Apartment and Rental Properties - ordinary wear and tear?

Hello all,
This might be like opening a can of worms and is a very broad question right now but what is generally considered ordinary wear and tear on a rental property?

"Normal" wear and tear would be insignificant damage or something or minimal. For instance, small scratches on the walls or paint, little nail holes here and there, worn or slightly stained carpeting, etc.

You'd have to check with your state law on the definition of "wear and tear".

These might help:

http://www.rentlaw.com/normalweartear.htm

http://floridarei.com/tenant_law04.php

Might be easier to discuss specifically what has happened.

Nothing has happened and I don't think it will, I just want to be prepared (I'm too much of a realist). Our last house we got our entire security deposit back, I clean house every day and sweep/vacuum the floors every other day if not every day, just to say what type family we are. I was taught to return things in better condition than what you borrowed them. We are the first tennants in this new construction. Beautiful house but I'm worried about the paint and floors. The paint the contractors used I don't think is paint at all, it looks more like a coat of white primer or two. I've seen flat paint that was glossier than this. Some corners have a dark line where I'm guessing the corner bead is. The few handprints and what not that have shown up on these walls but came right off with a magic eraser but if you know where to look and the lighting is right you can faintly see where it was cleaned. As far as the vinyl floor in the kitchen, two dishes or glasses or something have been dropped causing a dent no larger than a dime each and there are a couple scuff marks that I think will buff out when the house is professionally cleaned. My other concern is the driveway. There are some rust stains on the concrete but looking up and down the street, there are rust stains of equal size on everyone's driveway.
I would consider everything I just described actually less than normal wear and tear but didin't know if there was any standard or what the geneal opinion is. I have no problem paying for the carpets to be professionally cleaned and a cleaning company to clean the house when our items are gone as these are in my lease and I consider them fair. I also don't have a problem paying a small amount to fill the few nail holes. I guess I'm just getting overworried since this was a new house when we moved in and can't return it in 'new' condition.

Sounds like you have an "amateur" landlord using cheapo paint like that! That said make sure that you insist on a move out inspection, and insist on getting, at that time, a copy of the inspection report.

I'm guessing that you had a move in inspection, and have the copy of that report.

You might also want to make a list of these conditions and mail a copy to the landlord now.

frank

If you are in CA we have what is called PMI=pre move out inspection. That must be offered to you and done 2 weeks prior to your move out. It's purpose is to allow the LL/Manager
to discuss with you what is needed to get your security deposit back to you in full.

If you are not in CA or a state that does this. You cannot DEMAND a move out inspection. Of course this varies greatly
from state to state. Your best way to protect yourself is to picture document with a newspaper in the photos from the date those pictures were taken.

Sounds like you maybe worrying for nothing. Try to relax and enjoy the change in your life. New digs can be fun!

.

Thanks everyone. We're not in CA but there is a final inspection list in our lease. I was kinda worried they were gonna try and stick us with a new paint job because of the contractors poor choice of paint but yea, I think I'm worrying too much. That is why I started as a general question of 'ordinary' wear and tear from other's opinions. This ain't my first rodeo, we got the move in inspection and the copy and had pictures of move in condition but the hard drive crashed......but that's another thread :wall: . I'm not one to leave a thread hanging so after the move next month and when I get to the internet I'll let everyone know how it went. Relax during a move....what? :D

Most courts, if it goes that far. Give paint a 2 year life.
Carpet is 5 to 7 years depending. That said I don't think you
will be charged for the paint. You have been there a year?
The paint was already not in good shape on move in.

No worries. Think of it as an adventure!
I know shut that poly anna pie hole. LOL...

Are you leasing through the owner or is there an agency involved? A couple houses ago we were renting through an agency. The homeowners daughter had been living there and the place was a WRECK, even though the home was new - the day we moved in there was a track of mud from the door to the bedroom and back. Filthy. THEY cleaned it but never got all the mud out. The whole yard and driveway was dirt, plus it was an El Nino year, so mud was hard to keep out. We took extra precautions by putting down entry rugs and not wearing shoes in the house. When we moved out (not a good situation) they tried to stick us with the dirty rug. The rental agency (who was on our side because they saw what jerks the homeowners were) was able to sort out what was normal wear and tear and what was original, thanks to their documentation of our original complaints. Just a story to say you need to be sure you have everything documented OR you have a customer advocate helping out.

dang logcabin, that is a heck of a story there. We are renting through an agency and the homeowner is a realtor (different agency I think) and owns several houses so this is just an investment property I guess. My worry was that since this was a brand spanking new house every little speck might be considered 'beyond normal wear and tear'. I feel better now, thanks.

Josh, we haven't even been here a year. This is a beautiful house and I like it here but after being here 9 months the military is sending us to Hawaii.

Oh no Hawaii! ;-)

The homeowner was a real nut case. We mistakenly broke our lease agreement by getting a new pet. When we realized our mistake we offered to move out or pay a higher pet deposit. The homeowner would call us at all hours of the day and night saying "I am wondering if I should evict you and charge the full damage deposit. What would you do? You know you will never find another place to live. If you want to buy the house I will sell it to you right now." Ironically we did find another place to live where all our kids were welcome without ANY pet deposit and an open ended lease. Hehehe.

Ordinary wear and tear just depends on each property owner. Many property owners have a detailed list of how the property should look when the tenant's lease is up. Usually the length of the lease is a determining factor for carpets, minor dings and dents, and paint.

I would say that for a year long lease, the carpet should appear stainless after a professional cleaning, and the walls should have little if any work needed. Most appliances have an estimated lifespan and unless your appliances are exceptionally old, they too should be in perfect working order when the tenant leaves.

Often the work needed to fix minor blemishes is at a fraction of the cost that property owners may retain, of a tenant’s deposit, to compensate for damages.

Aloha everyone,
I said I try and never leave a thread hanging so here is the update. I looks like after the professional carpet cleaning the realtor found three 'spots' maybe 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch but since we had the reciept for the cleaning and they recommended the carpet cleaners they weren't going to dock us for it. I don't remember seeing any spots but oh well. We also hired a housekeeping service for the move out cleaning. We spoke by phone to the realtors this week and it looks like the only thing they are going to withhold is the money it takes to replace the drip pans for the range, around $50 (that is in our lease to replace but I couldn't find them in time). I will say I am glad we stayed an extra day to do the move out walkthrough with the realtor. Thanks everyone!