how much can my landlord charge me for carpet replacement?

By kinayta

I just moved out of an apartment, and my landlord has informed me that cat urine was found near the wall in one small area of the living room; she says she had a professional cleaner come in to inspect and treat the area with chemical cleaner, but the treatment was unsuccessful, and the carpet has to be replaced.  She is replacing all of the carpet in the one-bedroom apartment (living room, hallway, and bedroom) and is charging me $1170, the total bill for the new carpeting and installation.  My security deposit was $200 plus a $200 refundable pet deposit and a $200 non-refundable pet deposit.  She’s deducting $75 for the carpet cleaning and keeping the rest of my deposit to go toward the carpet cost, and is sending me a bill for the rest.  She says that only $200 of my total pet deposit can be used toward the bill because the other $200 was non-refundable.

The pet addendum in my lease states that I’m responsible for "repair of damaged items to their former condition and/or replacement where necessary, in the sole opinion of the landlord."  I’m not sure how old the carpet was, but it was definitely not new, and smelled funky from the time I moved in 2 years ago (it was also covered with human hair).  I’m not planning to contest the urine stain, but it seems unfair that I should have to pay for the replacement of an old, smelly carpet for a brand new one.  Am I really legally responsible for the whole cost?  Can my landlord really refuse to use the non-refundable $200 from my pet deposit toward the carpet cost?

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