It’s surprising how different an apartment can look when a tenant moves in and when they move out.
The likelihood of damage is high, but what’s challenging is differentiating between normal wear and tear and actual damage. The difference matters since tenants are only financially responsible for one designation.
Understanding what’s considered wear and tear and what isn’t, ensures you only charge your tenants for the right repairs, avoid any conflict and continue to maintain the condition of your apartment(s) for the next renter.
Common areas that get worn out from use
Reasonable wear and tear happens in any home that’s lived in. It’s the type of damage that’s unavoidable since not all pieces of a home last forever.
The easiest place to point out wear and tear is the floor. Especially if there’s carpet in your rental apartment, it’s going to show wear over time. You’ll see it first in high-traffic areas, but eventually, the whole thing may need replacing. This happens no matter how careful a tenant is. You cannot charge them to replace the carpet in this instance.
Other issues that typically aren’t considered damages, but rather wear and tear, include:
- Faded paint or wallpaper, especially on walls that get full sun
- Loose grout between tiles or even small chips in the grout in the bathroom or kitchen
- Scuff marks on walls or floors from furniture
- Warped cabinets or interior doors from humidity
- Scratched porcelain in the bathroom
- Dirty windows, most likely because it’s too difficult to clean them from the outside
Even small holes, chips and smudges on the walls can fit into the wear and tear category unless you’ve indicated otherwise in your lease.
Specifying the areas of an apartment most likely to experience wear and tear in your lease helps clarify from the start what you expect to find in your move-out inspection. It also makes it clear that everything you don’t mention most likely fits into the damages category that a tenant is responsible to pay for.
Where the money for damages comes from
There are two sources of money when it comes to repairs — you and your tenant. Collecting a security deposit when your tenant signs their lease gives you a ready-made account to reimburse yourself for actual property damage. However, you have to keep receipts and invoices to present to the tenant should you spend any money from this account.
Most states give you between 14 and 30 days to return a tenant’s security deposit to them. Since each state’s laws are different, make sure you’ve clarified your timeline. You have until that deadline to assess the apartment for damages and price out repairs.
You must then send a letter to your previous tenant that explains why they’re not getting a full refund of their security deposit. Validate any deductions with copies of the receipts for the repair work or invoices for upcoming work.
Any money not spent on repairs must get refunded to the tenant.
Budgeting for wear and tear repair
The other source for repairs to your rental apartment is your pocket. To avoid any surprises when you do your exit inspection of a property, it’s best to keep in mind the general life of certain items within a home, as well the cost to replace them.
For example, the average life of carpet ranges from five to 15 years, based on things like the type of carpet, its cushioning and fibers and where it’s located in the home. Carpet in the bedroom may last longer than carpet in the entryway of an apartment.
The typical range for replacing carpeting is anywhere from $700-$2,600, depending on the size of the apartment and how much carpeting you want to have.
Knowing these two pieces of information means budgeting for new carpet in your rental properties every five years.
Other items in the home may have a longer lifespan, so budgeting to repair/replace them won’t happen as often. Grout has a lifespan of 25 years. Interior paint usually looks good for anywhere from five to 10 years. Other items in the home you’re responsible for repairing, like cabinets and doors, should have a much longer lifespan and only need replacing if you see an issue.
Budgeting to replace these items is helpful, but don’t forget about wear and tear repairs you may also have to make between tenants. This could include deep cleaning costs and replacing lightbulbs. You can group these into a general maintenance budget, though, one every landlord or property manager should have.
Damages beyond wear and tear
Understanding what counts as normal wear and tear in an apartment, and figuring out who pays for what, are important first steps to handling damages properly. The final step in the process is assessing actual damage. This is anything that goes beyond what regular usage from living in a home does to it.
Doing a thorough inspection of the property before new tenants move in is the best way to quickly catch any new damage that’s left when they move out. You should conduct another inspection at this point, too. At both inspections, document any issues with pictures and take notes.
Spills and stains
In theory, if your tenant spills something or something is leaking, they’ll clean it up fast enough to prevent a long-lasting stain. This isn’t always the case, which can leave floors and carpeting looking worse than normal wear and tear.
Should you notice a lot of stains in an apartment, get the carpet steam cleaned first (and pay for it from the security deposit.) If that doesn’t remove all the staining, you’ll have to charge your tenant for replacing the flooring, as well.
If you discover water stains that aren’t a result of leaky pipes, you can also charge your tenant for the cost of cleaning up the stain. This could mean putting on a fresh coat of paint or even replacing a portion of drywall. Any leak related to plumbing, though, is an issue that comes out of your pocketbook.
Broken appliances
Appliances are a tricky issue when it comes to assigning who covers the cost of repairs. This is because appliances wear out, too, and sometimes, when they’re simply not working, it’s because they’re old and need replacing. If that’s the case, it’s up to you to cover the cost.
If it’s apparent an appliance isn’t working because of negligence, you can bill the repair back to the tenant.
Other broken items a tenant is liable for include doors and windows.
Holes that are too big
The reason why it’s so important to specify in the lease what size holes, if any, you allow in your apartment walls, is when you get to repair them. Pin-sized holes or those made with tiny nails are most likely for you to pay to fill, but when a hole in the wall is too big to spackle over, you’ve got a case to use security deposit money.
Cracks and chips
Things in the apartment may chip or crack from normal wear and tear, but this type of damage is usually a sign of rough use. Look for this kind of damage in wood flooring, on countertops, on mirrors and on shower tiles.
You should also check for any burn marks, especially on carpeting, as this type of damage is very much a result of negligent tenant behavior.
Pet damage
Allowing pets into your rental units is entirely your decision. If you do, though, it can change a lot when it comes to repair costs as tenants move out. This is because all pet damage is above and beyond normal wear and tear. Everything from chewed-on doors to scratched floors are telltale signs of pet damage, which means more to repair and probably replace.
If any type of pets are in the picture it’s best to require a separate pet deposit. This provides you with a separate bucket of funds to use toward pet-inflicted damages in the apartment. It can even cover flea extermination if that becomes an issue.
Can a tenant challenge a repair?
Even if you send your tenant valid receipts for the repairs you paid for using the security deposit, they may still try to fight the charge. If they believe your decision amounts to the wrongful use of the security deposit, they could take their fight all the way to court.
The best way you can prepare yourself for something like this is with evidence. Keep all the paperwork attached to the repairs along with the photos you took originally during your exit walkthrough. Also, have on hand a copy of the original lease your tenant signed that spelled out what constituted wear and tear (to show this issue was outside that list).
Depending on your state and local laws, your tenant may believe they have a case. But, if you have all your evidence ready to go, and provided the appropriate notice to the tenant about why you withheld some, or all, of their security deposit, you should have a strong defense.
Get your apartment in list-ready condition
No matter who’s responsible for paying for repairs to a rental apartment, the end goal for you is the same. Getting that unit ready to rent as soon as possible is key to bringing in the revenue that helps pays for all that normal wear and tear repair (among other things).
Once you’ve made all the fixes and replaced all that needs replacing, it’s time to list your apartment. Include plenty of pictures showing off the pristine condition of your unit. Then, sit back and watch the prospective tenants call to ask for their tour.
Source: rent.com