Deposit Refund

[Kevin Galus]

So I have a tenant that just moved out and their dog ate a hole in the dining room carpet.  The dining room and the family room are basically one large room.  Therefore, I could not replace the dining room carpet only and had to replace both rooms.  The total cost to replace the carpet was $700.  Would you charge them the full amount or a prorated amount for just the damaged room. (They lived with me for 3 years and were GREAT tenants, other than the hole in the carpet) Thoughts?

[Jon Moore]

Most "attachments" are depreciable over five or six year. I can't remember which. Since you have to replace it two years early you could charge them the difference. Two fifths of $700 is $280 (700x0.4=280). That's not unreasonable especially if they were good tenants.