Need new carpet and paint. Will landlord pay?

[Account Closed]

Hello!
My family and I have been renting the same townhouse for 3.5 years. We are great tenants and have a good relationship with our landlord. Anyway, the townhouses were brand new when we moved in so the house has been settling causing paint cracks in the corners of several walls and it has caused the baseboard woodwork to separate and crack in several places. The carpet in the living room is nasty. It's very worn out and dirty and I can't afford to have it cleaned constantly. I also have a 4 yr old who was diagnosed with Reactive Airways Disease and it isn't healthy for him to be around carpet period nevermind a dirty one. Of course the living room is his playroom and the room we spend the most time as a family. Do we have the right to ask for a new carpet or HW floors in that room only and fresh paint? The reason why I'm even mentioning HW floors is because they just put them in next door when the tenants moved out and saw how terrible the carpets were. We have HW everywhere else downstairs except the most used room in the house! We haven't asked for any repairs or favors aside from a recent decrease in rent for a few months when my fiance was laid off. What are our rights? I heard after living somewhere for a 3 or 4 years they have to take care of carpets and paint but I don't know if that is true. Any advice would be great.

[Eddie Ziv]

As stated in the previous posts, the landlord doesn't HAVE to replace carpet or repaint. As Jon said, you used a carpet that was brand new when you got in, so you are actually responsible for the shape it is in right now. However...

If you didn't ask for rent reduction, you would have had a case of just good business. Meaning, you are a long term tenant, always paid on time and always paid the full amount. For us landlords, you are golden. We love long term tenants who pay on time and don't make a mess of our properties. If you were my tenant under those circumstances, I would have made the effort and do those things you asked for.

In your case however, since you asked and I assume received reduction in rent, you are actually causing the landlord a loss. So in this case I don't think I would follow through,

I would follow Jon's advise with regard to changing the carpet but take it a step further. Since the landlord have a carpet contractor whom he /she work with and giving him a special price, you may be able to benefit from it by getting a special price. Also, you can put in a cheaper carpet, or skip on the padding (With the landlord permission of course) you can also try to negotiate the landlord's participation in the costs in exchange for a extending the lease for a longer period of time.