How long do you have to rent before they can't charge you to paint or charge to replace the carpet?

Question

How long do you have to rent before they can't charge you to paint or charge to replace the carpet?

Answer 1

There is no standard time frame - It just depends on if it legitimately needs to be done and if its normal wear and tear or if you caused it to need to be done.

Answer 2

I wasn't aware of any time frame for not being responsible for the repairs of a rental.

Answer 3

Landlords can always charge for damage and excessive wear and tear -- even if they plan on replacing the paint and carpet.  

I've heard some property companies expect paint to last at least 18- to 24-months.  

Carpet lifetime varies depending on the quality of the carpet.  I can't imagine any landlord disclosing the quality and lifetime of their carpet.

Answer 4

For carpet replacement - you cannot be charged if the carpet is at or beyond it's life expectancy - usually between 7-10 years. If the carpet has a life expectancy of 7 years and it is 1 year old - you pay 6/7 of the cost, 2 years old - you pay 5/7 and so forth. If it is has a life expectancy of 7 years and it is 7 years old (or older) you pay nothing.

Painting can be charged against the tenant, as long as there is excessive dirt or damage caused by the tenant requiring repainting.

California has it spelled out in it's landlord tenant booklet, but other states are not so specific. In the states that do not have it spelled out, it would be up to the tenant to dispute the charge, file in Small Claims and let a judge decide.

2. Carpets and drapes - "useful life" rule

Normal wear and tear to carpets, drapes and other furnishings cannot be charged against a tenant's security deposit.223 Normal wear and tear includes simple wearing down of carpet and drapes because of normal use or aging, and includes moderate dirt or spotting. In contrast, large rips or indelible stains justify a deduction from the tenant's security deposit for repairing the carpet or drapes, or replacing them if that is reasonably necessary.

One common method of calculating the deduction for replacement prorates the total cost of replacement so that the tenant pays only for the remaining useful life of the item that the tenant has damaged or destroyed. For example, suppose a tenant has damaged beyond repair an eight-year-old carpet that had a life expectancy of ten years, and that a replacement carpet of similar quality would cost $1,000. The landlord could properly charge only $200 for the two years' worth of life (use) that would have remained if the tenant had not damaged the carpet.

3. Repainting walls

One approach for determining the amount that the landlord can deduct from the tenant's security deposit for repainting, when repainting is necessary, is based on the length of the tenant's stay in the rental unit. This approach assumes that interior paint has a two-year life. (Some landlords assume that interior paint has a life of three years or more.)

                  

Less than 6 months - full cost

6 months to 1 year - two-thirds of cost

1 year to 2 years - one-third of cost

2 or more years - no deduction

Using this approach, if the tenant lived in the rental unit for two years or more, the tenant could not be charged for any repainting costs, no matter how dirty the walls were. 224

4. Other damage to walls

Generally, minor marks or nicks in walls are the landlord's responsibility as normal wear and tear (for example, worn paint caused by a sofa against the wall). Therefore, the tenant should not be charged for such marks or nicks. However, a large number of holes in the walls or ceiling that require filling with plaster, or that otherwise require patching and repainting, could justify withholding the cost of repainting from the tenant's security deposit. In this situation, deducting for painting would be more likely to be proper if the rental unit had been painted recently, and less likely to be proper if the rental unit needed repainting anyway. Generally, large marks or paint gouges are the tenant's responsibility.225

Answer 5

These charges have nothing to do with how long you are there.  Instead its a matter of whether the painting/ recarpeting is due to normal wear and tear (the landlord pays for it) or damages (tenants pays).  If the carpet it overly stained or ripped due to misuse that would be damage, but if its just worn thru use that is normal wear and tear.  For the paint if its just the normal dings thats wear and tear but if its holes and crayon or something, thats probably damage. Unfortunately this is a gray area but take pictures and do a walk thru before you leave if you don't think you should pay for this.