Charging for Tenant Damages

[Wade G.]

How do you charge for some damages?  Specifically, when the lower panel on a double car steel garage door is dented due to closing it down on something.  When something like that happens the door is still good and operational but according to the pictures and pre lease walk through condition forms, that the tenant signed, there were no dents in the door before they leased the house.  Another example would be a steel front door.  I have a house that had a brand new front door when the tenant moved in.  The prelease condition form even states it was a new door and pictures prove there were no dents.  Now there are about 5 little dents that look like someone hit it with a ball peen hammer.  The door is fine otherwise.  Personally I do not consider either of those two situations to be normal wear and tear but how would you charge for diminished value, and can we even charge for diminished value since there would be no actual repair expense paid to a contractor?  In order to get the garage door back to the shape it was in pre lease I would have to get a whole new lower panel and have it installed and paint matched.  Seems overkill but it was their responsibility to maintain it and return the house back to me in the same shape it was in prior to rental (minus normal wear and tear) according to the lease.