Landlord trying to get me to replace carpet thats from 1988?

Question

I gave notice to my landlord who admitted that the carpet has never been replaced and was installed in 1988. All these stains have come up since I have been living her for 3.5 years and my landlord is saying that if the stains don't come up they will charge me to replace the carpet. is this legal? They also never did a move in checklist when i moved in and some of the stains were already in the carpet!

Answer 1

Write a simple letter to the landlord, sent with returned signature:

" dear landlord:

You admitted that the carpet at the apartment was installed in 1988; that is 20 years ago.

Common wears and tears of the property is NOT of my responsibility;

thus, I urge you immediately release me from the lease, with full refund of the security deposits within 2 working days.

Failure to do so, you force me to request for assistance from others, but not limited to the Housing Authority, the Better Business Bureau and the Small Claim court.

Sincerely,

"

Answer 2

no they cant do anything about it, esp. if ther ewas no list!... there is no proof ya know!...if you have other questions, call a local real estate agent!

Answer 3

I would fight that. Carpet can be pretty expensive. If the carpet is that old than its no wonder you have all these stains popping up. It isn't uncommon for old stains to resurface over time. When my husband and I moved into our apartment it had no stains, but now there are all these phantom stains popping up. If I were you, I would put up a fight about it. They can't make you pay to replace carpet that is 20 years old.

Answer 4

It is always important to take pictures on move in day and send copies to your landlor, as well as on move out day.....this is for your own protections.

now, if your landlord did not do a walk through and the carpeting is now 20 years old........it is the landlord's responsibility to replace the carpet.  Unfortunately, he/she will push that cost on you since you have no proof you didn't cause the "damaged" carpet.

Contact a lawyer and send him a letter of intent to sue.  I believe he/she will back off as the cost of legal fees of their own plus yours are likely to exceed the cost of carpeting......a single room of carpet can be as low as $500 installed.

Answer 5

No, it's not legal.  It's also illegal not to do the move in check list.  Just for future reference, apparently painting walls every two years is considered 'maintenance' so if you have any marks on your walls he's trying to get you for tell him to go jump.  My best advice to you is to phone the Rental Tenant Authority, or the Rental Bond Board or whatever they're called in your area and ask them for the rules regarding this.  Sounds like a scam to me.  Just make sure you get the carpet shampooed before you leave and that's all your legally required to do.

Answer 6

We had the same problem when we moved out of our house. The carpets where 10 years old and a light pink colour. They were stained to the sh*thouse but still the owners tried to keep our bond for the replacement of it. I took it to the RTA - but I had 22 sworn afferdavites from people stating that the carpets where in c**p condition when we leased the house - including the previous owner and the guy who cleaned the carpets when we moved out who said there was no way we'd stained the carpet that bad in 3 months. My advise to you would be to go along the same lines, do not give up your bond - contest it. Also try and find old photo's or something that may show the marks in the carpet - it's even better if the photo's have a date on them. Have the carpets clean proffesionally by a good cleaner and than ask he's advice, these guys can tell if a stains been in the carpet 2 months or 2 years.

Good Luck!!

Answer 7

Contact your local Housing authorities and get educated on your rights as a renter.  Good luck.

Answer 8

look at the papers you originally signed. our old landlord decided that 200.00 paint job needed to be done on a 475sq ft studio that was only lived in for less than a year and had been done beforehand....we read through our papers we signed  and found out that they couldnt charge us any more than our deposit and that paint only needed to be done every 3 years!!!! it pays to check into it!!!! she had to refund us the 200 dollars!!

Answer 9

That's crazy... I never had carpeting in any place I have lived, just commercial tile, but I did replace it myself when I was tired of it or if it got messed up.  Is carpeting listed on your lease like a stove or refrigerator?  If not, you may have to pay to get new carpet, but he should not force you to only because it has a stain.  Is there a local Landlord/Tenant court in your state?  I know here in New York State there is a court system as such and you can call to speak to a legal aid.  Good Luck!

Answer 10

That's just nasty......I think they need to replace them every few years or everytime someone moves in.

Answer 11

nope thats normal wear and tear on a 20 year old carpet... take pictures, the judge can tell from the carpet alone, the style etc how old it is.

Answer 12

We have those phantom stains too but I called the manager on them, the carpet appeared clean when we moved in but over a period of time all this gunk from underneith starts coming up, I've made him clean it twice already and it won't be long before he has to do it again...I don't know how long they go without changing carpets but my elderly neighbor died a few months ago, he had lived there for 12 years and instead of changing the carpets they just got the carpet cleaners in here...I would definetly fight that charge if I were you.