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My brother and I are renting out our parents' house. The last (our second)
tenants had 3 small children and left the walls and carpets filthy after
just one year. There is a clause in the lease that says house should be left
in the same condition it was found other than normal wear and tear. The
house had been cleaned through before they moved in and carpets were
cleaned. Can we take cost of cleaning out of the deposit? Also, drapery rods
and drapes were damaged. The rods and drapes were older, so can we ask for
replacement cost or only part of cost? We want to be fair, but on a one year
lease we won't make anything if we have to bear all the expenses ourselves.
The house is not rentable the way it is now (to the type of tentants we hope
to attract).
Thank you for any help you can give me.
Helene
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On Tue, 05 Oct 2004 10:48:24 GMT, "Helene" <helenejg@frontiernet.net>
wrote:
My brother and I are renting out our parents' house. The last (our second)
tenants had 3 small children and left the walls and carpets filthy after
just one year. There is a clause in the lease that says house should be left
in the same condition it was found other than normal wear and tear. The
house had been cleaned through before they moved in and carpets were
cleaned. Can we take cost of cleaning out of the deposit?
Yes. S.O.P.
Joel
Also, drapery rods
and drapes were damaged. The rods and drapes were older, so can we ask for
replacement cost or only part of cost? We want to be fair, but on a one year
lease we won't make anything if we have to bear all the expenses ourselves.
The house is not rentable the way it is now (to the type of tentants we hope
to attract).
Thank you for any help you can give me.
Helene
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Thank you Joel, that's what I'm hoping.
Helene
On Tue, 05 Oct 2004 10:48:24 GMT, "Helene" <helenejg@frontiernet.net>
wrote:
Yes. S.O.P.
Joel
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You take legal advice from a dentist? This guy's a wacko who uses a
Philadelphia dentist's name and plays "dentist" on sci.med.dentistry. haha
Thank you Joel, that's what I'm hoping.
Helene
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"Helene" <helenejg@frontiernet.net> wrote in message news:<YZu8d.8462$X%.2614@news02.roc.ny>...
My brother and I are renting out our parents' house. The last (our second)
tenants had 3 small children and left the walls and carpets filthy after
just one year. There is a clause in the lease that says house should be left
in the same condition it was found other than normal wear and tear. The
house had been cleaned through before they moved in and carpets were
cleaned. Can we take cost of cleaning out of the deposit? Also, drapery rods
and drapes were damaged. The rods and drapes were older, so can we ask for
replacement cost or only part of cost? We want to be fair, but on a one year
lease we won't make anything if we have to bear all the expenses ourselves.
The house is not rentable the way it is now (to the type of tentants we hope
to attract).
Thank you for any help you can give me.
Helene
You don't give a location. What you can, can't, must, and must not do
with a deposit is very state-specific. I'm going to guess Rochester,
New York, based on your headers.
New York is pretty typical: you can deduct "reasonable cost of repairs
beyond normal wear and tear". The problem with this is that
"reasonable cost" and "normal wear and tear" are vague enough to allow
extremely nasty disagreements to arise.
New York requires you to pay back (and account for amounts you don't
pay back) your tenant's deposit within a "reasonable time", with
interest, less an administrative fee of 1% per year. (This was when
the market rate of interest on bank deposits was well over 1%; I don't
know if it's limited in the present environment.)
On the one extreme, the cleaning you would normally expect to do
between tenants is well within "normal wear and tear". I would not
charge for cleaning unless the cleaners you hire charge you extra due
to the condition of the place. On the other extreme, curtain rods that
have been pulled down are not anything like "normal wear and tear".
Carpet that's worn down or even worn through from foot traffic is
"normal wear and tear"; tears, stains that don't come out with normal
cleaning, and burns aren't.
Any kind of damage from smoking or pets is not "normal wear and tear".
Paint has to be redone every few years anyway. If the paint was new
when they moved in and now has to be redone, it might not be "normal
wear and tear". If it has to be redone because it's old, that's
"normal wear and tear". If it has to be redone because the kids drew
on the walls with Sharpies, that's not.
Drapes fade and have to be replaced from time to time anyway. If the
drapes were old enough that you were likely to need to replace them
for the next tenant anyway, that's "normal wear and tear". But you
shouldn't have to eat the cost of replacing damaged drapery hardware.
Curtain rods that are bent or broken because the kids were playing
Tarzan Of The Drapes are clearly not "normal wear and tear".
"Reasonable cost" is another disputable term. There are three
components I'd look at: First, if it's a cost charged by a
competitively priced professional cleaning or home repair service, or
if it's the cost of replacing like with like, I'd consider it
reasonable. Second, if it's a cost I would have had to bear anyway,
it's not something to charge the tenant for. Third, if it's a cost to
replace something (such as the drapes) that's near the end of its
life, it should be discounted.
--
Not a lawyer,
Chris Green
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Just take all sorts of pictures of the damage that was caused. You should
be able to deduct for cost of repair.
As to the damage to the rods & draperys - I assume that was done by the
tenants? If so, you should be able to get replacement cost for them
(deducted from the deposit). Something of similar condition, obviously
can't get the most expensive drapes & rods and charge them for it. ;)
My brother and I are renting out our parents' house. The last (our second)
tenants had 3 small children and left the walls and carpets filthy after
just one year. There is a clause in the lease that says house should be
left
in the same condition it was found other than normal wear and tear. The
house had been cleaned through before they moved in and carpets were
cleaned. Can we take cost of cleaning out of the deposit? Also, drapery
rods
and drapes were damaged. The rods and drapes were older, so can we ask for
replacement cost or only part of cost? We want to be fair, but on a one
year
lease we won't make anything if we have to bear all the expenses
ourselves.
The house is not rentable the way it is now (to the type of tentants we
hope
to attract).
Thank you for any help you can give me.
Helene
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