Collecting Damages From Tenants

Collecting Damages From Tenants

Last week, we petitioned the General District Court in Prince William County for a judgment against a couple who had abandoned one of the homes that we manage and left it in very poor condition. Due to damage caused by their dog and their son, all of the carpet had to be replaced and many of the walls had to be repainted.

 

 

Although we manage nearly 100 properties, we rarely have to evict a tenant and seldom see excessive property damage. When we filed for damages in this case, we included the complete cost of the carpet replacement and the painting. The couple maintained contact with us and were not contesting the judgment. They both had to work, so they could not appear in court.  One would expect the judge would rule in our favor and award the judgment. 


Instead, the judge asked me to see him after the hearing session for an ex-parte discussion. He informed me that he had developed the belief that owners should expect to paint their investment properties every three years and replace the carpet every 5 years. Accordingly, he determined that any painting or carpet replacement needed to be depreciated over that expected 3 or 5 year life span. So, in this case, since the carpet was three years old, the judge determined that we could only charge the tenants 2/5 of the cost of the carpet. Since the property had been painted 2 years ago, we could only charge the tenants 1/3 of the cost of the painting. 


I share this in so that owners can have a realistic understanding and expectation of what a judge may decide when issuing a judgment for damages caused by a tenant, whether the tenant disputes them or not.


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