California Rental Laws Carpet Cleaning

In other words landlords bear the cost of the routine carpet cleaning when a tenant moves out.

California rental laws carpet cleaning.

As an exception to the above no state requires the landlord to replace repair damaged carpet if the damage to the carpet has been caused by the tenant. Department of housing and urban development 451 7th street s w washington dc 20410 telephone. Should the landlord choose to repair or replace the carpet anyway the tenant may be made to pay for the cost of the same. California law does not specify when landlords must replace carpeting in rental units.

Under california landlord tenant guidelines a carpet s useful life. Check your local and state laws to be sure that there are no additional requirements. Thus if the tenant s damage cheated three years out of the carpets life the landlord under california law could only hold the tenant responsible for 300. If the carpet originally cost 1 000 and had a life expectancy of 10 years the depreciation charge would be 100 per year.

When landlords should charge a tenant for dirty carpets if the carpet in a rental property is excessively dirty or damaged the landlord can deduct the cost from the security deposit. Additionally a tenant may be charged for cleaning where the tenant has caused filth beyond ordinary use. It does clarify that worn or aged but otherwise undamaged carpet does not affect a property s habitability. For instance an inordinate amount of pet hair or a urine smell left in the carpet would be beyond normal wear and tear as these are avoidable conditions and beyond normal use.

Even if no damage to the rental property carpet has occurred age and normal wear eventually triggers the need for replacement.