Landlord trying to charge for floor replacement after 11 years

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Location: Pennsylvania

I have been renting the same house, in Pennsylvania, for 11 years. A few months ago I asked my landlord about replacing the current carpeting (which was here 2 years before I got here, so 13 years old) and putting in vinyl or laminate flooring. To note, I have 2 cats which I pay monthly for. I have had 1 for 2 years, and the other for just less than a year and I pay $75 a month (has totaled to over $1400 by now). His offer was to replace the flooring if we (my roomate and I) pay for the labor, which would be paid over time as an addition to rent and he would pay materials and the increase would be added when we resign our lease. This conversation was in September, lease ending July 1.

In April our washer crapped out for like the 3rd time, and instead of fixing it he wanted to get a new washer and we would prioritze that over the new flooring. However, any reasonable sized washer will not fit down my basement steps (s. philly rowhome) so without having to do major constructural work, he opted to fix it. Now it has become time to renew (I reached out to him on 6/22 to renew, and he came over on 6/30 to discuss). In my email I asked about getting the flooring since the washer did not pan out. I also mentioned there is a possiblity that we may be looking to move at some point, in which case we wouldn’t bother with the floor.

He has given us two options. Either we resign a lease for 2 years, and pay for the full cost of labor (Estimated at $3000) over 20 months, OR if we opt to sign 1 year, we only pay for half of the labor, but flooring won’t be replaced until after we move out. Obviously if we are not going to have the flooring while we are here, I should not have to pay for an upgrade of any sort.

Now, due to the cats there is some rips in the carpet, in which he states need to be paid for by us whether we stay or not. However, the cats came along 11 years into the carpets lifespan, and I would think the carpet would need replacing anyway upon move out.

My overall question is, if we decide to move out, do we have any responsibility to pay for any flooring if the carpet is past its useful age regardless of damage? He is asking us to add $150 to our rent for the next 10 months, but again the flooring would not be replaced until after we move out. Additionally, if there is damage to the walls (in the form of only nails for hanging), can he charge us for the full repainting or just fixing the damaged areas?

Comments

  1. OwnLime3744 Avatar

    Your landlord is responsible for replacing the carpet. If you want a different flooring option you as tenant would assume any extra cost.

  2. reddituser1211 Avatar

    >do we have any responsibility to pay for any flooring

    No. It sounds like the carpet is fully depreciated. If it has cat damage there is perhaps a way for him to look for at least labor.

    He probably can’t charge for just nails.