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We damaged carpet upstairs, landlord charges us for new wood floors downstairs

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lextex

Junior Member
TEXAS

Just got our move-out bill yesterday from our last apartment and I was shocked to see over $1400 to replace the laminate plank flooring downstairs. I knew that my dog had chewed up the carpet in our bedroom, but the faux wood flooring downstairs was fine.

On top of that, I was charged for carpet for both bedrooms upstairs because "it's all one piece" even though only one room had damage by the door.

When I turned in my key, I asked the management to do a walk-through with me and they refused. That was two and a half weeks ago.

The management here has been very easy to work with in the past (we recently just moved to another one of their properties), and this is a total 180 for them. They're sticking to their 'we destroyed all of the flooring' story. I have photos, but they're claiming "pet smell," so does that really help? (Also, "pet smell" can't apply to our downstairs area as we never let our dogs down there)...

Am I stuck paying this bill?
 


A few questions:

Did they charge you for a brand new carpet, or did they charge you a % of the total cost? Also, do you know approximately how old the carpet was?

Did they give you a reason for replacing the wood floor downstairs? Any specific damage that they mentioned? Or did they just give you a receipt, with no reason for why they replaced it.

As for the carpet, if it was all one piece and there was no seem, then yes, I think they can charge to replace both bedrooms. Otherwise, it would look awkward if they only replaced one bedroom and there was an unsightly seem in between.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
You're not likely to get anyone to believe that your dogs...the ones that tore up the carpet...were never downstairs and that the urine damage wasn't present.
 

tranquility

Senior Member
Some leases have a special provision regarding pet damage that if the harm cannot be repaired, the whole can be demanded to be replaced. Did your's have such a clause. While I could understand how you can't exactly match carpet from different lots, I'd certainly argue that any replacement for more than a room is not reasonable. (Absent a special clause in the lease.) Also, they don't get the full replacement cost of the carpet, but the depreciated value of the carpet. Finally, the flooring issue is way more of a factual one and you have not provided enough facts to even hazard a guess.
 

lextex

Junior Member
You're not likely to get anyone to believe that your dogs...the ones that tore up the carpet...were never downstairs and that the urine damage wasn't present.
My pug has been recovering from a slipped disc for almost a year now. He had to be crate rested in the room and then carried downstairs for walks. He tore up the carpet when he would periodically escape from his crate and try to get out of the room, out of boredom I'd guess.

And on to the other points...

The move-out bill just listed the "plank flooring" and a cost. The carpet said "replace carpet due to hole." I only know that they're claiming "pet smell" for the downstairs flooring because I called them. My lease has a provision for move-out costs and lists "pet smell removal" at "$200 and up." Technically, by their definition, this falls under "and up"... but what rights do I have to deny that such a smell existed?

I haven't talked to a lawyer yet, but my initial thought is to pay the undisputed carpet costs (I'll concede that it was all one piece and all needed to be replaced, even though the other room was fine) and then give them a letter informing them of my dispute of the wood flooring costs. I will ask for documentation of the "damage" and then move on from there. Does that sound reasonable?
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
My pug has been recovering from a slipped disc for almost a year now. He had to be crate rested in the room and then carried downstairs for walks. He tore up the carpet when he would periodically escape from his crate and try to get out of the room, out of boredom I'd guess.

And on to the other points...

The move-out bill just listed the "plank flooring" and a cost. The carpet said "replace carpet due to hole." I only know that they're claiming "pet smell" for the downstairs flooring because I called them. My lease has a provision for move-out costs and lists "pet smell removal" at "$200 and up." Technically, by their definition, this falls under "and up"... but what rights do I have to deny that such a smell existed?

I haven't talked to a lawyer yet, but my initial thought is to pay the undisputed carpet costs (I'll concede that it was all one piece and all needed to be replaced, even though the other room was fine) and then give them a letter informing them of my dispute of the wood flooring costs. I will ask for documentation of the "damage" and then move on from there. Does that sound reasonable?
It sounds reasonable to me. I can tell you with certainty that today's plank flooring would not hold an odor from doggy piddle even if your dog did piddle all over it.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
You're not likely to get anyone to believe that your dogs...the ones that tore up the carpet...were never downstairs and that the urine damage wasn't present.
I guess that two or three times a day walk is kind of interesting. Do dogs fly? Other than that, I'm wondering how the dogs got from upstairs to downstairs to go outside.

or,,,what if they didn't go outside but "went" inside...ewwww!!!.
 

lextex

Junior Member
I guess that two or three times a day walk is kind of interesting. Do dogs fly? Other than that, I'm wondering how the dogs got from upstairs to downstairs to go outside.

or,,,what if they didn't go outside but "went" inside...ewwww!!!.

We had to carry them up and down the stairs. Both dogs were very small (pug and pug/chihuahua mix), so it wasn't too big of a hassle. The older pug's injury was the result of repeated pressure on his neck/back from stairs over the years, so he doesn't get to go up and down stairs anymore and our younger pug is getting the piggy-back treatment from now on just for safety.
 

lextex

Junior Member
I just sent an email to the property manager acknowledging our liability to the carpet, but disputing the charges for the plank flooring downstairs. I asked her for evidence of damage to prove otherwise.

Is that all I can do at this point?

My worry is that she'll just disregard my dispute and simply turn me over to collections. Is that how it works? I mean, if they owed me money, I could take them to small claims court where evidence matters, but since they say I owe them money, are they able to just bypass small claims?
 

tranquility

Senior Member
I can report people to the credit bureau who I think owe me something?

If I'm in an accident and the other side says the damage is my fault and I don't pay them, I can report that?

When there is a contractual obligation to pay a liquidated amount, there are protections for the person reporting to the credit bureau. When there is a legal issue about if a person owes the debt or not and what that debt entails, the person reporting better be provably correct or be subject to defamation for a false statement published to a third party. (In addition to any statutory protections.) Reporting a legitimately disputed debt would be for the sole purpose of hurting the purported debtor--which would fulfill the element of malice to overcome any qualified immunity claimed. This is a landlord/tenant dispute and not some mortgage against a bank or credit card or other huge agency that would have some factual protections against a claim of malice.

See also:
http://www.ehow.com/info_8632177_texas-reporting-debt-credit-bureau.html
 

lextex

Junior Member
Just because they say you owe it does not make it a debt. If they turn it over, sue them for libel.
What do you they need to produce to make this an actual debt?

What stops them from replacing the refirgerator just because they feel like it and then claiming that the old one smelled like death?

How do I defend myself against subjective "damage" claims that can't be documented by photographs? Moreoever, how do I do it after the fact?
 
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