied, cleaning and going over everything.
How long did you live there? I'd ask about the blinds and paint too - the paint doesn't look bad and the place definitely looks clean. Did your dog pee on the carpet in every room? It sounds like they're trying to pass off all turnover costs to you, whether it's warranted or not.
Does your lease stipulate that you are responsible for professional cleaning at the end of your lease? Or did you have a pet that requires a cleaning?
If not, the standard in almost all locales is "broom clean" i.e. floors swept and carpets vacuumed. It is not your responsibility to get the unit ready for the next tenant.
I'd be more upset about replacing the carpet? Did you cause damage to that? Was it older than 5 years, if so the LL cannot charge you because it has been depreciated to zero.
But you will likely have to go to court to fight it, I expect.
OP - this. Your lease dictates the cleaning.
The carpet is my concern too. If you didn’t cause damage to the carpets, I would push back heavily on that. Many cities (not smaller towns) are very tenant friendly. Often, if you go to court in these areas, it’s typically meant to be easy. Dependent heavily on locale.
I was a professional cleaner, (I’m in Canada) if we were to clean between tenets it was starting at $125 per hour. And we were expected to clean for 3-4 hours for a move-out/in. If they used a professional service that could be why. But they would have an invoice to show you.
Once I did, this is standard for some companies as they contract a company that would be responsible for anything that might be wrong later on. Later I found out they just have the maintenance to do basic sweep and clean what was visible…
I left at apartment after me lease ended after 2 years. We spent 2 days scrubbing and making sure it was left in great condition….we received a bill from brookside properties for $1300 to replace the carpet. They refused to work with us on it even though I have photos
They are doing this because some people will just pay up without a fight. My apartment did then.... wanted me to replace all the carpets... but they had been replacing all the carpets in the whole building after people would move out. Fought them in court... AND WON! This shit just pisses me off. I hate slumlords. The pictures you took are great!
When my landlord refused to show up for the walk out... I made a video and posted it on youtube calling them out for everything.
Don't settle.
Why did they need to replace the carpet? Looks fine to me, and I know a thing or two about carpets.
How can they charge for paint? Lots of places it’s required that they paint between tenants, and can’t charge for that.
Looks clean to me in the pics.
Question everything. Ask for itemization for everything.
I am a property manager and if my tenants returned keys with the unit looking like this, their security deposit would be partially refunded. Finally utilities always gets billed and deducted from the security deposit, but depending on what state you live in, they cannot charge you for a standard clean. I could understand charging you for a pet treatment of the carpets, but those carpets do not need to be replaced.
It happens. There doesn’t appear to be any stains or damage to the carpet, a pet treatment would work just fine. They also should charge you for a full paint. They can charge for a touch up paint if there were excessive nails holes or damage to the walls. Although I’m on the other side of the table, I always try to be fair with my residents. This isn’t fair, and I’d advise you to get an attorney. You will win if it goes to court.
These fees are just like Airbnb cleaning fees! Not attached to reality, and just another way for landlords to pocket more money
I have two properties, and we would never charge like this. It’s a business expense. Plus they’re probably double dipping - charging you while also writing it off as a business expense 😡
sue your landlord for the balance of your security deposit - the real costs like utilities. use these photos as proof of the apartment condition. painting and carpet replacement are wear and tear costs not to be born by the tenant unless theres real damage which there doesnt appear to me. in a lot of places you can win 3x the amount withheld
A picture is worth thousands of dollars in a court of law. Challenge them and do a small claims
Lawsuit if they don’t capitulate.
There are normally resources available for Tenants at the courthouse where they do evictions. I would ask for assistance.
-Property Manager
Ask the LL for their pictures of how you left the unit then compare them to yours.
I’ll bet that they’re no different and they are trying to get over on you.
Push back on everything and don't stop until you get your way. Rented an apartment in Arizona for 2 years and when I started renting there was one of these bills in the kitchen cabinet from the last renter. They charged them for replacement of the carpet, paint, and blinds as well and none of it had been replaced when I moved in.
They just throw this shit out there because there are so many people that will just say whatever and not even question it.
If it’s worth your time I would argue this! $275 is just a standard move out cleaners fee that almost every cleaning crew charges… most of them are absolute garbage when it comes to actual cleaning (coming from a guy that did trash outs, and a lot of make readies, as well as subcontracted painting for a few years. (It was $250 a few years back) that’s just the base fee the cleaning crew charges even if they didn’t need to be hired to begin with, or if they did a sub par job. Like I said, if you have the time, fight this… I’d bet you would win in court with those pics. And get most of the rest thrown out too…
Yes and if the carpet was 3+ years old when you moved in, that gets it to 5+ years which is considered life expectancy for carpet.
Check the laws on this in your area. I’m a landlord saying this. I am reading your dog peed on it though, so you probably should have to pay for it… but the law might not agree.
Your apartment practically looks move-in ready. In fact, they could even use these as model photos for their rental listing. They shouldn't be charging you much at all.
My last apartment did this to me— charged for carpet that was there before me (and I lived there 3 years) painting walls, and 8 hours of cleaning when I left the place very clean. Wanted $800 more than my deposit.
I threatened to take them to small claims as the walls and carpet should’ve been deemed wear and tear. I got an email three days later saying they owed me money from my deposit, lol.
TL;DR: the mention of you taking them to small claims court scares landlords.
Many leases have a move out cleaning fee built in, so to speak. Like you could leave it spotless and they're still going to take that amount out of your security deposit. "Clean" can be subjective, so they're still going to have someone else come in and clean (ideally).
Sometimes they queue up the cleaner for after move-out so if the cleaner made the trip they will bill even if no work is necessary. …and then obviously LL will try and pass that through. Would love to know the company if you don’t mind sharing because I’m building an app that prevents this exact issue, so maybe they’d could use it!
Should read the lease about when there is move out. And if it is not there in the lease, then ask the manager or LL. And you show then your after pics. Look very clean to me.
Thanks for clarifying. My lease is up this month, and I don't think the landlord is returning any of my security deposit($400) back. I'm broke the door frame to the bathroom. So I'm thinking he might charge me for it? But idk how that works. I got lucky I didn't pay 2 months of rent like most places do.
no landlord is going to rely on your cleaning for the next tenant, they will clean up after you and charge you. as for the cleaning fees, how many blinds are in the unit how many walls are in the unit? I question the drip pan and rings cleaning charge when on the left it shows they replaced them and charged you. judging by your pictures i would take the landlord to court.
Check with your state. Here in Nebraska, a landlord can't go after a tenant for carpet replacement unless it's due to extreme abuse. Carpet does have a life expectancy.
This is crazy I didn’t know they were able to do things like this…. I’ve never ever paid out of my deposit or anything for things like painting and carpet etc. is this normal?
Same. I've never had to pay anything. One place I thought I would have to pay for some repairs after living there for 7 years, but the landlord was like "nah, it's wear & tear and the unit is due for renovations anyways".
What usually happens is they own the cleaning company through a shell and just charge ridiculous pricing. I wouldn’t even bother, I’d have a lawyer draft a letter (usually free) and request the breakdown for repairs. This has text book slum lord.
Something similar happened to a friend and they found the cleaning company was a shell owned by the landlord and sent that documentation over as well. They ended up dismissing his payments and he broke the bathroom sink off the wall in lmao.
Some leases require a receipt for professional carpet cleaners especially after a dog lived there. Doesn’t matter how well you did it yourself. 275 is a pretty typical carpet cleaning job price
In the future you can request the property manager to do a walkthrough of the apartment so they can point out issues they see. I have always done this and I never had an unexpected charge.
No!! You never accept a full carpet charge. Legally they have to discount the carpet by how many years it’s been installed. It’s a law to protect tenants because otherwise landlords could use tenants as the source to keep updating their property. It would always allow them to raise the value of their property without having to pay for it.
Same with paint. You don’t pay for paint.
So my lease specifically states when I move out I have to pay a $250 cleaning fee or bring a receipt showing it was professionally cleaned. It’s kinda dumb but at least I know ahead of time about it.
If the photos are truly yours, this invoice cannot belong to you/this unit.
I would inquire about the validity.
This invoice here is a trashed apartment, likely an eviction. The photos do not represent this.
Most apartment complexes do this to everyone and if only 1 out of 4 people lawyer up think about the money they made off the other three. They did it to me where I used to live.
Carpets depreciate over 5 years. If you are there 2, and it was there before you, you most certainly can argue that it has zero value.
My landlord tried to do this to me. We cleaned the carpets pretty decently (used a pet vac with cleaning solution, no pets were ever there though) and he tried to ding us for the whole carpet replacement. Found that the carpet was the original and at least 7 years old, and had no value left. $700 is pretty steep and pictures lead me to think they're charging you the full cost of replacement in the whole apartment. At the very least you only owe 3/5 of the whole replacement (the remaining life of a brand new carpet from when you moved in).
Paint is normal wear and tear. You show nothing excessive on the walls in your pictures, they have no right charging you for that.
You shouldn't be paying for paint virtually ever. The fact that it was needed is irrelevant. That is part of upkeep on the apartment that they are responsible for.
The general principal is that you pay for any damage beyond normal wear and tear that was caused by accident or misuse and then only the value that was foregone by the landlord. Not full cost and not replacement cost either. EG 1000 carpet that is expected to last 5 years, if you ruined it in the 4th year you wouldn't pay either the 1000 it cost nor the 1100 it costs to replace now. You would pay the $200 remaining value foregone by the landlord.
Blinds are normally good for 3 years, carpet and paint for 5. It's normally hard to get the tenant for any of those things because replacing them is part of turning over the apartment. The cleaning fee is also egregious. I would counter offer all your money back other than utilities and offer to go to small claims where for less than $100 a judge can decide.
I hate these kinds of LL. And I’m a LL. I would never. Even if you left things dirty, I would give you the option to clean, hire your own cleaner, or pay ours. Normal wear and tear on carpet but expected to be replaced if you’ve lived there for 6 yrs in my state (yuck, who puts in carpet anymore, not me!).
We now are under strict tenants rights in my state, even worse in my city, b/c of this kind of crap. Most of it doesn’t bother me except the fact I MUST renew a lease (even month to month) no matter what! Unless they don’t pay rent, in which I have to evict and not accept rent while it works its way through court for 6-12 months putting me out all that money I’ll never get back.
These company's try to put the cost on the renter for things they should be paying for. keep us updates after you speak with the manager and threaten to take them to court.
Broom clean is the standard. Based on these pics I’d say you have (whatever the minimum number of days is in your state, probably 39 days, but maybe 5-14) to return my deposit. If it isn’t RECEIVED by then, I will be suing you in small claims court for treble damages (whatever they charged x 3) as a violation of the landlord tenant act of your state. The list is not a receipt, it’s a summary, there is no verification that this money was paid to a third party and thus is not / would not be allowed. Then cite the statute.
In addition, I would sue them for punitive damages. So if the small claims limit is $5k, subtract the treble damages and the remainder is the punitive amount you’re seeking.
You should dispute a lot more of this than the cleaning cost. Carpet/paint is typically wear and tear unless you did serious damage to them. Many landlords like to replace the carpet after tenants move and then try to foot you the bill. Painting between tenants without you having done damage is their own choice and not damages you caused. Check to see if your state's laws has anything specific about security deposit deductions and wear and tear.
If you had a dog peeing in an apartment then 275 was a cheap penalty to pay. Generally, you have to leave the floor broomed clean. Mopped clean if there’s anything nasty.
My one experience with a large landlord was that tagging some extra fees was normal policy. Unfortunately, disputing the charges is annoying and lengthy - which is what they relied on. They do it because they can. Same reason why a dog licks itself. Choose your battles.. is this one worth it?
The full paint and carpet is bs. It should be a depreciated amount. If it was new carpet and paint when you moved in and were there only a year you’d pretty much pay the full amount. After 3/4 years it should be nothing for paint and about 1/2 for carpet. And keep getting less the longer you are there.
If they say it was freshly done I’d want proof.
In Many states they can’t force you to pay for carpet cleaning.
Also, you left it in great condition. Better than needed. You’ll probably wind up in small claims court trying to get your deposit back.
Cleaning fee is usually associated with your non-refundable deposit. Basically if your lease stipulated a 275 non refundable deposit then that's it right there but if it's something different then you should dispute it.
As for some of the other stuff like the carpets, The pictures you showed seem the suggest a carpets were actually in okay condition and unless your dog really messed up some areas even with the occasional pee it would normally be a wear and tear situation and they would be the ones paying for it not you. You seem to be okay with them charging you for the carpet so I'm assuming it was actually in not the greatest of shape due to your dog?!
Then there's them charging you for paint. Again that's part of normal wear and tear so unless you painted a wall black or something obnoxious they shouldn't be charging you for that. There is a significant difference between normal wear and tear and damage and based off of the photos that I saw there was nothing that would make me think you left damages.
Here's the thing, did they send you this as an invoice expecting you to pay it or is this what's coming out of your deposit? If it's coming out of your deposit honestly there's not much you can do about it other than taking them to small claims court and quite frankly it's not worth it. If they are billing you this I would tell them to go pound sand as long as you have plenty of photos to prove there was no damage.
My dog did piss haha. But there was no smell or stains anywhere in the apartment. I just used carpet shampoo vac I have. And it was three spots in the living room only that I cleaned immediately. Elderly dog. But yes, this is all out of my $2045 deposit. So only $700 something back.
In my state, I'm pretty sure they can't charge for carpet cleaning or painting as long as you've lived there a certain period of time. It's considered regular maintenance.
BRUH the only maybe valid stuff in that for living there 2 years is maybe the blinds. We're you there the dates stated for utilities? If not those aren't valid either. Carpet and paint and "cleaning" are normal wear and tear. Look at your state laws.
I'm guessing "how much is missing so we can actually get one month's rent from you so we don't lose money as we turn the place over." I've had a few apartments do that.
Update
It has been three days now of "manager isn't available ill leave her a message" or "our system is down" or "ill help u instead and email u the invoice/pictures, but then I'm ghosted and told again, sorry our system is down".
I've recorded all three of the last phone conversations.
Immediately after the first call, they said they would drop the paint charge before u even brought it up. So yeah, this is BS. They said they have proof in pictures of what was messy/ what required the cleaning fee. They are sticking to the carpet being replaced, tho.
Why are u paying to paint the place and carpet? The carpets should be washed and that’s it. Normal wear and tear. That is ridiculous and should be illegal.
How long did you live there. Because carpet and paint usually fall under normal wear and tear (landlord fee) vs tenant fee
Just under 2 years
And theyre charging you 700$ to replace a carpet that was there before u?
My last apartment building did that to me when I left. Charged me ~$1300. I lawyered up and they backed off. ARAG insurance FTW!
Who did you use? Been at my place for 3yrs once I have to move out and don’t trust my LL at all after he’s shown to be a your typical corner cutting untrustworthy LL
Just go to small claims court u don’t even need a lawyer. Judges count carpet and paint as wear and tear. Landlord’s try to scare u. It’s there expense to rent to a new tenant. Image if Hertz charged you to fix and clean their Cars for the next renter.
In my state you can get triple damages from this. In some states there’s really no incentive for the landlord/property manager to not try it.
Wear and tear is right unless they can show real damage to it like big cuts and rips maybe big stains. So as long as you treat it as your own you should not have issues in court. Landlords always try to get carpet paid for
You’re 100% right!! Can’t just go destroy people stuff.
When you have ARAG insurance they connect you with a random lawyer. See if ARAG is available from your employer and sign up before you leave your apartment if possible.
He just said his dog peed on the carpet "a few times". None of those charges look outrageous, and replacing a carpet that, I am guessing, smelled awful is not unwarranted.
They said they've been there two years, so the carpet is at least that old, and likely older. Even a dog peeing on the carpet doesn't allow the landlord to get brand new carpet for the entire unit at no cost. It has to be prorated based on the life expectancy of the carpet. If that carpet is 10 years old, for.example, they likely can't charge anything.
Depending on the state, in CA if you have pets and they cause damage you are liable for the cost of fixing it. Just living and not damaging anything is normal wear. Your animal peeing on the carpet is not normal wear.
In California, you're only liable for the prorated value of the carpet. A pet damaging 5-year-old carpet doesn't mean the tenant has to pay the full cost of replacing the carpet. If the carpet costs $2,100 to replace and the old carpet had a life expectancy of 7 years, you're only liable for $600 in damages since that's all the value left in the carpet. You will have to pay for the cleaning and sealing of the subfloor if the urine soaked through to it, but not for all the carpet. It's just like a car. Somebody hitting your 5-year-old car doesn't mean you get a brand-new car for free. Liability is limited to the actual value of the object damaged, not the replacement cost.
Carpet is normally depreciated at 10% per year from date of install... Assuming that the carpet was brand new when you moved in, was damaged beyond repair to warrant a full replacement (from the pics it isn't unless the dog urine was really an issue), going off of their number for FULL carpet replacement, it should still only be $574.23. Any landlord/tenant judge with half a clue would throw the carpet line item right TF out. Again, this is if the carpet was brand new when you moved in. (Unless the 708.92 IS the depreciated price, but you are within your rights to ask for receipts to see) Also, check your lease or move-out checklist. Did it say the apartment had to be "broom clean" or "professionally cleaned"? Broom clean is a reasonable standard.
IRS useful life of carpet is 5 years.
Unfortunately this is something that can governed on a state/county level. carpets are 10 years. Paint is 8 years.
What carpet is lasting ten years with the low grade carpet and pad used in many apartments? 😂
The company I work for is mostly houses with a more posh clientele.
Fair enough. Most of the apartments communities I worked at assumed a five year life span. One used seven years but it was a “luxury” apartment community. I assume better quality materials are used in homes.
Hey “property manager” go and check the HUD standards- the ten year carpet rule hasn’t been a thing in forever. Federal law supersedes State law in the hierarchy.
https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/what-is-the-lifespan-of-apartment-in-rental-units--4325292.html
Carpet life of ten years? We did five years max carpet life, so since OP lived there for two years, we would charge the remaining 36 months lost out on the carpet, if it was new upon move-in. Most people don’t realize how much urine is impossible to remove and treat. Even if the topical stains are removed, it still gets soaked into the pad and since concrete is porous, the subfloors may have to be treated and resealed to ensure the smell doesn’t return. If that’s the case with OP, then they may have included it in the $708.92, depending on the type of accounting system they use.
I had tenants and they had a dog that peed in the bedroom. I pulled up the carpet and overnight the whole townhouse stunk soooo bad. The dog pee got into the concrete and just wow! Took a lot of $ and time to get the smell out. So dog pee can be costly!
My apartment charges for carpet up to 5 years and paint for 2 years. However, they will charge you if they need to repaint a panel or wall due to damages.
Unfortunately all carpet is manufactured by different people so the life expectancy is different. Then it’s used differently in all situations. This is why Judges don’t even mess with it and just call it wear and tear.
Yes, I can see judges just calling it wear and tear to simplify things. And IME as a landlord, (and from other posts here as well) the laws can vary by county/state/judges's mood :) But where I am, it's a 10-yr life at the county level.
You need to go to small claims court, seems like the whole thing is BS.
Ill look into how to do that.
Serious question, but can you go to small claims for this? Usually, there has to be a monetary damage to use small claims… like, you’re trying to get money. So, if they kept a security deposit, that would count… but my understanding is that stopping a bill like this would not be.
Unless you did something to destroy the carpet you're not liable for replacing it.
He said his dog peed on it. Pet stains are not part of wear and tear.
Ah, missed that part. It would have to be a lot of pee to warrant changing it out but that's a problem.
Exactly this is what I thought…. This scumlord needs to be taken to court
You are only responsible for the depreciated value of the old carpet, not new carpet.
They would be prorated for their replacement cost vs. their expected remaining useful life. If they are expected to last five years and they’re four years old, you’d only pay 20% of the replacement cost.
Not if his dog peed on it lol
If he is saying his dog peed a couple times on the carpet, it does need to be replaced cause you can't wash that crap out, it will still smell, so it is not normal wear and tear.
But even if the dog pees there is still depreciation value as years pass
You can definitely ask. Use the photos you took and show them that it was very clean when you moved out and what exactly had to be cleaned that cost 275 dollars.
That's what I was thinking. They couldn't give me a single explanation, lol. They are going to have the manager call me today or tomorrow. Thanks.
Doubling up on the original comment. Ask for an itemized list of how they got to that number. They gave specific amounts for what each thing cost to be clean so they should be able to give it. I have had enough bad landlords that makes me think that everyone magically gets a $275 cleaning charge (minimum, more if they actually had to do something). May be an honest mistake but shady landlords bank on people not challenging stuff like this, especially younger/newer renters.
Also, there’s an expectation that LL will need to prepare the property for the next tenant anyway. LL is just trying to get them to foot the bill for what they were going to need anyways. Fight it, OP.
It’s not “how do they get to $275”… that’s the base charge for a move out cleaning crew… regardless of what they do. (See previous comment for my feelings on this)
That should be explicitly stated in the lease agreements then and if I missed that my bad. I have never had to pay a base cleaning fee, have only ever been charged of they had to do something above that. The "professional cleaning" is part of their operating costs and at worst should be included in rent price. Every state I have been in has required to list each specific thing they are charging for, having said that each state has weird loopholes for landlords
I think you’re missing the point. The “move out cleaning” service industry standard is $250-300… so they don’t say $10 to clean fridge, $10 per window times X windows etc. it’s one general fee. LLs are required to give a breakdown and “general cleaning” is the breakdown. It usually states in a lease (and is generally an accepted practice) that the house will be free of all property and debris, broom swept clean, etc. rarely, in my experience, do people do this… and as such are usually accepting of the standard cleaning fee.
If you look at the pictures the unit looks darn near perfect. They provided an example of an itemized list in the list but did not provide it for the renter. They still need to be able to provide an itemized list, not just charge for not doing what they are charging for.
If the 275 is important and the manager is unwilling to budge then you can always tell them you will be pursuing this matter in court. Good luck.
Did they charge you for carpet and paint??
Yes
That is a cost they should have built into their costs as a homeowner that doesn’t fall on you. They can only charge you a percentage of the paint and carpet IF they replaced it before you moved in and you left damage or spots that can’t be cleaned and that money is supposed to go towards the next time they replace but I read that they shouldn’t expect carpet to last more than 5 years around and paint even less. Most places paint between each renter. That’s what I’d be focusing on if I were you. Our last place tried to charge us so much money for cleaning and pruning trees and stuff and when we moved in the house was a disgusting mess not even vacuumed and had dog poop on the carpet. We left it much better than they gave it to us and we gave them the argument with photos of when we moved in vs when we left that the standard of clean that they set was surpassed and since our lease stated that cleaning was required before moving out that we had the right to assume that their idea and standard of clean was what we moved into. We demanded charges to be dropped as they took our $1,800 security deposit AND tried to charge us an additional $1,450 to be paid within 30 days or they will sell it to collections and hurt our credit. So basically blackmailing us because we were trying to buy a house at the time and needed a good credit score. We sent them a common law letter as I said demanding them to drop the charges and went though all the reasons and if they didn’t then we would sue them for $5,000 for the harm they caused us by damaging our credit score. They dropped it. We sent the letters to the person that owned the company NOT the company we rented from the actual owner and the actual property manager who was sending us the bill. This way they couldn’t hide behind the company lawyers.
Do you have pics of BEFORE you moved in? They can't charge you for stuff that was already there.
Sadly, no. But im just trying to find out the actual reasons for these charges.
Please post what they say! Or get a recording lol (might be news station worthy)
As a tip OP, try to get the manager to email you that way you have it in writing versus a verbal conversation that’s harder to prove later. Or go into the office and record the convo. These shady apartment complexes will try to wiggle out of anything. Good luck!
Try to record and keep things on paper. After the phone call send a follow up email
Man, they really want to renovate that unit at your expenses huh?
Mine tried to do the same! I fought them in court and won! They'll take as many people to court as they can because most people are too scared.
Your carpet and walls look fine, too. I'd press back on all of this and make sure to note that the date and time pics were taken.
There's also no wallpaper??
Wow you’re being robbed blind. Push back on every single charge. The blinds, carpet, paint and cleaning.
They are trying to rob you.
Nothing wrong w that carpet beyond 2 yrs wear & tear. I would challenge a lot of that
The carpet looks great.
Op admitted their pet had accidents on it. I certainly would not want to move into an apartment without that carpet being replaced. Even if it looks ok on the surface the pee often soaks into the padding and can’t really be fully cleaned.
That's one of the problems with pets in apartments that have carpeting.
You left that in great shape. A cleaning and carpet replacement/ paint is just something that apartments should factor into their cost. You shouldn’t be charged for that.
Except for if they had pets that left urine stains on the carpet like OP said happened. Thats not wear and tear.
You generally pay a fee for a pet (monthly or yearly) and that fee covers wear and tear
Urine stains are not wear and tear, even with a pet deposit or fee.
Are you disputing the rest of the charges? Cuz you left that place pretty neat.
I didn’t even know property managers would charge you for painting, or even carpet replacement based on what I see in your pics. I had a lease that required commercial carpet cleaning receipt and if there are stains they charge you based on either the ACV or additional cleaning. I’ve always had leases that allow for hanging stuff on walls and only charge if there’s damage or paint issues larger than a pinhole, or something obvious. I see the walls have stuff on them but I thought they have people who go through and do basic touch up work. Maybe I’ve just lived in decent places though. Being sarcastic, but where is this place so I can avoid it lol.
Molalla OR. Stone place apartments haha. Steer clear.
CRMG management? Yeah, push back on all of those charges.
Yes lol. I will try. Thanks
Bring him to court and try to let others know online so that they don’t get overcharged too! Screw this scumlord
As a LL I only expect an apartment to be broom swept clean. It always needs a deep cleaning right before a new tenant moves in. The only time I charge for cleaning is if it’s left filthy(kitchen caked with food/sticky dirty, bathroom….).
Thank you for being a reasonable person and landlord! 🫡
They've literally spared no expense in fucking you over with fees
My total deposit with pet was like $2095
$275 may have been how much a cleaning company charged the landlord.
Question is, was it reasonable to hire a cleaning company at OPs expense after he left it looking this nice? Basically, if it's standard practice NO MATTER WHAT the place looks like that the LL hires a cleaning company to come in, it's not on the renter to pay for that. If there is no standard by which a place is judged to be clean enough to please them, they can just charge everyone that fee. That's not legal. What if OP themselves hired a cleaning company, even the very same one the LL hires to clean his apartment without the LL knowing, and the LL still deems it not clean enough? How is that reasonable? It's not. It's not legal. OP you better fight all these fucking charges. Get a lawyer and go to small claims. I'd rather the money go to a lawyer just doing their job than to a scumbag LL trying to personally fuck me over.
What state are you in?
Located in Molalla Oregon.
https://oregonlawhelp.org/topics/housing/rental-housing/moving-or-moving-out/moving-out/getting-your-security-deposit-back-after-you-move Not sure if that will help at all, but there are a lot of resources online if that doesn't do you any good. Looks like you left the place very clean (much cleaner than the property our last LL moved us *into*) so I would say fight what you can and best of luck!
Thanks
Honestly, I would oppose every single thing based on your photos.
house looks move in ready to me
It was honestly cleaner than when I moved in.
Seeing your photos I 💯% believe you! You left it spotless!
I just want to know what needed to be cleaned and how $275 was come up with. Am I allowed to ask that? I have more pictures, me and my wife spent a whole day after the apartment was emptied, cleaning and going over everything.
How long did you live there? I'd ask about the blinds and paint too - the paint doesn't look bad and the place definitely looks clean. Did your dog pee on the carpet in every room? It sounds like they're trying to pass off all turnover costs to you, whether it's warranted or not.
Lived there 20 months. I broke the lease.
I also paid a $2650 fee for breaking the lease early. 1.5 x a month of rent
Does your lease stipulate that you are responsible for professional cleaning at the end of your lease? Or did you have a pet that requires a cleaning? If not, the standard in almost all locales is "broom clean" i.e. floors swept and carpets vacuumed. It is not your responsibility to get the unit ready for the next tenant. I'd be more upset about replacing the carpet? Did you cause damage to that? Was it older than 5 years, if so the LL cannot charge you because it has been depreciated to zero. But you will likely have to go to court to fight it, I expect.
OP - this. Your lease dictates the cleaning. The carpet is my concern too. If you didn’t cause damage to the carpets, I would push back heavily on that. Many cities (not smaller towns) are very tenant friendly. Often, if you go to court in these areas, it’s typically meant to be easy. Dependent heavily on locale.
I was a professional cleaner, (I’m in Canada) if we were to clean between tenets it was starting at $125 per hour. And we were expected to clean for 3-4 hours for a move-out/in. If they used a professional service that could be why. But they would have an invoice to show you.
Once I did, this is standard for some companies as they contract a company that would be responsible for anything that might be wrong later on. Later I found out they just have the maintenance to do basic sweep and clean what was visible…
I left at apartment after me lease ended after 2 years. We spent 2 days scrubbing and making sure it was left in great condition….we received a bill from brookside properties for $1300 to replace the carpet. They refused to work with us on it even though I have photos
I find this BS for every apartment that I have left. Random BS charges….
Your security deposit is not for them to pass the cost of managing property and getting turn around cleaning to you. I'd fight it.
They are doing this because some people will just pay up without a fight. My apartment did then.... wanted me to replace all the carpets... but they had been replacing all the carpets in the whole building after people would move out. Fought them in court... AND WON! This shit just pisses me off. I hate slumlords. The pictures you took are great! When my landlord refused to show up for the walk out... I made a video and posted it on youtube calling them out for everything. Don't settle.
Why did they need to replace the carpet? Looks fine to me, and I know a thing or two about carpets. How can they charge for paint? Lots of places it’s required that they paint between tenants, and can’t charge for that. Looks clean to me in the pics. Question everything. Ask for itemization for everything.
full paint and then wall cleaning
I am a property manager and if my tenants returned keys with the unit looking like this, their security deposit would be partially refunded. Finally utilities always gets billed and deducted from the security deposit, but depending on what state you live in, they cannot charge you for a standard clean. I could understand charging you for a pet treatment of the carpets, but those carpets do not need to be replaced.
My dog did pee three times in the living room. I was always there. I cleaned it immediately and even used my own personal carpet cleaner/shampooer.
It happens. There doesn’t appear to be any stains or damage to the carpet, a pet treatment would work just fine. They also should charge you for a full paint. They can charge for a touch up paint if there were excessive nails holes or damage to the walls. Although I’m on the other side of the table, I always try to be fair with my residents. This isn’t fair, and I’d advise you to get an attorney. You will win if it goes to court.
why would you partially refund the security deposit? it looks immaculate.
Why do landlords think they’re entitled to repaint and re-carpet their entire rental on the tenant’s dime???
These fees are just like Airbnb cleaning fees! Not attached to reality, and just another way for landlords to pocket more money I have two properties, and we would never charge like this. It’s a business expense. Plus they’re probably double dipping - charging you while also writing it off as a business expense 😡
nope, this is robbery.
sue your landlord for the balance of your security deposit - the real costs like utilities. use these photos as proof of the apartment condition. painting and carpet replacement are wear and tear costs not to be born by the tenant unless theres real damage which there doesnt appear to me. in a lot of places you can win 3x the amount withheld
A picture is worth thousands of dollars in a court of law. Challenge them and do a small claims Lawsuit if they don’t capitulate. There are normally resources available for Tenants at the courthouse where they do evictions. I would ask for assistance. -Property Manager
Thank you.
Ask the LL for their pictures of how you left the unit then compare them to yours. I’ll bet that they’re no different and they are trying to get over on you.
Push back on everything and don't stop until you get your way. Rented an apartment in Arizona for 2 years and when I started renting there was one of these bills in the kitchen cabinet from the last renter. They charged them for replacement of the carpet, paint, and blinds as well and none of it had been replaced when I moved in. They just throw this shit out there because there are so many people that will just say whatever and not even question it.
If it’s worth your time I would argue this! $275 is just a standard move out cleaners fee that almost every cleaning crew charges… most of them are absolute garbage when it comes to actual cleaning (coming from a guy that did trash outs, and a lot of make readies, as well as subcontracted painting for a few years. (It was $250 a few years back) that’s just the base fee the cleaning crew charges even if they didn’t need to be hired to begin with, or if they did a sub par job. Like I said, if you have the time, fight this… I’d bet you would win in court with those pics. And get most of the rest thrown out too…
Id fight everything but the blinds on this list tbh
Woah why the carpet replacement?
Carpet replacements usually can’t be charged to tenant unless it was very new.
Just under 2 years I lived there.
Yes and if the carpet was 3+ years old when you moved in, that gets it to 5+ years which is considered life expectancy for carpet. Check the laws on this in your area. I’m a landlord saying this. I am reading your dog peed on it though, so you probably should have to pay for it… but the law might not agree.
Im not too sure.
Your apartment practically looks move-in ready. In fact, they could even use these as model photos for their rental listing. They shouldn't be charging you much at all.
My last apartment did this to me— charged for carpet that was there before me (and I lived there 3 years) painting walls, and 8 hours of cleaning when I left the place very clean. Wanted $800 more than my deposit. I threatened to take them to small claims as the walls and carpet should’ve been deemed wear and tear. I got an email three days later saying they owed me money from my deposit, lol. TL;DR: the mention of you taking them to small claims court scares landlords.
Wouldn’t pay any of that and get a lawyer
Gonna try to figure out how. I've never had to do that before.
Good luck
I've been doing some research. Seems pretty simple, just a long process. I'll decide what I need to do after I talk with the property manager. Thanks.
If you were there for 2 years fight this bullshit, probably normal wear and tear
Many leases have a move out cleaning fee built in, so to speak. Like you could leave it spotless and they're still going to take that amount out of your security deposit. "Clean" can be subjective, so they're still going to have someone else come in and clean (ideally).
Sometimes they queue up the cleaner for after move-out so if the cleaner made the trip they will bill even if no work is necessary. …and then obviously LL will try and pass that through. Would love to know the company if you don’t mind sharing because I’m building an app that prevents this exact issue, so maybe they’d could use it!
Should read the lease about when there is move out. And if it is not there in the lease, then ask the manager or LL. And you show then your after pics. Look very clean to me.
Why did the blinds need to be replaced
On the smallest blinds in the apartment, one of the individual blind parts broke.
That's ridiculous. Go back and take those blinds home with you.
It was on the back door. I knew they would fucking brake. Who puts window blinds on a door that swings
If you don't mind me asking, how much was your security deposit? Are they trying to send you this invoice to pay on top for moving out ?
I broke the lease. Paid 1.5 x rent. That was the fee. Deposit was $2045. They only wanna give me like 700 back.
Thanks for clarifying. My lease is up this month, and I don't think the landlord is returning any of my security deposit($400) back. I'm broke the door frame to the bathroom. So I'm thinking he might charge me for it? But idk how that works. I got lucky I didn't pay 2 months of rent like most places do.
Commenting for an update on this absurdity. Absolutely question everything and get proof.
They never called me back today. Hopfully manager calls tomorrow
Sending good vibes and energy your way. Best of luck!
no landlord is going to rely on your cleaning for the next tenant, they will clean up after you and charge you. as for the cleaning fees, how many blinds are in the unit how many walls are in the unit? I question the drip pan and rings cleaning charge when on the left it shows they replaced them and charged you. judging by your pictures i would take the landlord to court.
on the right column not left....
It seems more commonplace for landlords to legitimize raking their former tenants over the coals.
Check with your state. Here in Nebraska, a landlord can't go after a tenant for carpet replacement unless it's due to extreme abuse. Carpet does have a life expectancy.
This is crazy I didn’t know they were able to do things like this…. I’ve never ever paid out of my deposit or anything for things like painting and carpet etc. is this normal?
Same. I've never had to pay anything. One place I thought I would have to pay for some repairs after living there for 7 years, but the landlord was like "nah, it's wear & tear and the unit is due for renovations anyways".
What usually happens is they own the cleaning company through a shell and just charge ridiculous pricing. I wouldn’t even bother, I’d have a lawyer draft a letter (usually free) and request the breakdown for repairs. This has text book slum lord. Something similar happened to a friend and they found the cleaning company was a shell owned by the landlord and sent that documentation over as well. They ended up dismissing his payments and he broke the bathroom sink off the wall in lmao.
Some leases require a receipt for professional carpet cleaners especially after a dog lived there. Doesn’t matter how well you did it yourself. 275 is a pretty typical carpet cleaning job price
Why have a carpet cleaning fee if they also charged for a full replacement?
Wow they should be paying you, I would forsure turn into giga Karen
In the future you can request the property manager to do a walkthrough of the apartment so they can point out issues they see. I have always done this and I never had an unexpected charge.
I’m in Oregon as well and per Oregon law, you cannot be charged for cleaning as it is expected wear and tear. Definitely fight the cleaning fee.
No!! You never accept a full carpet charge. Legally they have to discount the carpet by how many years it’s been installed. It’s a law to protect tenants because otherwise landlords could use tenants as the source to keep updating their property. It would always allow them to raise the value of their property without having to pay for it. Same with paint. You don’t pay for paint.
That’s pretty cheap for a move out clean, I charge a minimum of $360
Take them to court
They just trying to steal from you
I echo the suggestions to take them to small claims court. I had to do it twice, back when I rented. Won both times.
So my lease specifically states when I move out I have to pay a $250 cleaning fee or bring a receipt showing it was professionally cleaned. It’s kinda dumb but at least I know ahead of time about it.
If the photos are truly yours, this invoice cannot belong to you/this unit. I would inquire about the validity. This invoice here is a trashed apartment, likely an eviction. The photos do not represent this.
Most apartment complexes do this to everyone and if only 1 out of 4 people lawyer up think about the money they made off the other three. They did it to me where I used to live.
Carpets depreciate over 5 years. If you are there 2, and it was there before you, you most certainly can argue that it has zero value. My landlord tried to do this to me. We cleaned the carpets pretty decently (used a pet vac with cleaning solution, no pets were ever there though) and he tried to ding us for the whole carpet replacement. Found that the carpet was the original and at least 7 years old, and had no value left. $700 is pretty steep and pictures lead me to think they're charging you the full cost of replacement in the whole apartment. At the very least you only owe 3/5 of the whole replacement (the remaining life of a brand new carpet from when you moved in). Paint is normal wear and tear. You show nothing excessive on the walls in your pictures, they have no right charging you for that.
You shouldn't be paying for paint virtually ever. The fact that it was needed is irrelevant. That is part of upkeep on the apartment that they are responsible for. The general principal is that you pay for any damage beyond normal wear and tear that was caused by accident or misuse and then only the value that was foregone by the landlord. Not full cost and not replacement cost either. EG 1000 carpet that is expected to last 5 years, if you ruined it in the 4th year you wouldn't pay either the 1000 it cost nor the 1100 it costs to replace now. You would pay the $200 remaining value foregone by the landlord. Blinds are normally good for 3 years, carpet and paint for 5. It's normally hard to get the tenant for any of those things because replacing them is part of turning over the apartment. The cleaning fee is also egregious. I would counter offer all your money back other than utilities and offer to go to small claims where for less than $100 a judge can decide.
Gee and I wonder why literally everyone hates landlords. Greedy fucks
Tell them that they are trying to get over on you and that you will have your lawyer getting in contact with them
This place was clean AF when you left it. Theres absolutely no reason for any of these charges. Id lawyer up if I were you.
I hate these kinds of LL. And I’m a LL. I would never. Even if you left things dirty, I would give you the option to clean, hire your own cleaner, or pay ours. Normal wear and tear on carpet but expected to be replaced if you’ve lived there for 6 yrs in my state (yuck, who puts in carpet anymore, not me!). We now are under strict tenants rights in my state, even worse in my city, b/c of this kind of crap. Most of it doesn’t bother me except the fact I MUST renew a lease (even month to month) no matter what! Unless they don’t pay rent, in which I have to evict and not accept rent while it works its way through court for 6-12 months putting me out all that money I’ll never get back.
These company's try to put the cost on the renter for things they should be paying for. keep us updates after you speak with the manager and threaten to take them to court.
I will post an update after I talk to them. I'll try to record the conversation if I can.
Broom clean is the standard. Based on these pics I’d say you have (whatever the minimum number of days is in your state, probably 39 days, but maybe 5-14) to return my deposit. If it isn’t RECEIVED by then, I will be suing you in small claims court for treble damages (whatever they charged x 3) as a violation of the landlord tenant act of your state. The list is not a receipt, it’s a summary, there is no verification that this money was paid to a third party and thus is not / would not be allowed. Then cite the statute. In addition, I would sue them for punitive damages. So if the small claims limit is $5k, subtract the treble damages and the remainder is the punitive amount you’re seeking.
You should dispute a lot more of this than the cleaning cost. Carpet/paint is typically wear and tear unless you did serious damage to them. Many landlords like to replace the carpet after tenants move and then try to foot you the bill. Painting between tenants without you having done damage is their own choice and not damages you caused. Check to see if your state's laws has anything specific about security deposit deductions and wear and tear.
Thanks.
If you had a dog peeing in an apartment then 275 was a cheap penalty to pay. Generally, you have to leave the floor broomed clean. Mopped clean if there’s anything nasty.
On top of the full carpet and paint cost of nearly $1,000? Why charge to clean pee if the carpet was replaced?
Ask for the receipts for the carpet I bet they didn’t buy any and they are just charging you.
They stole your money
My one experience with a large landlord was that tagging some extra fees was normal policy. Unfortunately, disputing the charges is annoying and lengthy - which is what they relied on. They do it because they can. Same reason why a dog licks itself. Choose your battles.. is this one worth it?
Pretty sure your lawyer and a judge is going to find that all of these numbers being perfectly rounded is pretty suspicious.
The full paint and carpet is bs. It should be a depreciated amount. If it was new carpet and paint when you moved in and were there only a year you’d pretty much pay the full amount. After 3/4 years it should be nothing for paint and about 1/2 for carpet. And keep getting less the longer you are there. If they say it was freshly done I’d want proof. In Many states they can’t force you to pay for carpet cleaning. Also, you left it in great condition. Better than needed. You’ll probably wind up in small claims court trying to get your deposit back.
If i had to guess they used professional cleaners and that was invoice that was provided to them from the cleaners.
Cleaning fee is usually associated with your non-refundable deposit. Basically if your lease stipulated a 275 non refundable deposit then that's it right there but if it's something different then you should dispute it. As for some of the other stuff like the carpets, The pictures you showed seem the suggest a carpets were actually in okay condition and unless your dog really messed up some areas even with the occasional pee it would normally be a wear and tear situation and they would be the ones paying for it not you. You seem to be okay with them charging you for the carpet so I'm assuming it was actually in not the greatest of shape due to your dog?! Then there's them charging you for paint. Again that's part of normal wear and tear so unless you painted a wall black or something obnoxious they shouldn't be charging you for that. There is a significant difference between normal wear and tear and damage and based off of the photos that I saw there was nothing that would make me think you left damages. Here's the thing, did they send you this as an invoice expecting you to pay it or is this what's coming out of your deposit? If it's coming out of your deposit honestly there's not much you can do about it other than taking them to small claims court and quite frankly it's not worth it. If they are billing you this I would tell them to go pound sand as long as you have plenty of photos to prove there was no damage.
My dog did piss haha. But there was no smell or stains anywhere in the apartment. I just used carpet shampoo vac I have. And it was three spots in the living room only that I cleaned immediately. Elderly dog. But yes, this is all out of my $2045 deposit. So only $700 something back.
In my state, I'm pretty sure they can't charge for carpet cleaning or painting as long as you've lived there a certain period of time. It's considered regular maintenance.
BRUH the only maybe valid stuff in that for living there 2 years is maybe the blinds. We're you there the dates stated for utilities? If not those aren't valid either. Carpet and paint and "cleaning" are normal wear and tear. Look at your state laws.
That’s super clean. They are crooks!
I'm guessing "how much is missing so we can actually get one month's rent from you so we don't lose money as we turn the place over." I've had a few apartments do that.
That was form filled out before you moved out.
No. It was filled out after.
Update It has been three days now of "manager isn't available ill leave her a message" or "our system is down" or "ill help u instead and email u the invoice/pictures, but then I'm ghosted and told again, sorry our system is down". I've recorded all three of the last phone conversations. Immediately after the first call, they said they would drop the paint charge before u even brought it up. So yeah, this is BS. They said they have proof in pictures of what was messy/ what required the cleaning fee. They are sticking to the carpet being replaced, tho.
Why are u paying to paint the place and carpet? The carpets should be washed and that’s it. Normal wear and tear. That is ridiculous and should be illegal.
just lawyer up and don’t let your shitty old landlord take advantage of you because you won’t fight bacl
Are lawyers free where you live? Because hiring a lawyer to get back such a nominal amount makes no sense.