Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in New Jersey
Carpet replacement charge
Can a landlord in NJ charge 100% of the cost of replacing an old carpet after I lived in the apartment for 1 year and the carpet was old even before I moved in? I did cause more demage than normal tear and wear.
Asked on 1/23/09, 1:04 pm
1 Answer from Attorneys
John Corbett
Corbett Law Firm LLC
Re: Carpet replacement charge
The landlord can charge no more than a judge would award and that is often a guess at best. The proper charge would be the difference between the value of the carpet as it should have been (depreciated for normal wear and tear) and the value as it was (including damage). Logic dictates that can never be as great as full replacement cost.
See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm
Answered on 1/25/09, 10:43 pm