My tenant damaged the kitchen floor with lots of scrapes and burn marks (way beyond wear and tear). It did have a little damage before she moved in. It is still usable, but not pretty (thanks to her). My new tenant is already in there and is ok with it. It is not to the point where I would want to replace the floor and charge her for it, but I feel that I should charge her something since it has devalued my home.

I was just curious what other LL's did when a tenant damages something but not to the point where you have to replace it, and maybe it had a little wear previously. Does anyone use a formula to prorate damages somehow?

R&R floor = $10 per square foot. $5 per foot more if subfloor is needed.

Check prices with pro floor installers for a turnkey job.

If they damage it but I don't replace it, I just suck it up. If I can get another tenancy out of it, great.

Maybe I should start replacing on their dime if damaged regardless.

Lauren,

This is a quiet downward spiral that continues to erode away the value of your investment and eat into your checkbook. A little scrape here, a rub mark there, chip, dent, nick...After a few years you turn around and say "Why does my rental look so run down?" and "Why are my turnover costs so high?"

This is a grey area that will drive a LL batty and does ruin profit.

Wear and tear is a term people use to justify abuse or landlords use to justify not "bothering" the resident to pay for the damage they created. My vinyl kitchen floor is 30 years old and still looks great. (Wifey wants a style and color upgrade!) WE painted 25 years ago when we moved in and it still looks fine. Renters CAN live in a home for years without damaging or leaving marks

Flooring is made to last many years so ANY damage is damage by the resident.

Top 5 Landlord Mistakes inlcudes not holding residents accountable. Our lives became sooo much simpler and stress free when we decided to hold residents accountable for the damage they do to our houses. Our homes are in better condition and rent faster.

First we make the home perfect. EVERYTHING fixed. Nothing wrong.

Then my lease is clear and operating procedures are clear: return the home in perfect condition - NOTHING for management to repair or clean. We charge $50 per hour to clean. The lease has a full page, 2 columns of Standard Cleaning and Repair Costs at REPLACEMENT COST so no one is surprised and it holds up in court.

Ideally and often we charge for a new replacement. With Allure we can cut out an area and replace it. WIth a broken door we will charge for the replacement (legit and good with court) but find a way to repair it or cover the hole with a mirror or corkboard.

Back to your situation: I would have charged the first res a REPAIR fee for the damage they created. I'll charge THIS res for more repair. With the 2 I should have the funds to replace it.

That fact your new res accepted the worn floor is irrelevant to the damage already done. Sure you found someone to take the floor but your house is worth less than before. In fact *I* consider this a bad sign that someone does not care and is willing to accept damaged goods. Expect more damage. You may have accepted less in rent because the previous residents left you with damage, devaluing the rent value of your investment.

This is one reason I got rid of carpet - a single stain or cigarette burn in the middle of the room is tough to repair and it cheapens the perceived value of the entire house. Rolled vinyl is next to impossible to repair, so one gouge makes the entire kitchen look bad.

Only YOU can keep your business profitable by staying strong and sticking to the lease. Don't be shy about charging because THEY KNOW they left damage for you to clean up.

BRAD

If we don't repair or REPLACE when tenant vacates we don't bill it. If it was bad enough to change -- we would pro rate life of floor to 7 years-- bill her if under 7 year life. So if replacement was in year 5 and cost was 700.00 that's 100.00 per year- shes there 1 year so 100.00.Added to her bill. Her portion of the bill.