Typically, carpet life is considered 5 years.
I have heard of courts shortening that to 3 years (as Barnaby mentioned).
I have never heard of that being 10 years (as paramount mentioned). If paramount could show me some data points on that I would be much obliged.
I have hears that paint life is considered 3 years and have seen judges rule that way before.
A deposit can be categorized as anything.
However, it is considered legally refundable under state law (barring legitimate deductions).
Many management companies will openly state that they automatically deduct for painting or what have you.
This is not legal an will not ever stand up in court.
Deposits can be deducted for the following 3 reasons:
1: Willful or negligent damage (beyond wear and tear).
2: Cleaning
3: Unpaid rent.
Any deduction needs a proof of damage (eg: a receipt from a cleaning service or handyman).
There are some exceptions if the amount is small and the landlord did the work themself.
Personally, I would sue first and ask questions later. Specifically, I would send a letter (or email or fax) to the landlord explaining why the “damages” were either antecedent to your possession or expected given the useful life and also explain the law. Then I would wait 1 week and sue. I would also mention in the letter that they had 7 days to respond before I sued.
I would then sue for $10k (max for small claims) and see if you get an offer to settle.
But that’s me and I have been to court several times. This type of thing is the most common case I watch when I sit in on cases. .
