How to handle this carpet damage vis-a-vis my landlords?
January 19, 2015 1:07 PM Subscribe
The carpet in my rented apartment has two patches of damage. One was caused by my cat, one might be normal wear and tear though I'm not sure. What are my obligations / rights as a tenant in Berkeley, CA?
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
Exhibit A was caused by my cat in the process of trying to dig a tunnel under the door so that I couldn't shut her out of the bedroom at night. She scratched up several inches of the corner of the carpet all the way down to the wooden floor. I eventually caught on and stopped her from doing this using the cunning plan of not trying to shut her out of the bedroom anymore.
Exhibit B, which is about a foot long, appeared gradually over the course of the past year or two. It's at a seam in the carpet which is pulling apart. My guess is that this is caused by my desk chair: it's right under where I sit when I work, so maybe I roll back and forth over that part of the carpet a lot. At least, that's the only explanation I can think of.
My building has just come under new management, and they're coming around to do an inspection tomorrow. What are my rights and obligations re the carpet?
I'm pretty obviously at fault for Exhibit A. I showed this to my previous landlord a while ago; he groaned audibly, but eventually said that when I moved out he would replace just that strip of the carpet and that I shouldn't worry about it deposit-wise. However, he is now my previous landlord, and I didn't think to get anything in writing, so that's probably irrelevant. Can they make me pay for repairing this, and if so what could I be looking at? (And how do you replace just a strip of a wall-to-wall carpet without it looking patchy, anyway?)
As for Exhibit B, does this come under normal wear and tear? I'd think it's a normal expectation to be able to work at your desk without the carpet coming apart under your chair, no? If so, are they legally obliged to repair it? If so, would they have to replace the entire carpet? If so, does that make Exhibit A moot? (Or could they try to argue that the cat also caused B given that she caused A, although this is definitely not the case, and put me on the hook for both?)
Possibly relevant additional point: my balcony is also in bad shape -- it doesn't drain and the paint is peeling. I'm going to bring this up with the inspector tomorrow. I haven't had any dealings with this property management company before, but their Yelp reviews are abysmal. If they're uncooperative on that point I'll have to call in a city inspector to determine if it's a building code violation, in which case I could ask the same question about the carpet. Looking at the city website it looks like a seam coming apart could be a violation if it's a trip hazard, but I can't tell for sure. I've also heard that landlords in Berkeley have to replace the carpet every 7 years (I'm pretty sure this one's older than that, though I've only been here 4 years), but I can't substantiate that from the city website.
Those are the facts, MeFi. What's my next step?
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
Exhibit A was caused by my cat in the process of trying to dig a tunnel under the door so that I couldn't shut her out of the bedroom at night. She scratched up several inches of the corner of the carpet all the way down to the wooden floor. I eventually caught on and stopped her from doing this using the cunning plan of not trying to shut her out of the bedroom anymore.
Exhibit B, which is about a foot long, appeared gradually over the course of the past year or two. It's at a seam in the carpet which is pulling apart. My guess is that this is caused by my desk chair: it's right under where I sit when I work, so maybe I roll back and forth over that part of the carpet a lot. At least, that's the only explanation I can think of.
My building has just come under new management, and they're coming around to do an inspection tomorrow. What are my rights and obligations re the carpet?
I'm pretty obviously at fault for Exhibit A. I showed this to my previous landlord a while ago; he groaned audibly, but eventually said that when I moved out he would replace just that strip of the carpet and that I shouldn't worry about it deposit-wise. However, he is now my previous landlord, and I didn't think to get anything in writing, so that's probably irrelevant. Can they make me pay for repairing this, and if so what could I be looking at? (And how do you replace just a strip of a wall-to-wall carpet without it looking patchy, anyway?)
As for Exhibit B, does this come under normal wear and tear? I'd think it's a normal expectation to be able to work at your desk without the carpet coming apart under your chair, no? If so, are they legally obliged to repair it? If so, would they have to replace the entire carpet? If so, does that make Exhibit A moot? (Or could they try to argue that the cat also caused B given that she caused A, although this is definitely not the case, and put me on the hook for both?)
Possibly relevant additional point: my balcony is also in bad shape -- it doesn't drain and the paint is peeling. I'm going to bring this up with the inspector tomorrow. I haven't had any dealings with this property management company before, but their Yelp reviews are abysmal. If they're uncooperative on that point I'll have to call in a city inspector to determine if it's a building code violation, in which case I could ask the same question about the carpet. Looking at the city website it looks like a seam coming apart could be a violation if it's a trip hazard, but I can't tell for sure. I've also heard that landlords in Berkeley have to replace the carpet every 7 years (I'm pretty sure this one's older than that, though I've only been here 4 years), but I can't substantiate that from the city website.
Those are the facts, MeFi. What's my next step?
Best answer: Your landlord should have made repairs at the time because these kinds of things get worse with time and wear. This is normal wear and tear for the most part. If they say anything just shrug and say, "I let the landlord know when it started happening a few years ago, but it didn't seem like a big deal so I let it go."
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:23 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:23 PM on January 19, 2015
I'd think it's a normal expectation to be able to work at your desk without the carpet coming apart under your chair, no?
Not really, no. These exist for a reason.
posted by Sys Rq at 1:30 PM on January 19, 2015 [4 favorites]
Not really, no. These exist for a reason.
posted by Sys Rq at 1:30 PM on January 19, 2015 [4 favorites]
I'd check your tenants' rights organization about this. Probably not an uncommon occurrence.
Carpet definitely has a specific life. I don't know the number of years but a tenants' union or something similar would be able to tell you.
posted by radioamy at 1:36 PM on January 19, 2015
Carpet definitely has a specific life. I don't know the number of years but a tenants' union or something similar would be able to tell you.
posted by radioamy at 1:36 PM on January 19, 2015
Agreeing with radioamy. Check your lease and local tenants rights info specific to carpeting and flooring. I know my lease and such specifies how often carpet should be replaced and if a tenant is there for X years or the carpet was replaced in year X then they won't be charged for replacing carpet due to wear and tear, etc.
On preview, yes you should try to get a floor mat for under the chair. (Or you chair might have something snagging on the wheel).
posted by Crystalinne at 1:57 PM on January 19, 2015
On preview, yes you should try to get a floor mat for under the chair. (Or you chair might have something snagging on the wheel).
posted by Crystalinne at 1:57 PM on January 19, 2015
Best answer: Your previous landlord said he'd cover it? Then for the purposes of your security deposit, if asked, I'd start with "it's been that way forever" and move to "I talked to Bill about the possibility of him fixing it one of these days." I wouldn't point it out.
I don't think the purpose of their inspection is to start billing you for damage or anything. Most likely, it's to identify the kind of repairs they need to budget for in the future (e.g., your deck), check for any safety hazards (e.g., dead batteries in smoke detectors), and maybe establish a baseline of photos to bill you for any subsequent damage (unless your previous landlord already did that).
posted by salvia at 1:58 PM on January 19, 2015
I don't think the purpose of their inspection is to start billing you for damage or anything. Most likely, it's to identify the kind of repairs they need to budget for in the future (e.g., your deck), check for any safety hazards (e.g., dead batteries in smoke detectors), and maybe establish a baseline of photos to bill you for any subsequent damage (unless your previous landlord already did that).
posted by salvia at 1:58 PM on January 19, 2015
Response by poster: So a follow-up question -- if this is all normal wear and tear, given that I've been here four years and will be staying at least another year and possibly indefinitely, how can I get them to repair it (if they're reluctant to do so, which I assume they will be)?
posted by zeri at 2:41 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by zeri at 2:41 PM on January 19, 2015
In my experience terrible property management reviews mean that the managers are lazy and disorganised, and that they are unlikely to get around to organising proper repairs. They don't (necessarily) mean they are hard-assed about things like damage. So you can probably expect to have a pleasant conversation with them tomorrow, but not have them do anything to repair your carpet if they can get away with it.
Unfortunately, while carpet is expected to undergo wear and tear over the years, I don't think a full replacement of it is expected by landlords within four years, so if there's two patches that need fixing, they are going to have to do a full replacement, and I expect they are going to want to wait until after you move out to do so. So you might have to decide to live with it for another year or two, or to pay for it yourself. I imagine their logic would be something like, "We budget for carpet to have a lifespan of seven years, so it's okay that it doesn't look new anymore after four years, but we will replace it after seven. If it really needs replacing after four, then that isn't normal wear and tear, therefore the tenant is responsible."
I am not a landlord, but I have rented in many different countries over many years, and I have also looked into landlord requirements and expectations a lot, both in the course of trying to get my landlords to fulfil their requirements, and also because I was planning on renting out my house once upon a time when I did own one.
posted by lollusc at 5:48 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
Unfortunately, while carpet is expected to undergo wear and tear over the years, I don't think a full replacement of it is expected by landlords within four years, so if there's two patches that need fixing, they are going to have to do a full replacement, and I expect they are going to want to wait until after you move out to do so. So you might have to decide to live with it for another year or two, or to pay for it yourself. I imagine their logic would be something like, "We budget for carpet to have a lifespan of seven years, so it's okay that it doesn't look new anymore after four years, but we will replace it after seven. If it really needs replacing after four, then that isn't normal wear and tear, therefore the tenant is responsible."
I am not a landlord, but I have rented in many different countries over many years, and I have also looked into landlord requirements and expectations a lot, both in the course of trying to get my landlords to fulfil their requirements, and also because I was planning on renting out my house once upon a time when I did own one.
posted by lollusc at 5:48 PM on January 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
You want to contextualize it both as something the previous landlord had agreed to work on, and as a natural repair that the landlord is supposed to provide for you. It's also very highly in your favor to bring it up way in advance of moving out. I'd send a note via email right away, like
"Hi property manager, I wanted to write about some carpet repairs Bill said I could get done. There's a strip that needs replacing near my bedroom door (marked as Pic A) and now there is a hole in the livingroom too. Is there a time in the next week or two when I could get this stuff worked on? Thanks, $yourname"
posted by feets at 11:07 PM on January 19, 2015
"Hi property manager, I wanted to write about some carpet repairs Bill said I could get done. There's a strip that needs replacing near my bedroom door (marked as Pic A) and now there is a hole in the livingroom too. Is there a time in the next week or two when I could get this stuff worked on? Thanks, $yourname"
posted by feets at 11:07 PM on January 19, 2015
Oh right -- and the reason you do it over email is so that if they don't fix it, and then they bother you about it when you move out, you point to the emails as context.
posted by feets at 11:08 PM on January 19, 2015
posted by feets at 11:08 PM on January 19, 2015
I don't think you're going to be able to get them to fix it. You could certainly ask. I'm pretty sure this isn't the kind of thing you can deduct rent for.
posted by salvia at 8:11 PM on January 20, 2015
posted by salvia at 8:11 PM on January 20, 2015
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If you'd like to limit future damage purchase one of those super cheap $10 plastic chair mats that your chair can roll around on.
posted by arnicae at 1:21 PM on January 19, 2015 [3 favorites]