How do I find out what the "useful life" of a carpet is under Washington State landlord tenant law?

by **orson19** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 4:16 am

I've lived in my apt for 20 years. Manager hasn't cleaned or replaced carpet, painted walls or changed the linoleum. Washington State law prohibits charging for damages beyond the "Useful Life" of an item. How do I find out what the Useful life is?

by **byron92** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 4:21 am

Find out the make & type of carpet, & contact the manufacturer.

by **nemausus36** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 4:28 am

Check with a local carpet store. It is unlikely that they will be able to know exactly what carpet you have, but they could give you a good professional "guess" based on what carpet was available back then.

They cannot charge you for normal wear and tear. They can charge you for damage. If it is just worn and not damaged, and cleaned, when you move, you should be in the clear.

by **byron92** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 4:31 am

Check with a local carpet store. It is unlikely that they will be able to know exactly what carpet you have, but they could give you a good professional "guess" based on what carpet was available back then.

They cannot charge you for normal wear and tear. They can charge you for damage. If it is just worn and not damaged, and cleaned, when you move, you should be in the clear.

Most experts agree that the "useful life" of carpeting is 10 years. The IRS lets the landlord depreciate carpeting over a 5 year period.

Having lived in the property for 20 years you don't have anything to worry about.

To note, the useful life of interior paint is consider 2-3 years.

by **giulio** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 4:34 am

There is no definition. When the carpet is worn out, its useful life is over.

by **ryscford** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 4:47 am

Many laws are simply unspecific allowing for judges to determine independently. If your landlord were to dare charge you for repair/replacement of your flooring or paint after 20 years against your deposit or in suit over and above your security, you will need to sue to allow a judge to make this determination for you. The loser, your landlord, pays the court costs. I give more credit to a landlord for being smarter than to even try to pull something like this.

by **colten** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 4:57 am

In many states it is irrelevant
There was carpet in place, you damaged it, you pay
Carpeting that is regularly vacuumed and cleaned can last for decades---but you apparently have not been properly maintaining carpeting, and you cannot benefit from your lack of care, merely due to age
LL has NO legal requirement to paint walls, change linoleum, change carpeting, at any time, whether there is tenant in place or not. . . . .LL doesn't have to update

AND if you've lived there 20 years and it hasn't been cleaned--that is YOUR fault--why would you NEVER clean your carpeting??
My leases note carpet is cleaned when tenant moves in, tenant is to clean annually, and upon vacation, and if tenant does not, I will have it done and charge them
LL cannot charge you for normal wear and tear, but failure to clean carpeting in 20 years is NOT normal wear and tear, and in fact causes carpeting to have a shorter life

by **lorimar** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 5:01 am

THERE is no law on how long a carpet will last.

by **hussein** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 5:05 am

There are no laws as there are many different types and grades of carpeting. Most apartment complexes use builders grade carpet which has a life expectancy of about 3 to 5 years. Better grades of carpet would have about a 10 year life.

If you have lived in that apartment for 20 years, you should not be responsible for replacing carpet or other floor covering or painting walls. It would all be fair wear and tear. Even if you purposely did something to destroy the carpet, the depreciated value of a 20-year old carpet would be 0.

by **herald** » Sat Jul 14, 2012 5:08 am

There is no statutory definition of "useful life." You simply provide evidence to convince the judge. The IRS publication that Glenn S cited is a good start. Also, you can obtain manufacturer's brochures from a local carpet store. All you need to do is provide convincing evidence that a carpet's reasonable useful life is less than 20 years.

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