Landlord is charging me entire cost of replacing carpet in my apartment. Should I seek a lawyer?

Small claims court.

Try to get fees waived or reduced.

Check your state laws. In CA they can't charge for Capet after 5 years and it's prorated. But every state is different.

you would want a lawyer versed in landlord-tenant law. And it could be expensive, but you could also possibly find a lawyer willing to work with you for an hour here or there (for probably a couple hundred dollars) to coach you with the proper law to deal with the issue yourself.

NoLo has a decent "find a lawyer" service where you just look up the type of law you need and the the state you are in and it will give you a list. They also publish "do it yourself" books to reduce the need for lawyers, that show you how to find and do what you need for your situation.

$950? And you maybe only want to pay half? Do you honestly think you can fight that with a lawyer and pay that lawyer less than for $475 so you'd save money? That's just stupid. $950 is nothing, If there is a lawyer out there interested in a $950 dispute, that lawyer must be terrible at what they do.

If you are a student, your campus may have free legal services to help with this kind of thing.

Sue the provider of the coffee for product liability - should be worth $millions, especially if McD or SBUX.

This is cut and dry.

You'll never take this thing for court for less than $500 let alone the extra time and effort.

I would just cite the "pro-rated life of the carpet" payment and say you'll pay no more than $500 or he can see you in court. It's a bluff but he'll probably accept. If not just pay the $975. Don't actually go to court or you'll end up paying twice that plus waste weeks of your life.

Landlord likely has his security deposit. So tenant will need to sue to get it back.

Take pictures, video, etc. More evidence the better.

Look up local and state laws. Knowledge is power.

Try to make a deal.

Does he have money of yours currently?

If No, negotiate with him. If that fails, tell him to pound sand or take $X that you feel is acceptable .

If yes, he's holding the cards and you'd possibly have to go to small claims to recoup. Or at least have a lawyer send him a "friendly letter" implying such.

Don't pay him sh^t.

You damaged the carpet, right? Unless it's carpet tile, he can't just cut out and replace the portion you damaged. Had you not damaged it, he'd have no need to replace it when renting to the next occupant.

I get that you don't want to pay money, but why should he have to pay for what you caused?

No one should damage a carpet in three years. Take him to court and the judge will tell you the same thing when (s)he rules in the landlords favor. How the heck did you destroy it anyway?

Try work it out with the landlord, first, and say you'll go to small claims if you can't.

If he keeps your full deposit, anyway, go to small claims court. It's cheap and sort of fun, even if you lose. A while ago I won $1400 in an accident claim that way and it cost only $35 to file.

I would send him a letter, with return receipt, stating you don't agree to lay for replacement of the carpet, as it is a normal wear and tear item that the owner is responsible for. Your letter will automatically rescind any prior unaccepted offer you had made previously. Then if he doesn't return your full deposit, take him to small claims court and you'll win. Also he needs to return your full deposit or give you an accounting of anything not returned, within 45 days of you vacating the property. Take him to small claims court if this is not done, and if he retains any part of the deposit that you don't agree to. The carpet is a wear and tear item that the owner is responsible for, not the tenant.

The Donger wrote:

Check your state laws. In CA they can't charge for Capet after 5 years and it's prorated. But every state is different.

... OP:

coffee spiller wrote:

Most of what I have read online states that a tenant is only responsible for paying a prorated amount based on the expected useful life of the carpet and its age at the time the tenant moved out; however I cannot find laws specific to my state or jurisdiction.

What state?

Let the collective help you.

Play devils advocate wrote:

You damaged the carpet, right? Unless it's carpet tile, he can't just cut out and replace the portion you damaged. Had you not damaged it, he'd have no need to replace it when renting to the next occupant.

I get that you don't want to pay money, but why should he have to pay for what you caused?

If you are the at-fault driver in an accident, are you responsible for the cost of buying the victim a brand new vehicle, or just the depreciated cost of the totaled one based on its age and mileage? It's not a hard concept to grasp.

Here is the letter I'm sending:

June 13, 2016

Dear Landlord,

I am writing to dispute the charge of $991.40 for replacing the carpet in unit 101. After consulting with multiple local attorneys specializing in landlord-tenant law, I am reasonably assured that I should only be responsible for paying a prorated amount for the percentage of the carpet’s expected useful life that remained when I moved out. Please see the attached email exchange between attorney Scott Kalkwarf and I (“ScottKemail.png”).

RCW 59.18.280 provides in part that "No portion of any deposit shall be withheld on account of wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises." By charging me the full replacement cost of the carpet, you are essentially charging me for years of ordinary wear. While I accept responsibility for staining the carpet, the overall pattern of damage included splitting at a seam and fraying at the intersection with the tile, which I suspect is consistent with normal wear and indicative of advanced age. 1UP Floors, the company who installed the replacement carpet as per the quote you sent, advised me that the new carpet is expected to “look good” for 5-7 years (see “1upEmail.png” attached). Assuming the original carpet was of comparable quality, and knowing that it was not new when I moved in (one of the pre-existing flaws noted when my tenancy commenced was a large, faint stain in the corner of the main living area), it must have been more than halfway through its expected “good looking” life by the time I moved out three years later.

If you can provide documentation of the installation date and expected useful life of the original carpet, I will immediately pay the appropriately prorated cost of replacing it. If you can’t find its expected useful life, I will accept an assumption of 7 years, consistent with the high end of the expected life of the new carpet, as the basis for proration. If you aren’t agreeable to this, I will have to dispute the charge and any collection attempt in small claims court. I repudiate the payment agreement you sent via email on 6/13.

Please take the time to research this and reply within one week to indicate whether you are agreeable to charging me a prorated amount.

I am sorry my tenancy ended on this note.

Coffee Spiller

If you disagree with the amount, have the matter settled in small claims court. Small claims court is cheap and fast. No lawyers are allowed. The amount of your claim is within a suitable range for small claims court.

In Colorado Landlords have to replace carpet every few years free of charge. They charge YOU because they know you are gonna pay for it and it then makes it free for THEM to replace the carpet and charge the next tenant

MORE for having new shit.