State CA: My tenants requested a final walk through which I said was not necessary as I would only deduct a cleaning fee and the carpets were old so I would replace those anyways. I manage several apartments and after the fact I realized the carpets were new when they moved in. Can I by law charge them the cost to replace the carpet? They were a little over 2 years old.
They were on a month-to-month rental agreement. I have their security deposit but will I get in trouble for not giving them a final walk through and then deducting for the carpet replacement without giving them the option to clean/repair it first.
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3 responses so far ↓
1 moviebuff // Jul 26, 2008
That depends on what was written in the lease. They did have a lease didn't they. In the future put everything in the lease. Lawn care, cleaning fees , pet deposits fees for damage
2 sunvegas // Jul 26, 2008
A lot of landlords use the deposit to buy a new carpets so the next new tenants…would fall in love with the place.If the carpet was new when they moved in it doesn't mean you could use their deposit money to buy a new carpet.You could deduct the money only for cleaning but to buy a new carpet no.Think about it let's say you'r a tenant do you think it's ok and fair for a landlord to use your money to buy a new carpet ? It had happened to me when I moved in the carpet was more than 2 years old my landlord kept my deposit when I moved which was over $600 bucks saying the carpet needed to replaced.
3 danny14551 // Jul 26, 2008
If they dispute your charges and it goes to court you will lose. It does not matter why the walk thru was not performed just that it was not done, and it was your responsibility to do it.
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