Can Landlord Charge For Carpet Cleaning California

For example carpeting has a useful life of 10 years.

Can landlord charge for carpet cleaning california.

Also the lease agreement may stipulate that the tenants handle the carpet cleaning before they vacate the property. A landlord cannot charge for routine cleaning. Depending on the age of the appliance or carpet the landlord must pro rate the cost against the average life of the appliance or carpet. I am under the impression that california law does not require the tenant to clean the carpets clean.

Can landlord charge for carpet cleaning. In other words landlords bear the cost of the routine carpet cleaning when a tenant moves out. If a unit was rented out in a brand new condition and returned very dirty the landlord could charge 200 to 500 dollars to get things clean depending on what. Your landlord cannot legally deduct from your security deposit even if.

A landlord can charge for cleaning if the carpet is excessively dirty and or damaged. If the carpet originally cost 1 000 and had a life expectancy of 10 years the depreciation charge would be 100 per year. If a landlord can dictate the method of cleaning the carpet then they can dictate the manner that any other part of or the whole premises is cleaned. Also normal wear and tear to carpets drapes and other furnishings cannot be charged against a tenant s security deposit normal wear and tear includes simple wearing down of carpet.

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. The real deal with carpet cleaning. The amount that a landlord can charge for cleaning a unit depends on the state the unit was rented out in the state the unit was returned in and the general rules of wear and tear. There is no legal reason to single out the.

If the carpet cleaning does not exceed a professional cleaner s normal rate and the carpet doesn t have any actual damage landlords should not charge a tenant for dirty carpets. A landlord cannot routinely charge each tenant for cleaning carpets drapes walls or windows in order to prepare the rental unit for the next tenancy. This action allowed by security deposit laws is generally called a wrongful withholding of security deposit or a wrongful retention of security deposit lawsuit.