Carpet repair vs. replacement due to dog damage

[dogproblems]

Hello all,
My dog damaged a portion of carpet in our living room. Our lease started last sept and the LL said the carpet was new from when they had just bought the house, a few weeks previous to when we started renting. The carpet in the living room extends to the dining room, down a hall and down the steps to the lower level. I showed him the damage and have asked if it can be repaired. He said it needs to be replaced, and repairing it is "out of the question" because this damage voids the warrantee and it will be difficult to make a new seam. He has not had a carpet company see the damage so I do not understand how he can make this assumption. He is having the company come by tomorrow to give and estimate to replace the carpet. My question is can he really say repairing the carpet is out of the question? There is a big extra rolled up piece of this exact carpet in the basement that would work just fine. I would be happy to pay for the repair, but do not want to get stuck replacing the carpet, especially since it extends throughout the house. My lease is up in September and he and his wife are moving into the house. I think they will pick an expensive carpet on top of all this because they will be living in the home. I live in California.
What can I do? Thank you in advance for any and all help.

[sandyclaus]

Originally Posted by dogproblems Hello all, My dog damaged a portion of carpet in our living room. Our lease started last sept and the LL said the carpet was new from when they had just bought the house, a few weeks previous to when we started renting. The carpet in the living room extends to the dining room, down a hall and down the steps to the lower level. I showed him the damage and have asked if it can be repaired. He said it needs to be replaced, and repairing it is "out of the question" because this damage voids the warrantee and it will be difficult to make a new seam. He has not had a carpet company see the damage so I do not understand how he can make this assumption. He is having the company come by tomorrow to give and estimate to replace the carpet. My question is can he really say repairing the carpet is out of the question? There is a big extra rolled up piece of this exact carpet in the basement that would work just fine. I would be happy to pay for the repair, but do not want to get stuck replacing the carpet, especially since it extends throughout the house. My lease is up in September and he and his wife are moving into the house. I think they will pick an expensive carpet on top of all this because they will be living in the home. I live in California. What can I do? Thank you in advance for any and all help.

You can be held liable for the damages your dog caused to the carpet. However, if the LL chooses to replace the ENTIRE carpet because of this problem, then he can only charge you the depreciated value of the section that is being replaced, and NOT for the entire carpet.

[dogproblems]

So he can only charge for the living room portion and with a depreciated amount of the 10 months I lived here before this occurred?
Thank you.

[sandyclaus]

Originally Posted by dogproblems So he can only charge for the living room portion and with a depreciated amount of the 10 months I lived here before this occurred? Thank you.

And before she even charges for that, I would ask to see the proof of purchase for when the original carpet was installed. If he is trying to get you to pay for whole new carpet, they might also be lying about when it was installed in order to get around the depreciation factor. Most carpeting is depreciated over a 5 year period (so 20% depreciation over each year of use, or 1/60th of its purchase price each month). And take photos or video to document the actual area of damage as well.

I find it interesting that they are trying to use the excuse of not being able to match the carpet seams. The carpet isn't that old that it would be that difficult to do. You should probably see about getting a couple of estimates yourself in order to provide credible evidence to refute their claims of needing to replace the entire carpet (try asking the people that are coming tomorrow to do that for you). Even if replacement is necessary, I can see replacing a room, but NOT the entire floor.

[Friend In Court]

Originally Posted by dogproblems Hello all, My dog damaged a portion of carpet in our living room. Our lease started last sept and the LL said the carpet was new from when they had just bought the house, a few weeks previous to when we started renting. The carpet in the living room extends to the dining room, down a hall and down the steps to the lower level. I showed him the damage and have asked if it can be repaired. He said it needs to be replaced, and repairing it is "out of the question" because this damage voids the warrantee and it will be difficult to make a new seam. He has not had a carpet company see the damage so I do not understand how he can make this assumption. He is having the company come by tomorrow to give and estimate to replace the carpet. My question is can he really say repairing the carpet is out of the question? There is a big extra rolled up piece of this exact carpet in the basement that would work just fine. I would be happy to pay for the repair, but do not want to get stuck replacing the carpet, especially since it extends throughout the house. My lease is up in September and he and his wife are moving into the house. I think they will pick an expensive carpet on top of all this because they will be living in the home. I live in California. What can I do? Thank you in advance for any and all help.

Since there is a piece of the original carpeting in the basement, hire your own carpet repair man to make the repairs. Your dog did the damage, you will get stuck for the repair cost, anyway. So what you can do is have the repairs made yourself so that when you move out there is no damage to repair. By repairing the damage you avoid any further issue on the subject as long as the repair is seamless. A good carpet repair man can repair most carpets so well that one can never tell there was any damage.

Be sure to take photos of the entire premises before you leave.