Tenant Pre-Inspection Questions

[paramount]

Well as I anticipated my tenant is vacating and requested a 2 week pre move out inspection.

When I met the tenant at the property, he was very defensive to the point of being aggressive.

The tenant had several cats and a pet snake, so I brought my black light with me and identified several obvious pet urine stains on the carpet and immediately performed a sniff test – the smell was enough to make me gag (literally).

And yes, I noticed the smell as I walked into various rooms.

Of course he started protesting loudly: how do I know it wasn’t there when I moved in?!!!

I mentioned it wasn’t noted on the lease or any pre move-in inspection.

In my opinion the carpet has to be replaced, since the urine would soak into the padding and even the subfloor.

Anyone have a similar experience? Based on my tenants demeanor, I don’t see this ending well.

Does the tenant have the right to replace the carpet on their own?

[spdrun]

Lessons:
(1) Don’t have a rental house with frickin’ carpeting. Hardwood floors or tile + area rugs is where it’s AT. In fact, don’t have ANY house with permanent carpeting. Hard to clean, keeps allergens in, and is full of toxins.
(2) Two cats and a snake? Charge a $500 security deposit PER PET! If the tenant doesn’t like it, he should go back to the zoo from where he came.

[paramount]

[quote=spdrun]Lessons:
(1) Don’t have a rental house with frickin’ carpeting. Hardwood floors or tile + area rugs is where it’s AT. In fact, don’t have ANY house with permanent carpeting. Hard to clean, keeps allergens in, and is full of toxins.
(2) Two cats and a snake? Charge a $500 security deposit PER PET! If the tenant doesn’t like it, he should go back to the zoo from where he came.[/quote]

LOL…

I do have a $2000 deposit.

I’m sure the tenant is thinking they are getting it all back; and if not I’m sure they are taking me to court.

Tenants demeanor has changed considerably since cancelling the lease; they are very nasty.

[Coronita]

I’d try to avoid direct face-face contact with tenant. There’s nothing saying you need to do the inspection in front of him at the same time and need to refund his deposit right away…You can do the inspection after he vacates. You have time to refund any deposit back… You have 21 days to refund any deposits.
If he presses you to do it early, just say you don’t have time, you weren’t prepared since he/she canceled the lease early, and you’ll get to it. Nothing they can do.
Afterall, he did say he is in a hurry to vacate, unless he was lying. So let him vacate first. Get your place back first. Don’t sign off or release his deposit before he moves out and you have rekeyed the house….Again you have 21 days. Don’t be so damn nice to other people when their on their way out when they’re pricks. #1 priority is for you to get him to leave immediately, and make sure he can’t come back…Everything else, deal with later.

AFTER he moves out and you’ve changed the locks, Do you inspection, deduct cleaning expenses, repair expenses,etc… Deduct his deposit, document it very well, and send him a bill with copies of his receipts… Let him take you to court (he isn’t). He’s got better things to do.

The guy obviously is what in chinese we call (Ni Pi : I think. I suck at pinyin)… Meaning sore loser, person with loose ethics…You know the ridiculous kind of people in this country that does something wrong, cries foul, and then blames someone else for their problems. Next time, even if the person has to legitably cancel a lease early, make sure you negotiate so that you do the cancelation on your terms, not his….

And no, tenant does not have any rights to replace the carpet for you without your approvial. If he/she does so without your approval, not only can the the tenant be SOL, but you probably can deduct his deposit to replace the new carpet, if it’s not the same as the one that was there.. (What if he stuck in a really hideous purple carpet)….And you’re not going to give him your approval, otherwise he’ll find you the shittiest/preowned carpet that is availabe, and might even try the installing it himself. And then it will be YOU being SOL when you have to have it redone.

Tenants are sometimes idiotic…Hopefully, next time when you screen, you can leave the idiots to others…I had one tenant prospect that wanted me to rip out the carpets for wood flooring and take down glass mirrors. I literally said, “Are you joking? This is being rented as is… I have 8 other people that are interested as such”

[spdrun]

LOL…

I do have a $2000 deposit.

$2000 isn’t enough unless the rent is $500/mo. I was saying $500 per pet ($1500) ADDITIONALLY to the regular (month or 1.5 month) security.

[PCinSD]

[quote=spdrun]

$2000 isn’t enough unless the rent is $500/mo. I was saying $500 per pet ($1500) ADDITIONALLY to the regular (month or 1.5 month) security.[/quote]

In CA, a landlord cannot get a security deposit that exceeds 2x the monthly rent. Assuming it’s an unfurnished rental.

[spdrun]

Assuming rent is $1500, $500 per pet + 1 month would fall within the law. Or just charge the guy “pet rent” of $50/mo per pet, which is for sure legal.

[paramount]

Thanks for the responses.

Since the urine stains was in a few spots, and the carpet is fairly new – I told the tenant he could use the remnants to have repairs performed.

Bad idea?

[spdrun]

Get an estimate. Send the tenant the bill … then put down Pergo.

[mike92104]

[quote=paramount]Thanks for the responses.

Since the urine stains was in a few spots, and the carpet is fairly new – I told the tenant he could use the remnants to have repairs performed.

Bad idea?[/quote]

Yes, but I guess it’s too late now. If the carpet really reeks, then those cats have been going there constantly. The urine has probably saturated the padding and the sub floor, and the smell will not go away unless it is all replaced. Allowing the pets to piss on the carpet is pure negligence on the owners part, and they should pay to restore your property to the condition it was in when they signed the lease.

[EconProf]

This will alienate about half the Piggs reading this, but I learned long ago to simply not rent to people with pets. Saves all sorts of problems even though it eliminates half your market and probably lowers your asking rent, and certainly your deposit.
Cat urine is worse than dog urine and the smell CANNOT be removed. A future tenant without pets and possessing a sensitive nose (IOW, the kind of tenant you want), will surely smell it and rightly complain, perhaps not upon initial showing but after moving in.
Don’t waste your time and money on carpet treatments that claim to eliminate pet urine smell. They don’t work. Furthermore, you can’t just replace the carpet–the pad must go too. And during the new installation when both are up, treat the affected area heavily with bleach and water, because the smell is in the wood and concrete too.

[EconProf]

Flu, I believe CA now has a law requiring a pre-move-out inspection at least 2 weeks before vacancy. This gives tenant a chance to correct deficiencies on their own and possibly save a deduction from their deposit.
It is one of the few “pro-tenant” CA laws I believe make sense. It fosters communication between these two potentially waring parties and reminds tenants that they are liable for damages beyond “normal wear and tear”, and necessary cleaning as specified in the lease.
In this case landlord seems entitled to monetary damages totaling labor and materials for replacement carpet and pad, but only for the affected room(s), and only after depreciating for the age of the carpet.

[spdrun]

Again: if you plan to replace the carpet, why not go with non-porous flooring or even tile? This is a rental house, not the Hilton, right?

Carpet rules out: hikers/mountain bikers, people with kids (and you can’t discriminate!), messy people, and meth cooks (OK, you can and should discriminate there!).

[Coronita]

[quote=EconProf]This will alienate about half the Piggs reading this, but I learned long ago to simply not rent to people with pets. Saves all sorts of problems even though it eliminates half your market and probably lowers your asking rent, and certainly your deposit.
Cat urine is worse than dog urine and the smell CANNOT be removed. A future tenant without pets and possessing a sensitive nose (IOW, the kind of tenant you want), will surely smell it and rightly complain, perhaps not upon initial showing but after moving in.
Don’t waste your time and money on carpet treatments that claim to eliminate pet urine smell. They don’t work. Furthermore, you can’t just replace the carpet–the pad must go too. And during the new installation when both are up, treat the affected area heavily with bleach and water, because the smell is in the wood and concrete too.[/quote]

You won’t alienate me.. I always said. No pets…

[Coronita]

[quote=EconProf]Flu, I believe CA now has a law requiring a pre-move-out inspection at least 2 weeks before vacancy. This gives tenant a chance to correct deficiencies on their own and possibly save a deduction from their deposit.
It is one of the few “pro-tenant” CA laws I believe make sense. It fosters communication between these two potentially waring parties and reminds tenants that they are liable for damages beyond “normal wear and tear”, and necessary cleaning as specified in the lease.
In this case landlord seems entitled to monetary damages totaling labor and materials for replacement carpet and pad, but only for the affected room(s), and only after depreciating for the age of the carpet.[/quote]

No kidding? I didn’t know that… Oops… Gotta love CA pro-tenant laws.

[Author]

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