At what point is tenant not responsible for paint and carpet condition

[Robert Steele]

I had a tenant move out after 5 years and the carpets are absolutely trashed. They were brand new when they moved in. I know the IRS assumes carpets are only good for 5 years so I am thinking I should not deduct this from their security deposit as they are already beyond their useful life. On the other hand when I moved into my primary residence the carpets were not new and they still were not trashed 10 years later ...

Similarly they have put lots of marks on the walls and doors. The worse part is they tried to cover them up with mismatched paint. In fact it looks like they tried to partially paint some walls. Close color match but looks bad to the eye. All the walls and doors were freshly painted when they moved in. Again I have read that paint should only last 2 years and anything beyond that you cannot deduct from the security deposit. On the other hand I lived in my house for 10 years and the walls did not need repainting ...

I would appreciate hearing from fellow landlords that have had experience with these kinds of situations.

[Loc R.]

I personally would chalk it up to the cost of doing business. After 5 years, I would have planned to replace the carpet anyways. This might be an opportunity for you to look at going with something that lasts longer.

As to the paint, I always plan on spending some time/money on touch-up. For the next tenant, I would take pictures during the (before move-in) walk-through, so that you can reference them when you're doing the (move-out) walk-through.