Elisabeth in IL Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Here's a little background.... My husband, I, our 3 boys and our pug were living down in Florida for 8 months because of a contract job. We returned home at the end of August. We just received a bill for $1600 for new carpeting that they said our dog ruined by urinating on it. I never saw him urinate on the carpet and we locked him in the kitchen area when we were gone for extended time periods. They sent us pictures of round spots (approx. 3 or 4) on the back (not top) of the carpeting and stated that it smelled of urine. Can those spots have been caused by anything else spilling ie glass of water or by my spot cleaning? Also I have a canceled check of a professional cleaning of the carpet from the end of April. Could their spot cleaning have left spots? Lastly, if indeed it was my dog who had urinated on the carpet, can not those 3 possible 4 spots have been treated and not the whole carpet ruined? I only have a Pug not a saint Bernard.... Any help would be appreciated. I would like to fight this but I really don't know much about carpeting and what the back would / could show. I feel like we are being taken advantage of because we are now over 1000 miles away. Besides all this the airconditioner broke and flooded the hallway and our neighbor upstairs flooded her apartment and ours. Both times the cleaners had to come out and clean up the mess. Thanks for your thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 They could have been caused by anything. Unless that carpet was brand new when you moved in, they have no way of proving that you are at fault. Especially since the apartment was flooded twice. You need to decide which is more cost effective for you: fighting your old landlord in court or paying the $1600 (unfortunately). I hate carpet, and I hate renting. I bought a house that I had to rip out the carpet and Kilz the floor to seal out a pee smell. The carpet looked perfect. (FWIW - no, pee doesn't come out - not to everyone, anyway - I can smell pee when everyone insists they can't, and then someone will fess up that their cat/dog *went* in the room...) a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 I'd fight that. The spots could have been caused by anything - including spot cleaning or a small water spill. Once a carpet has been used for any length of time, it gets dust & dirt trapped in it. If you spill water, it creates a ring on the underside as it carries the trapped dirt/dust with it. Pee smell can be removed - esp. dog pee. With cats it's trickier. It's usually not the carpet that's the problem, but the underlay & occasionally the actual subfloor. The carpet & underlay can be treated with enzymatic cleaner & it will remove the bacteria which cause the smell. The subfloor can be treated with a primer (BIN is one good brand) which seals in odors & is often used after fire and flooding restoration. Given that you can prove that you had the carpet professionally cleaned AND that there was a flooding incident, I think it would be very hard for them to prove that you caused these small stains. I'd argue whatever is there constitutes reasonable wear and tear. Did you have a damage deposit down? What were the terms of the rental contract? Around here it's common to charge an extra damage deposit for pets but it cannot exceed half the monthly rent regardless of how many pets there are. A landlord who feels the place has been damaged by pets may refuse to return this damage deposit but will not go after more $. best wishes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Check with the laws in Florida. We lived in one state where landlords had the upper hand, then another state where tenants could get away with anything up to murder. It might be worthwhile to retain an attorney. If you pay for the carpet, what is to keep the landlord from billing you for a new fence, new appliance, etc? Sorry you're going through this. We spent years renting and we have some horror stories, too.:grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 I must edit: The carpet I pulled up looked perfect on top, but was hideous underneath. It was stained, mouldy, and generally gross. The pad was disgusting, and the subfloor was stained from repeated urinations. The place you moved into could have easily been "pre-stained" without your knowledge, or had any of the things that hornblower mentioned. I'm all about the BIN and the KILZ. And I'm building my next house. ;) a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Is the landlord asking for money above and beyond the deposit? $1600 sounds about right for a deposit with a dog, but additional money for carpet sounds crazy. The landlord opted for carpet and he can get very cheap carpet to replace the stained one with. The economy may be such that he is trying to make some extra money to pay his own bills. Call a lawyer in the town where the rental was and ask what the laws are concerning this. If the landlord is over charging or something then a stern letter from a lawyer may be all it takes to get him off your back. Dog urine does not come out if indeed the dog did pee on the carpet even once or twice. We had our carpet professionally cleaned by 3 different companies and finally just ripped it out and put down hardwood (she only goes on carpet, go figure). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danestress Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 (edited) If so, you are in a good position. You write back and say that you are not responsible, that you deny your dog ever peed on the carpet, and that you suspect that the stains were there prior to your moving in or were caused by another source, but that you left the apartment in good shape and passed inspection. If they want to sue you, fine. Let them. Edited November 3, 2009 by Danestress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 I watched a dog over the summer who peed constantly on the small throw rugs I had near the door. There were many times I didn't know she had gone b/c it was dry on the top and didn't have a very strong smell. THen I'd lift the carpet and it would be stained, and I knew it was Millie. Just saying it could have easily happened without you knowing. But, 1600 seems excessive. I'd ask for documentation exactly where the stains are and how many of them are. And I agree with the PP that easy to if you have your deposit back it should be easy to just not pay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elisabeth in IL Posted November 2, 2009 Author Share Posted November 2, 2009 Our whole situation is hard because we rented through a short term business agency. They received the bill from the apartment complex and just charged our account. We're going to reject the charge with the credit card company. I just don't know if I can 100% say that our dog didn't pee at all. I've never noticed him going here at home or there other then a dribble if he was excited (not a common occurance). As far as I know there was just a pet deposit and small $300 deposit, but the agency said that we hadn't paid that either. My husband has to pullout all the receipts so I can see what was charged back in the beginning. This situation has been affecting my sleep because we don't have $1600 to pay for carpeting that they were probably going to have to replace anyway. Of course they say that the other problems didn't cause damage. I really wish that we weren't having to deal with this. :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thowell Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 What does your lease say? When we rented out our home for a year we had a very specific lease that required a non refundable pet deposit. Also in Florida the landlord can not charge you for what is considered normal wear and tear. However if they can prove that your dog caused the damage you will probably have to foot the bill. But I think I would explore all my options before I put out that money. If you were not the first tenants how can they prove it was your dog. Also if you could not see any stains from the top of the carpet why did they pull it up? Sound as if they may be wanting you to pay for new carpet that was already needed due to flooding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tam101 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 I'd fight that. Pee smell can be removed - esp. dog pee. With cats it's trickier. It's usually not the carpet that's the problem, but the underlay & occasionally the actual subfloor. The carpet & underlay can be treated with enzymatic cleaner & it will remove the bacteria which cause the smell. The subfloor can be treated with a primer (BIN is one good brand) which seals in odors & is often used after fire and flooding restoration. best wishes :iagree: You can get an enzyme cleaner at any pet store and it will remove urine and any other organic spills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elisabeth in IL Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 I thought I would take a moment to update you all on my carpet situation and to thank you all for responding in the first place. Your information helped to give me the confidence and direction to deal with the whole crazy situation. On the 6th of November, I had a friend down in Florida go out to the apartment and take pictures of the top of the carpeting. I didn't know that the carpeting was still in the apartment until earlier that week. I also sent a carpet cleaning buisness with UV lights to check the spots. The friend said that she didn't see any major spots on the top of the carpeting and the cleaner said that the spots were not urine spots. I feel confident that we are not liable for new carpeting. The problem still is going to be with the corporate housing people. They said that they would not fight with the apartment complex which makes no sense to me because we were their clients. I also just received an e-mail from the corporate housing company stating that they are waiting for a letter from the apartment complex. The apartment complex said that their cleaning company also uses UV lights to check stains. I'm having a hard time believing them as they could have stated this at the beginning of the issue. As the company that I used has no ties to the apartment complex or myself ( I picked them out from a number of listings on-line.), I believe my company the most. I'm not sure how all this will work out but it seems like it could be a court fight..... Thanks again for your help!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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