Can landlord charge for carpet?

By Cambria

My husband and I recently moved out of an aparment in Colorado Springs and when he returned the keys they never did a walk through with him afterwards. We recieved the bill about two weeks later and it is for 840 minus our 125 dollar deposit. Total it is about 720 that they claim we owe them. The main charge they put down was for replacing the carpet in the whole apartment. The carpet was not, by any means, ruined in the whole aparment. We had professional cleaners come in and clean before we moved out. There was a spot in the bedroom that is about 5 inches in diameter that was chewed due to a puppy we tried for a week and decided not to keep. When I went in to inquire further on the charges, she said they charged us for replacing all the carpet because it was replaced a week before we moved in and they cannot repair or replace carpet in just one room. So, we were charged with replacing all the carpet in the aparment. Is this appropriate?

Edited on: Thursday, October 11th, 2012 7:36 am

3 Responses to “Can landlord charge for carpet?”

My response: (We welcome stories, examples, explanations, answers and a touch of your personality)
 

Richard

September 26th, 2008 6:17 am

Oh yes, the famous renting question: Should I be charged for carpet replacement?! This is a real gray area, and it’s not exactly clear. You admit that there was an area of carpet that was ruined, so yes, you are responsible for the cost of that replacement. The rent question however as to whether you should be responsible for the entire area is debatable.
First of all, there are things the landlord can try before replacing the entire carpet. If they have some scraps left over they can try to have a carpert installer patch in a new peice. This would be a lot cheaper and reasonable. However, patching carpet can be tricky and not always a valid option.
Next if the patch doesn’t work, they could charge you for replacing that room. They should not be able to charge you for the entire area.
If you can’t negotiate with your landlord, I would suggest getting the RPA involved. It may be time to file a complaint.
Good Luck!!


anonymous

September 30th, 2008 2:21 pm

i dont think they should be able to charge for all of it. you should get your landlord to agree to a part of the charges. that dum landlord! its stupid how they take advantage of us renters.


Cambria Murten

October 3rd, 2008 12:13 pm

I agree, I filed with RPA, so I hope it will be resolved soon. From the paper work I have received from the old aparments, they said they cannot replace it due to wear patterns, but the carpet looked brand new after being professionally cleaned, why wouldn’t it cuz it was only a year old. If anything, I am willing to pay for the room being replaced, but certainly not the whole apartment!


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