Can my landlord charge me for new carpeting in my old apartment if it wasn't new when I moved in? ?

When I moved in my apartment the carpet was in "ok" shape. It had a few burn marks in the front room, some snags and fray's along the seam lines in both bedrooms. I wrote down these details about the carpet in the checklist when I had moved in. Now back to the frays & snags in the seam line in both bedrooms....when I vacuumed the frays got sucked up into the vacuum causing it to run to about a 3 foot stretch. This happened numerous times. So eventually it got to the point to where I couldn't vacuum those areas without creating more runs. So I took it upon myself to cut a square piece of carpet out and replace it with new. Bad Idea! The berber carpet didn't exactly match. Now the areas of carpet that I cut were about a 3 ft x 2 ft area. In both bedrooms.

I move out and I get a letter from them with itemized damages for $930 for the carpet. They took pictures obviously of the carpet that I had cut, the burn marks (that were already there), some small snags which very easily happen to berber carpet, and traffic marks at the bottom 3 steps. We had out own private enterance in each unit if you have an upstairs unit. So if you come up the stairs after rain, snow etc. then it's going to create traffic marks.

I lived there for 3 years and I dont know when the carpet was replaced before me. So I sent a certified letter disputing the costs of new carpet in the entire unit. I stated I would be happy to pay for damages done in both bedrooms but the carpet in the whole unit should not be replaced at my expense if I have documentation proving that the burn marks were already there. The manager called me today and said they will be sending an invoice for new carpet. I said "you have to pro-rate the life expectancy of the carpet" She stated she was doing what her manager told her to do and they haven't installed the carpet yet but I will be getting an invoice for the new carpet shortly.

What should I do next???? Please help! I moved out September 30th. I sent the certified letter within 7 days of their itemized deductions list. What's the next step to get my deposit back? It was a $600 security deposit plus a $200 refundable dog fee.
Additional Details
It's not expensive carpet by any means. $0.67/sq ft x 1002 sq ft= $671.00 plus labor. I read in an article Michigan Lanlord Tenant Laws that they can't charge me the full price of the carpet. The fair market value of carpet is usually between 7-10 years for carpet life. Lets say it's 7 for this specific cheap berber carpet costs & it costs $1000 for the whole apartment. I lived there 3 years and it was 2 years old when I moved in. That leaves 2 years of useful life left which means they can only charge me $300 for new carpet.

You are not getting your deposit back. Forget about that.

Hope they do not sue you for the berber, it is very expensive stuff.

I can't believe you cut it up and think that it is OK, over even vacuumed without thought to the runs (easily fixed).

I would be taking you to court, and I would be winning this one.

you are in a sticky stuation because you cut the sections of the carpet out...
next time you should not make any changes yourself & instead call the landlord to take care of it- then its on him.
all you can do is wait for the invioce & dispute it in court if they wont give you back your deposit- if you have photos of the condition of the carpet when you originally moved &/or a copy of the move-inspection it will help- good luck.

congrats they will keep both deposits you can take them to small claims court to dispute it

Take your copy of the move in sheet where it is all itemized & go talk to a lawyer.

If a carpet is frayed, you should cut off the fray to prevent it from running. I don't know what your apt. looked like, but definitely in the bedroom(s) where the fray runs occurred you should have to pay. Also, if you stained the stair carpet, you are also responsible for that. Did you try to shampoo the stairs before you left? If you leave it in worse condition than what you receive it in, you will most likely be held responsible. Obviously, if you have documentation of the burn holes already being there, you need to press that issue, but if they are in the same area as any of the other things, or if the apt. is fully carpeted with the same exact carpet, you will probably pay. Sorry. I know it sucks.

You are responsible for some of the carpet damage. They cannot charge you for the full amount of the new carpet the amount you should be based on a depreciated valve. Contact your landlord - tenant association for some assistance. Once you receive an invoice, send another letter of dispute to the landlord. I imagine this will probably end up in small claims court if they invoice you for $930.00. Deal with the landlord directly and in writing (retaining copies of course). The valuable lesson learned here is don't attempt repairs of the landlord's property - that's his job, it's your job to report the condition.

yes they can, you should have asked the landlord before hand

you are correct that they can only charge you for a portion of the cost, but it sounds like they are not going to comply voluntarily. You will probably have to fight this in court.

wow, cutting the small piece of the carpet is not a good idea....that's the reason they were charging u...sorry.

i worked for property management.

I always thought the security deposit was supposed to cover things like that.
I would just get back into contact with them and explain why you tried fixing the carpet, so they might understand it better.
If you feel they are treating you unfairly, don't pay it. I'd get a few other opinions to get the best answer. Also you could find out about the laws of that in your area.
Also you might not to use them as a reference for another landlord.
Im so sorry this happened to you.
I've had two wonderful landlords. And well one bad one (my mom was the bad one!) LOL
good luck and take care

It is obvious that they are going to con you out of most,if not all,of your dog and security fees.Not much you can do about this,as you should not have touched the carpet,it was not yours to touch or cut.Personally i would be tempted to burn the place to the ground,but you cannot do that.

You totally screwed up the carpet. You don't get to pick whether or not they replace all of it or just some. It's their apt and they want all the carpet to match.

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