Am I responsible for the entire replacement cost of a ruined carpet after a certain period of time?

Question

I have been living in an apartment for 4 years now. I don't have any immediate plans to move out (atleast not 2+ years)

The carpet installed is the commercial kind you see in office buildings, and my kitty thought the hold rug was a scratching post. I have pull marks in certain areas of the carpet in my living room. the bedrooms are find as well as the hall way. My stair was it worste.

I lade down area rugs and this fixed the problem for me visually. I am responsible pet owner and am able to repair for the replacement of the carpets when I move out, but I am wondering if they will charge me the replacement cost or the depreciated cost. I don't think it is right that I am buying brand new carpet for the landlord when I move out as a 5-6 year old carpet would have some normal wear from use.

sorry about the grammar mistakes. I was a little tired when i submitted this.

I was trying to say that only the living room and stairwell are affected.

Answer 1

Typically (in California) the life of a carpet is 5 years. That's not to say that all carpets will need to be changed every 5 years. But if the carpet is fairly old when you move out, then changing it would be a likely scenario with out charges to you for the pet damage. However, that doesn't mean the landlord won't asses you pet damages (urine smell, other damages) when you move out.

Best thing to do is to make sure you do a walk through of your apartment when you move out with your Manager/Landlord to make sure of any charges that is your responsibility. Also- check your state's law regarding Tenant/Landlord issues.

Answer 2

First if all the carpet is matching, and you just destroyed a part, the entire carpet will have to be replaced. The owner has a right to have the apartment in the same condition as when you moved in, normal wear and tear accepted. I think a prorated cost would be fair. What is the cost of the rug and how many years is it said to last, and how old was it when you moved in and how much are installation costs. If your cat has urinated on the rug a new pad may be required too. Pulls and tears are not normal wear and tear so you are liable for your portion of the cost to replace rug/pad. The owner will lose because most carpeting lasts longer that the suggested life. So if it is a 10 year rug and six years of life were used up for normal wear and tear and four years of life were lost then you would owe 2/5 of all replacement costs. If your commerical rug has that blue rubber padding underneath, that is considered lifetime padding and does not have to be replaced unless it has been damaged.

Answer 3

If the carpets were new when you moved in...then yes of course the landlord can legally charge you for the replacement. Your cat trashed the carpets and now you want the landlord to cover the added expense of replacement. This is why most landlords don't allow pets. BTW...if you are really a responsible pet owner...you would never allowed you cat to destroy the carpets....and no commercial carpets should last for 10 to 15 years and pulls and holes created by your cat are not considered " normal wear and tear".

Answer 4

You will have to check with your state. In some areas, carpet has to be replaced every so many years at the landlords expense anyway. So, if you go beyond that point, he would not be able to charge you for any of it regardless of if it was damaged or not.

Answer 5

You will be charged the full cost of replacement carpet when you vacate the premises, UNLESS the landlord decides that six years worth of normal 'wear and tear' will relieve you of that expense. I would not count on it.