Can I use tenant's Security Deposit?

[Anonymous]

Generally it is considered normal to replace rental carpets every 3-4 years as well as paint. It sounds like you haven't replaced the carpet in 9+ years (yikes) -- so you cannot charge your tenants for that.

You can charge for holes, water damage (if they didn't report the problem right away that caused it), countertop issues, etc. If they don't clean the place properly you can hold back the deposit for that.

Make sure you picture the before and after. So when they move out photograph everything and then make sure you use a third party and keep good receipts. It helps if you have a couple of quotes as well. If they take you to arbitration they can argue that you went high end on repairs or didn't actually do the repairs just took the money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is a guide from Montgomery County about Landlord Tenant security deposits and normal wear and tear. It's an easy read and at the end gives the life expectancy of various items in your rental.

http://montgomerycountymd.gov/DHCA/Resources/Files/housing/landlordtenant/ordinary_wear_tear.pdf

suggesting 5 years for carpets and 15 year for countertops

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is a guide from Montgomery County about Landlord Tenant security deposits and normal wear and tear. It's an easy read and at the end gives the life expectancy of various items in your rental.

http://montgomerycountymd.gov/DHCA/Resources/Files/housing/landlordtenant/ordinary_wear_tear.pdf

According to this carpeting has a life expectancy of 5 years

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My tenants are moving out this summer. I went over this weekend for a walk through. Looked like an episode of the Hoarders. The carpet was disgusting, counter tops in kitchen were cracked, huge dent in the wall. Overall, disgusting. None of this has ever been brought to my attention in the 9 years they have been there. Can I use the security deposit for these kinds of repairs, carpet replacement? What warrants "normal wear & tear"? After what I saw, they don't deserve a dime back, & I'm not replacing anything until they leave, other than required maintenance, etc. Just want to know what I can do legally? thanks.

How old are the countertops? If they have been there 9 years and the place is new that is one thing. If the house was already 10 years old and now you have another 9 years added then the countertops are in need of being replaced because they are way too old.

You might not be able to keep anything and it comes out of pocket and should have been taken care of you as the landlord. When we rented we automatically replaced things over time. I would have loved to have a tenant for 9 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why weren't you inspecting annually?

Rookie mistake.

+1

+2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why weren't you inspecting annually?

Rookie mistake.

OP here. Yes, it was a rookie mistake. They were my first & only tenants. And, they paid on time. Had no idea my house was being trashed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why weren't you inspecting annually?

Rookie mistake.

OP here. Yes, it was a rookie mistake. They were my first & only tenants. And, they paid on time. Had no idea my house was being trashed.

OP, if the tenants paid on time and were responsible in every other sense, I think that you should listen to many of the posters here and be realistic about the life spans for some of these items. The carpet has run its normal life cycle to be replaced. Most carpet looks like crap after 9 years! If the countertops were cheap laminate, they could have cracked with "normal" wear and tear due to age. If you can document that the tenants were in fact irresponsible and did not report damage correctly given the terms of their lease, by all means withhold some of the deposit. But when you are a landlord, you also have to accept that situations like these are the cost of doing business.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why weren't you inspecting annually?

Rookie mistake.

OP here. Yes, it was a rookie mistake. They were my first & only tenants. And, they paid on time. Had no idea my house was being trashed.

OP, if the tenants paid on time and were responsible in every other sense, I think that you should listen to many of the posters here and be realistic about the life spans for some of these items. The carpet has run its normal life cycle to be replaced. Most carpet looks like crap after 9 years! If the countertops were cheap laminate, they could have cracked with "normal" wear and tear due to age. If you can document that the tenants were in fact irresponsible and did not report damage correctly given the terms of their lease, by all means withhold some of the deposit. But when you are a landlord, you also have to accept that situations like these are the cost of doing business.

Frankly having the same tenants for 9 years probably saved you a ton of money in vacancies, sprucing things up, etc. so you probably are coming out ahead.

[Anonymous]

Yeah. This does not sound like an awful situation. It doesn't really matter if the carpet is the most disgusting thing you've seen in your life, since you would have had to replace it after they moved out in any event.

I think at the moment you are dealing with the shock and grossness of horders. You're going to have to wait until they move out to assess the damage. If its just very cluttered and the carpets and walls are gross, you were going to have to fix all of that anyway. If there are holes in the wall, etc., you can take the deposit.

Honestly, I'd be more worried about the possibility that this place will be hard to show to future tenants. You may need to budget for a vacant period.

[Anonymous]

Dude, someone else has already said this, but you were so lucky to have on-time payment tenants for 9 years!! You should count yourself lucky and buy some new carpet.

[Anonymous]

Counters last a lifetime unless you are a shit bag idiot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Counters last a lifetime unless you are a shit bag idiot.

What happened to your counters?

[Anonymous]

The moron tenants probably didn't use a cutting board definetely get the entire counter replaced on their dime. Make sure you act shocked with everything so that they are apologetic and offer to pay.

[Anonymous]

OP, you sound ridiculous. You leave your house unattended for 9 years and then complain about the carpets.

You should be thanking your lucky stars for having good tenants who paid on time for 9 years, during which time you did nothing to upgrade the place, rather than bitching and threatening to take their deposit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Counters last a lifetime unless you are a shit bag idiot.

What happened to your counters?

they cracked it in several places. Looks like someone dropped something heavy on the counters in multiple places