Tenants moved out with minor damages

[Jav Caprietta]

I just had tenants move out after a one year lease. For the most part the house is in good condition but there are a few areas that were damaged. Two sliding closet doors are missing, there are holes in the wall that were not appropriately patched and most importantly there are areas on the wooden floor that is damaged. One area is obviously from a fish tank which the lease did not prohibit and the other is a pain or chemical stain which definitely won't come off. How should I appropriately charge for the floor? If I am unable the get the replacement pieces I need is it reasonable to hold the entire deposit?

[Marie R.]

Hi Jav,

It can get a bit tricky when you're trying to find out what the appropriate amount would be to charge for these damages that are obvious neglect on the renter's behalf. Sometimes, certain companies can buff and re-finish the floor which will look as good as new. Depending on the extent of the damage, if the flooring needs to be replaced then you would have to pro-rate the charges by using the following method:

Original price of the flooring + life expectancy of the floor.  Say the flooring cost $2,500 and it was installed a year before the tenant moved in. Let's say the tenant lived at the unit for a year.

Price of flooring $2,500

Expected life: 10 yrs

$2,500 divided by 10 yrs = $250 per year 

In this scenario, the flooring has 8 yrs of life left so you can charge the tenant $2,000 for the damage. Unfortunately, you can't charge the tenant the full amount because it wouldn't hold in a court. Keep in mind, whenever major improvements are done to a rental, it is wise to keep receipts just in case issues like these happen. If you don't have receipts, then I would suggest obtaining a bid on the flooring replacement and then pro-rating the cost of it by the number of yrs the tenant lived at the property. That way it would be the most "fair" to both parties and the renter won't feel like they are getting ripped off by having them pay in full for new flooring when the flooring wasn't new to begin with. 

For the other items, you can definitely charge them in full for the missing doors, and the holes in the wall just remember to include receipts of the charges for damages when you send the itemized security deposit statement back to the renter. Good luck and hope this helps :)