Security Deposit ....new carpet

[Sha_kri]

I live in Pennsylvania.

I moved out of my apartment after about three years of occupancy. I still live like a college student in some ways, but I have a reputation for being meticulous when its time to clean up.

My landlord charged me $100 to clean the stove, which she notes as "cleaning" (its worth about $450 new). Fine, I will take the hit on that. Charged me $18.26 for new blinds, again I will take the hit on that.

She told me, before my lease ended, that there were a couple of stains in the carpet (from my shoes when I walk in the door) that would be cause for the carpet to be steam cleaned. I did not argue and said fine. But when I got the refund for my security deposit, she charged me 411.53 to buy a new carpet and install it. The note said that my computer chair damaged the carpet beyond repair. I went to see her and pointed out that she needed to deduct for the depreciation. She pointed out that the carpet was new when i moved in. I am not a rocket scientist, but it was not new. I asked her three separate times if it was the same carpet that the person had before I moved into the place. She kept changing the subject, even when i pointed out that she was evading my question. I pointed out that it is the law that she has to deduct depreciation and she kept adding in things like "i had to scrap it up off the floor." She even got defensive and threatened to call my current residence.

My question is is if I take her to court, and she starts telling the judge there were other things that were not noted in the list, is that admissible. Also, I live outside the township now, can the local judge just ignore the law and rule for her (ie corruption?) Also, she never gave me any interest for my security deposit. Am I entitled to that?

Thanks for your time

In PA you are entitled to interest, with some provisions. Interest doesn't start until the 25th month and should be paid at the end of each subsequent year. So if you lived there just shy of 3 years, you would be due less than a year of interest. Additionally, she only has to pay interest at the going bank rate (banks are paying less than 1/2 of 1%) and she is permitted to deduct a 1% adminstration fee from it each year after the 2nd year if she pays you this interest. (So her adminstration fee eats up your interest for this year, I'm afraid.) So you might as well forget about the interest.

You are correct in depreciation. She needs to depreciate the carpet costs if it was ruined beyond cleaning. This depreciation is based on the age of the carpet (she is claiming it was new at move in) and the number of years she takes on her taxes (most LLs use 7 yrs, but the IRS allows between 5-10 years). If it were new at move in and she uses the average of 7 years, you would owe 4/7 of the cost of new carpet (4 years of life are left since it was 3 years old). If she uses 5 years, you would owe 2/5 the cost, and if she uses 10 years, you would owe 7/10 of the cost. It has to be depreciated. If removal and installation are included in the total carpet cost, she can depreciate those together with the carpet.

Has she send you an itemized statement of deductions from the deposit? If so, you should send a letter challenging this deduction. State the above facts. Give her your idea of how much of a deduction you actually owe. (You can get estimates for new carpet from a carpet place based on the size of the room and use that to make your own estimate.) Ask her to respond within 10 days. Send it by certified mail, return receipt requested and keep a copy.

If she does not respond, or you still disagree on the amount, you can sue in small claims court and let the judge decide.