Advice needed on tenant end of lease

[cbrsurfr]

The op is why sites like ratemylandlord.com will take off. Hopefully his "good" tenant that he tries to screw over will leave a negative review.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Don't be a dickhead. The guy has been there for _three_ fucking years and you can't even clean the carpets yourself?

 

[Meghan54]

The exact wording is "Tenant agrees to clean carpets prior to vacating".

I don't know if this will be a problem yet but when I inserted that into the lease, I meant him to get a professional carpet cleaning service.

Amazing what leaving out one little word does, doesn't it?

Live and learn. Otherwise, fulfill your douchebag-ness as you seem hell bent upon doing...and to an otherwise great tenant.

 

[NetWareHead]

Seriously OP. I hope to God you don't talk to people in person the way you write/post on here. You are one of those types who asks for advice but really will only accept it if it agrees with your original thoughts. Any other piece of advice, sound or not, you will disagree with and argue with tooth and nail.

I didn't know I was having my personality assessed. I don't think I was disrespectful to anyone in this thread so I don't know what you are talking about. And this is business and money is at stake here. You think I'm being hardheaded but I think it is a fight that I may have a reasonably good chance at winning. Depending on my tenant's next move, lets see what happens...

 

[JulesMaximus]

I'm kind of surprised you put that in the lease agreement actually. Don't most leases say that if the place requires cleaning or repairs that it will come out of the security deposit?

Wait until he vacates and see if you think it needs professional cleaning. If it does then spend the money to clean it (that is part of your job as the landlord) and deduct it from the security deposit.

If I were the tenant and the place doesn't smell like cat piss and the carpet is in reasonably good condition then you probably don't have much of a leg to stand on and I'd probably tell you to pound sand.

How old is the carpet in this place anyway?

 

[rudeguy]

I didn't know I was having my personality assessed. I don't think I was disrespectful to anyone in this thread so I don't know what you are talking about. And this is business and money is at stake here. You think I'm being hardheaded but I think it is a fight that I may have a reasonably good chance at winning. Depending on my tenant's next move, lets see what happens...

so you are going to battle your good...no...great tennant over something petty, even if he did nothing wrong?


You are an awesome person.

 

[MixMasterTang]

Depending on your state the law may deem the carpet as being pretty much worthless and needing replaced if it is 8 years old already.

Useful Life for Carpet
A landlord must expect a certain time period where paint and carpet have a useful life. Even if no damage to the rental property carpet has occurred, age and normal wear eventually triggers the need for replacement. Under California landlord-tenant guidelines, a carpet's useful life is eight to 10 years. The cost of replacing the carpet after 10 years falls to the landlord. A tenant who has lived in the property for 10 years and has caused no damage to the carpet other than wear and tear has every right to ask the landlord to replace the carpet.

 

[Schfifty Five]

I didn't know I was having my personality assessed. I don't think I was disrespectful to anyone in this thread so I don't know what you are talking about. And this is business and money is at stake here. You think I'm being hardheaded but I think it is a fight that I may have a reasonably good chance at winning. Depending on my tenant's next move, lets see what happens...

Why did you even bother making this thread if you already knew what you were going to do? What was the point in asking for advice if all you were going to do was to argue with everyone?

 

[iRONic]

I have a tenant who has been in my property for 3 years with no incident and on time rent. He won't be renewing his tenancy since he just purchased a house and his lease ends on end of November. I have it written into my lease that the tenant cleans the rugs. The exact wording is "Tenant agrees to clean carpets prior to vacating". The tenant wanted to move in with a cat and I agreed to this if he agreed to the cleaning.

I don't know if this will be a problem yet but when I inserted that into the lease, I meant him to get a professional carpet cleaning service. I know I should have spelled it out clearer in the lease but it is what it is now.

What recourse do I have if he just vacuums and then sprays some fabreeze around to meet his definition of "cleaning"? This would arguably fulfill the lease. On the other hand, I don't know (as a landlord) if I can just take his word that cleaning was done. I would like to see a receipt so that I know a more thorough cleaning was done rather than just vacuuming and fabreeze for instance. The receipt would also be written proof. Obviously we may have different ideas of what constitutes cleaning.

I'm going to wait it out until he vacates and ask for proof of cleaning when I go and do the final inspection. When he informed me (in email) that he was not going to renew, I responded to him and listed what we will need to do (home inspection, return of security deposit etc...) In that same email, I also asked him to provide a receipt showing proof of cleaning. I think I am going to just wait for his move and see what he does. What would you guys do and how does my position look?

Can you just talk to him face-to-face about the issue? It seems like you're both satisfied with each other for the length of his tenancy... why assume the worse?

 

[lupi]

Receipt for a weekend carpet cleaner rental shouldn't be hard to come up with.

 

[NetWareHead]

Depending on your state the law may deem the carpet as being pretty much worthless and needing replaced if it is 8 years old already.

Useful Life for Carpet
A landlord must expect a certain time period where paint and carpet have a useful life. Even if no damage to the rental property carpet has occurred, age and normal wear eventually triggers the need for replacement. Under California landlord-tenant guidelines, a carpet's useful life is eight to 10 years. The cost of replacing the carpet after 10 years falls to the landlord. A tenant who has lived in the property for 10 years and has caused no damage to the carpet other than wear and tear has every right to ask the landlord to replace the carpet.

Lol demand that I change the carpet? Good way for a tenant to find his lease is not getting renewed.

 

[NetWareHead]

Why did you even bother making this thread if you already knew what you were going to do? What was the point in asking for advice if all you were going to do was to argue with everyone?

This is like non-binding arbitration. It doesn't mean that I have to agree and implement every idea posted here. I sought opinions and intelligent responses and that was going to guide my future interaction with tenant. When I started this thread, I was not going to waver on the receipt issue. At least now if I can see evidence that there was cleaning done by a rug cleaner and tenant did it himself, then I will accept that.

 

[NetWareHead]

Can you just talk to him face-to-face about the issue? It seems like you're both satisfied with each other for the length of his tenancy... why assume the worse?

I am an out of state landlord so my face to face contact with him is limited. I asked him to clean the rugs and submit a receipt via email when he told me he was not going to renew the tenancy (email is our usual mode of communication). And that was it, I'm not going to bother him anymore or be up his ass. I said what I needed to say. I keep it pretty professional with him and don't say more than I need to. I'm his landlord first and foremost, don't really chit chat with him and maintain a professional boundary. I envision us needing to talk about this again when I do do my home inspection or if he asks me about it before that.

 

[NetWareHead]

How old is the carpet in this place anyway?

8 years and in great condition.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Lol demand that I change the carpet? Good way for a tenant to find his lease is not getting renewed.

But you will be out a tenant for a period of time and still have to replace the carpet.

Normal wear & tear on a place is the responsibility of the landlord.

You may have done him a favor with the pet but to demand a cleaning over and beyond a good vacuuming and Febreeze is exceeding the tenant responsibilities.

As others have stated, depending on the size of the place; a professional will charge between $100-200 for the place.

A rental will run you $25-30 plus $10-15 for the chemicals.

In the lease; you did not specify the method of cleaning; therefore you have no leg to stand on to determine how it should be done. As long as there is no visible trash on the carpet and scuffing it does not raise dirt; it is clean for exit.

A carpet may be good for a set period of time, depending on the quality and padding; but the added quality is your decision; the tenant takes what is provided.

 

[BoomerD]

Now it is.

The NAHB says 8-10 years and in a rental setting, that figure would be sped up. Your carpet is old and needs to be replaced before the next tenant moves in.

http://www.nahb.org/fileUpload_details.aspx?contentID=99359

Yet when we bought this place, the carpet in it was 22 years old and immaculate...which didn't matter to us because it was all coming out. The carpet was a "lovely" shade of mauve pink...even in the master bathroom OK, I'm sure the bathroom carpet wasn't as immaculate as it looked...there's no way a 90 year old man has perfect aim :biggrin:

I DO agree that IF the OP has a CPA, he's probaably been depreciating the carpet and it's fully depreciated, (5 years for a rental) so from that standpoint, the carpet MAY need to be replaced.
However, I agree with the OP that the renter SHOULD have the carpets professionally cleaned, but if he doesn't do that...the OP should. GOOD quality carpet can easily last more than 10 years...if it's cared for properly.

Every place we've rented since the 1970's has had "carpets must be professionally cleaned" in the lease agreement.

 

[Apple Of Sodom]

If you were smart you would wrap the price of carpet in your rent. Average cost for a 900 sq ft place to get new carpet would be around $4,000. Replaced every 8 years (96 months) = about $42/month for the carpet. Charging $1200 for rent right now? Charge $1250/month and get carpet replaced every 8 years.

 

[NetWareHead]

But you will be out a tenant for a period of time and still have to replace the carpet.

Yes and I'll also have gotten rid of a problematic tenant. I don't worry bc I have realtors who supply me with tenants. Tenants also pay the finder's fee so I'm really not that worried. I don't know what law is in California but I find it ridiculous that (if I understand the prev post correctly) a tenant can demand a carpet be changed after 10 years regardless of current wear and tear. I'm not in California and different laws apply here; nothing at all like this!

Normal wear & tear on a place is the responsibility of the landlord.

Of course it is and I 100% agree. But again this thread was never about wear and tear and always about cleaning. I just don't understand why it is being declared so often here. I myself am amazed at the condition of the carpet and a tenant not knowing when it was installed would probably not believe it is 8 years old. It looks great and feels great and has been very durable. Wear and tear cannot be a reason for the tenant to deny cleaning the rugs in this situation.

 

[ponyo]

If you were smart you would wrap the price of carpet in your rent. Average cost for a 900 sq ft place to get new carpet would be around $4,000. Replaced every 8 years (96 months) = about $42/month for the carpet. Charging $1200 for rent right now? Charge $1250/month and get carpet replaced every 8 years.

$4k is way too expensive for rental carpet. Market price is about $1k for 1,000 sq ft. That's includes carpet, pad, and installation.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Yes and I'll also have gotten rid of a problematic tenant.

One who asks that worn carpeting be replaced?

You ARE an asshole.

 

[Paladin3]

Only read the first page, but...

I'd call the tenant and ask him how he plans to clean the carpet. If he says by a professional then you are golden. Thank him for being a good tenant.

If he only plans to rent a rug doctor then maybe ask him for $50-$75 towards a professional cleaning instead? That would defray your costs some, since you will probably have to have it professionally cleaned anyway.

 

[lupi]

Only read the first page, but...

which would be remarkable if it wasn't still only 1 page long.

 

[jagec]

Yes and I'll also have gotten rid of a problematic tenant.

Someday you'll REALLY have a problem tenant, who knows how to work the legal system, and you'll look back with longing at the days when you thought "problem tenant" meant someone who just wanted new carpet once a decade.

 

[Paladin3]

which would be remarkable if it wasn't still only 1 page long.

Um...I think that depends on your settings. I'm still using the default setting and this is page 4 for me. So, to be more specific, I've only read the first 25 or so posts.

Sorry if I wasn't specific enough.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

Someday you'll REALLY have a problem tenant, who knows how to work the legal system, and you'll look back with longing at the days when you thought "problem tenant" meant someone who just wanted new carpet once a decade.

Did you know that you are safe to stay in your rental for a good while after declaring bankruptcy? Every satiate has particular laws that allow you to fuck your land-lord for many times the deposit: There's good money to be made being a problem tenant and screwing the land lord.