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What are Ohio's laws on normal wear and tear on an Apartment? What am I responsible for?
Anonymous4 views2 answers
We have lived in a 1 bedroom apartment for three years. Prior to move in, burn stains on the carpet and slight discoloring(was noted in writing), but there was no smell and the damage wasn't too bad so we moved in. 3 years later, it is time to move on and we are wondering what is considered normal wear and tear on carpet? Do we need to get it professionally cleaned, or can self-cleaning suffice? Walls are dirty, do we wash/paint those, or is that Manager responsibility between each tenant? Anything else I need to do prior to moving out?
NOTE: We had NO pets, no holes in walls/carpets, just a dirty carpet by door from walking in and out for 3 years, and a few stains here and there. Was told a year ago that they plan to renovate apartment after move-out, does it change anything?
Generally, dirty carpet (not excessive) and walls that need painted are normal wear and tear after 3 years. To ensure your leasing company will not charge you, consider asking the management to do a walk-through now to determine what you need to remedy prior to moving out so that you will receive the maximum return on your rental deposit.
Your best bet is to talk to the landlord. There is no CLEAR definition of what normal wear and tear is, however you sound as if you have a pretty good grasp on the general concept. IF you talk to the landlord and do a walk through, let him know what he wants you to fix, and then get it fixed. If he says don't worry about it, then get that in writing. IF you paint, and it does not match or does not look good, he can still charge you. You may want to "self" clean the floor with a rented steam cleaner. Again, if the landlord is pulling out that carpet, you may be just wasting money. Hopefully you have a good landlord who you can have this conversation with. ALSO, when you move out, you need to advise the landlord of your NEW address in writing, and I STRONGLY suggest taking a picture of EVER wall, floor, cupboard, appliance, etc. This way if he comes back stating that the place is trashed, you have pictures to say, this is the state it was in when I left...Good luck.
