LMAO, some landlords are smoking crack

[Phokus]

I moved out of an apartment a couple months back when we bought our home. The landlord took almost $1k out of our deposit for a 48 square inch worn out part of the wood floor where my computer chair was. We had even put a rug underneath to try to protect the floor. He wants to resand both the computer room (which is actually a dining room) and living room and charge me half. Newsflash, after 2 and a half years of living there, you're going to have some wear and tear on it. The fact that he wants to charge me half of the resanding/refinishing job (especially when the dining room is much smaller than the living room) is beyond batshit crazy.

Guess this is going to small claims court if this doesn't get resolved.

 

[IronWing]

I suppose there isn't 1k worth the stuff to steal out of the apartment?

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Yeah that's stupid. Floors are going to wear out, and 2.5 years is easily enough for visible wear on a wood floor.

 

[BoomerD]

What state?
After 2-1/2 years, you MAY have some recourse...or not, depending on state law.

 

[zinfamous]

I suppose there isn't 1k worth the stuff to steal out of the apartment?

yeah. OP should have grabbed all the copper piping that he could before leaving.

 

[mizzou]

you hardly ever get your deposit back unless you do some other extra-curricular favors

 

[Phokus]

What state?
After 2-1/2 years, you MAY have some recourse...or not, depending on state law.

CT

 

[Kyle]

you hardly ever get your deposit back unless you do some other extra-curricular favors

I've never not gotten it back...no favors needed- just cleaned well on move out and didn't do any damage while living there.

 

[Phokus]

you hardly ever get your deposit back unless you do some other extra-curricular favors

i got all of it back in my old place. I asked a co-worker who's a landlord and he said he wouldn't take a deposit out on that.

 

[bignateyk]

I lived in a townhouse with 3 other guys for 4 years. Just recently the last guy moved out, and they are trying to charge us $900 on top of the $1400 security deposit to replace the carpets.

Seriously? The carpets needed replaced BEFORE we moved in, let alone after 4 years of general wear and tear.

 

[BoomerD]

http://www.rentlaw.com/normalweartear.htm

http://www.ct.gov/dob/cwp/view.asp?a=2247&q=299050

 

[Phokus]

http://www.rentlaw.com/normalweartear.htm

http://www.ct.gov/dob/cwp/view.asp?a=2247&q=299050

thanks... kinda sucks how they don't describe damage vs. 'wear and tear' for flooring though in your first link.

 

[mmntech]

That sucks. I thought it was bad when our landlord at work accidentally cut our phone line.

 

[BoomerD]

thanks... kinda sucks how they don't describe damage vs. 'wear and tear' for flooring though in your first link.

Nope. It's very vague...intentionally I'm sure.

 

[sjwaste]

I lived in a townhouse with 3 other guys for 4 years. Just recently the last guy moved out, and they are trying to charge us $900 on top of the $1400 security deposit to replace the carpets.

Seriously? The carpets needed replaced BEFORE we moved in, let alone after 4 years of general wear and tear.

What the fuck, are you from Pittsburgh?

 

[rivan]

"Wear and tear" is always highly subjective.

IMO, if the flooring needs to be refinished now, and didn't when you moved in, then it's your deal.

You might try negotiating with him, since he's trying to do two rooms (though sometimes it's almost impossible to refinish joined rooms and not have it look like shit) and the one the damage is in is smaller.

 

[zerocool84]

i got all of it back in my old place. I asked a co-worker who's a landlord and he said he wouldn't take a deposit out on that.

Majority of people don't get it back at all but it's always in your right to fight it.

 

[ShawnD1]

yeah. OP should have grabbed all the copper piping that he could before leaving.

What's even more classy is to rewire all of the electrical outlets so they run current through the ground wire instead of the neutral wire

 

[JD50]

what the fuck, are you from pittsburgh?

lol

 

[Lifted]

Majority of people don't get it back at all but it's always in your right to fight it.

I disagree. I, and everyone I know, has always gotten back a security deposit. May be different in NYC than smaller towns though.

 

[mugs]

I moved out of an apartment a couple months back when we bought our home. The landlord took almost $1k out of our deposit for a 48 square inch worn out part of the wood floor where my computer chair was. We had even put a rug underneath to try to protect the floor. He wants to resand both the computer room (which is actually a dining room) and living room and charge me half. Newsflash, after 2 and a half years of living there, you're going to have some wear and tear on it. The fact that he wants to charge me half of the resanding/refinishing job (especially when the dining room is much smaller than the living room) is beyond batshit crazy.

Guess this is going to small claims court if this doesn't get resolved.

Presumably the rooms both have to be sanded/refinished because they're connected and the floor is continuous, so it's irrelevant that one room is smaller - it's your fault both rooms need to be refinished.

Wear and tear? Newsflash, if you bought hardwood floors and they had significant visible wear after 2 1/2 years you'd be PISSED. Hardwood floors can last 50+ years if you take care of them, and they wouldn't need to be refinished very many times in that time span.

The only information that is really relevant here is whether the damage is significant enough to warrant refinishing the floors. We don't have pictures so we can't judge that. If the damage warrants refinishing the floors I think the landlord is entirely justified in expecting you to pay for half. You caused the damage.

 

[DrPizza]

You didn't give us a lot of information, but:

48 square inch worn out part of the wood floor where my computer chair was. We had even put a rug underneath to try to protect the floor.

I think we need to read between the lines. If the carpet was there in the first place, then the floor would *not* have worn. Since you put the carpet there expressly for the purpose of keeping the floor from wearing, it would seem that you noticed the chair was causing excessive wear to the floor and the situation needed some remediation.

Based on what little you have said, I'm leaning toward siding with the landlord. Hardwood floors should last a lonnnng time between being refinished. Needing to refinish them after 2 1/2 years is not normal. And, having such a wear pattern in a dining room is also not normal wear and tear.

Furthermore, even if we don't "read between the lines" - you've said that the damage to the floor is specific to where your computer chair was. Unless the last 4 or 5 tenants have also had chairs in that same 48 square inch space (And I highly doubt the space is only 48 square inches - that's a 4x12" or 6x8" patch) then having that section worse than the rest of the floor in two rooms goes well beyond normal wear and tear.

 

[Phokus]

You didn't give us a lot of information, but:

I think we need to read between the lines. If the carpet was there in the first place, then the floor would *not* have worn. Since you put the carpet there expressly for the purpose of keeping the floor from wearing, it would seem that you noticed the chair was causing excessive wear to the floor and the situation needed some remediation.

Based on what little you have said, I'm leaning toward siding with the landlord. Hardwood floors should last a lonnnng time between being refinished. Needing to refinish them after 2 1/2 years is not normal. And, having such a wear pattern in a dining room is also not normal wear and tear.

No, we put that the rug there when we moved in.

 

[nick1985]

He's probably a conservative

 

[LumbergTech]

He's probably a conservative

was this really necessary?