Hawaii Landlord using $4000 deposit to fund carpet remodel

[Marc Estepa]

Aloha.  I have a situation in Hawaii I am looking for guidance with.  My family had rented a 3000 square foot home from 2016-2020 with two large mastiffs.

Bottom line up front:  The owner is hinting at replacing his entire carpet using our $4000 deposit due to a dog smell.

Here are the facts:

1.  Carpets are original to the 2008 home.  The home has been rented with dogs in the past, but not for a period of 4 years with 2 XL sized dogs.

2.  During the initial walkthru, we took pictures and annotated every deficiency throughout the home.  

3.  Throughout our rental period we kept regular communication with the owners noting injuries from numerous nail pops, dislodged staples, ripped carpet seams and fraying carpet.  Their response was to cut the frays and snags that we came across.  Throughout the rental period, owner reminded us that he needed the dog smell out of the home when we left.

4.  Carpet was cleaned once a year using rented professional equipment and hired professional cleaners for a total of 4 times. 

5.  In preparation for our move out inspection on 1 Sept, we initially cleaned our home, hired professional cleaners on 28 Aug 2020, a professional carpet cleaner on the 29th and then dried the carpet In preparation for the inspection.

6.  On the day of the carpet cleaning, the carpet cleaner noted how he was impressed with the cleanliness of the carpet prior to his arrival and vacuumed again prior to his deep carpet shampoo cleaning. He noted that there is a 100% satisfaction guarantee if we are not happy with the work

7.  During the final walkthru on 1 Sept 2020, the owners were unable to attend the inspection and sent the neighbor’s sister to conduct it while they remained on the phone.  She noted a mildewy smell in the home.  We stated that the carpets were professionally cleaned 3 days prior, and we left the windows open and fans running that day before vacating the house over the weekend.  We stated that we returned to the house over the weekend to open the windows and dry the carpet, which probably led to the smell.  I stated we had no issue with bringing the carpet cleaner out again if needed.  We presented the inspector with all the pictures of our initial walkthru (she didn’t have the initial inspection sheet), and noted the condition of the carpet with her citing the previous conversations we had with the owners regarding it.  We also pointed out the various nail pops and injuries sustained from the fraying carpet and loose staples.  Following the inspection, the owners were satisfied and told us they would be sending us our deposit back as soon as we had a forwarding address we could provide. 

8.  On 2 and 3 Sept, owners stated that they wanted the smell out of the home.  He stated that his wife has pet allergies and needed clean carpets, or he would have no choice but to replace the carpets.  We asked to clarify which areas, to which he wanted all of it. 

9. We contacted the carpet cleaner to return to the house on the morning of 4 Sept 2020 to re-treat and re-deodorize the house alongside the owner’s sister.  

10.  We were contacted 12 hours later by the owner saying that the cleaner’s attempt to clean and deodorize was unsuccessful, and he is still not satisfied.  The owner states that he will leave all windows open and rehire the cleaner to do it all over again, or will have no choice but to replace the carpets.  

11.  The carpet cleaner stated that the owner called him Insisting That he  answers whether or not he could fix the problem with the carpet.  The carpet cleaner stated to me that He could not make a determination over the phone without making an assessment in person.  He stated that he used the strongest pet de-odorizing solution he has but sees the carpet to be clean.

Although the owner has not outright stated that he will use our deposit, he continually guilt trips us saying that he didn’t normally rent to families with pets, but allowed it because he saw how much it meant to our family to have our pets as a part of our home.

Naturally, I am biased of course - but I was very impressed with the amount of cleaning we have done with the rental.  We are landlords ourselves and manage 3 properties currently.  We have taken exceptional care in ensuring the house is cleaned properly and to our own standard as if it were a property we owned ourselves.  

Based off the homeowner’s language, we feel that the owner is continually hinting at changing all the carpeting for his house and has made up his mind that it must be changed.  He continually cites the dog smell, which naturally leads us to believe he wants to fund it using our deposit.  The carpet cleaner believes it is clean and also provides a 100% satisfaction guarantee.  I intend to make him clean until the owner is satisfied, but feel that the owner has already made up his mind.

How do we go forward?  Looking for advice