Question about long term tenant moving out

[njguy215]

What is the name of your state? New Jersey

Hello,

I will be moving out of a house I have rented since 2008 at the end of the year. I've kept the property in as best condition as I can. Nothing was really new when I got there, and now it's 10 years older.

I understand about normal wear and tear, and I plan to have the place professionally cleaned when I leave. That being said, as a long term tenant do I have more leeway things like carpet and paint? The carpet is generally in good condition but it's old beige carpet...definitely faded, and it has one small area that's 'scratched' from a door rubbing over it over the years (literally about a square inch). As for the paint and walls, it's a base white paint job with some nail holes in it.

I just want to know what to expect from moving out and how things aging impacts.

What about blinds also? Moving in some windows had cheap walmart blinds...I've replaced a couple of times with similar blinds and some have a few rips now...do I have to replace again, or is 10 years past long enough to not worry about that?


I also wanted to add that while I feel I was a good tenant and went above and beyond, the landlord was slow to fix anything that weren't "major." For example when the fridge broke he fixed that, but he never did anything for things I emailed about such as mold issues and a leak from the bathroom to the basement. Also, In 10 years of living there I never received any interest on my security deposit...I believe that's state law in NJ to receive that annually. From my end I never ruffled any feathers about it, and honestly if all goes smooth at walkthrough in November then I'll be fine just to leave. I just want to have an understanding of my leverage should any issues arise.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

The law doesn't really give you anymore leeway but a reasonable judge likely would.

I stongly suggest you do a walk through with the landlord before you leave. Also, take plenty of pictures as you leave.

 

[FarmerJ]

Carpet, you have lived there for 10 years , When it comes to depreciation and the value of the carpet and it was me I would argue the carpet has zero useful life left to it if the LL tried to charge me ANYTHING for it. take pics of how it looks after its done and empty ( speaking of which last time I moved we rented a self storage and took every thing we could to it ahead of time so when we did actually move it took two extended van loads ( 2 trips in one day ) to move in with enough stuff to get by then we began making trips daily to the self storage to get more of our stuff till it was empty) Paint and walls , fill the nail holes , Unless the landlord painted with in the last year the paint job has no useful life left to it if its two or more years old and LL cannot fairly charge you to re paint, If you smoked in the place the LL can charge you for cleaning and primers to seal out the smoke smell out. Blinds if they are vinyl venetian blinds I doubt your LL is going to know the difference between the ones you bought and the ones the place came with BUT at ten years old I doubt they have any real value left to them if the LL tried to charge you for them. As far as the mold you might want to put it on paper sent via certificate of mailing or certified mail & keep a copy of it for your records , take pics of it and in the letter mention the last time you told them about it. In the end here if you document things like final exit pics and the LL is not fair your free to choose to sue in small claims court and let him / her look foolish in court.

 

[adjusterjack]

In 10 years of living there I never received any interest on my security deposit...I believe that's state law in NJ to receive that annually.

Yes, it's the law:

https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/2017/title-46/section-46-8-19/

He owes you the refund plus 7% per annum interest.

Note the notice requirements in there.

When it comes to depreciation and the value of the carpet and it was me I would argue the carpet has zero useful life left to it if the LL tried to charge me ANYTHING for it.

Sorry, but you would lose that argument. Anything that is still usable has some residual value. We, in the insurance business, know that and never depreciate anything down to zero when it comes to a damage claim. I doubt if any judge would allow that in a security deposit dispute.

fill the nail holes

Agree.

White spackle blends very nicely with a white wall if you don't get messy with it.

For different colored walls, there is a myriad of colored caulk that can be used in the holes to match the surrounding wall color.

I agree with FarmerJ's comments about taking move-out photos and precautions.

 

[HRZ]

And read the NJ law as to who must notice whom when for security deposit , generally IF the LL provided you proper notices 10 years ago you must promptly , within 4 days of moving out give the LL a new valid address...do it in writing !