New tenant moved into apt w/urine-stained carpet

[Capucine]

I recently moved into an apartment and didn't notice any extreme problems with the carpet. However, after several days it became apparent that the carpet was stained with pet urine, and continued to get worse. When I told the landlord, she acknowledged that she had noticed that and had the repairman come in to treat it with pet odor remover and shampoo the problem area.

Unfortunately, it's still smelling strongly of pet urine. My landlord has been normally quite cooperative, and she was in my apartment last week and noted that it was certainly worse and that she'd try to speed things along with corporate (since she says it's problematic, being that she didn't charge the previous tenant for those damages during her move-out walkthrough). However, I'm not sure how much she's pressing for new carpet, and after calling her today she said she'd email them again about it.

What I'm wondering is: do I have the right to withhold September rent until the problem is fixed? I'd clearly prefer new carpets, and I doubt cleaning will work (after 1 steam cleaning by the previous tenant during the last month, and 2 shampooings by the repairman, including pretreating it for pet odor -- problem is still not going away!!). I don't want to be rude to my landlord, and she hasn't been outwardly unhelpful, but I can't live with urine-stained carpets for months while she occasionally sends emails to corporate. Any thoughts are much appreciated!

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

No, you cannot withhold September rent without the risk of facing an eviction yourself. Your landlord (actually this sounds like the property manager) has indicated she is working to resolve this issue. You must give her a reasonable amount of time to remedy the situation.

Gail

 

[Capucine]

Okay. Thank you! That makes sense to me, but the problem has been getting worse and friends/family tell me they think it's a health hazard and that I shouldn't be so laid-back about waiting for my manager to take care of it (since it's been a few weeks). I'll survive, just unhappily, I suppose!

Does anyone have any suggestions in the meantime? Spend my own money trying to fix what the last tenant left soiled, or is it not worth it, just wait it out?

 

[mightymoose]

Do they have another equivalent apartment available that you can move in to?

While you can not withhold your rent, you could ask about a rent reduction until the problem is resolved. They probably won't go for that... but it doesn't hurt to ask, and might motivate them to get it fixed.

 

[Capucine]

They don't have any other 1-bedrooms available for a few months, and they could do a 2-bedroom with a slightly reduced rate (still about $100/mo more than I'm currently paying). I have a modest salary, though, and can't afford that... I'm a teacher, so while I'd love to try buying all the various combos of carpet cleaning supplies to do whatever I can to make the urine stench go away, I don't have the money nor the time - it's already being spent on classroom supplies for my students! I've been trying to Febreze it, but you can only do that so many times per day.

Thanks to both of you for the advice.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Your friends and family are incorrect that this presents a health hazard. What health hazard are they claiming? This tends to fall in the category of "nuisance" as opposed to an actual health hazard to you; smelly but not medically dangerous.

I've attached the steps a tenant in Minnesota can take if a request for a repair is not remedied. Notice the issue of withholding rent is an option but only after some very specific steps have been taken to justify doing this. Failure to take these steps and simply withholding rent can open you up to an eviction:

http://www.tenant.net/Other_Areas/Minnesota/hb2.html

Gail

 

[mightymoose]

You might want to keep working with them and see if they will allow you to temporarily stay in one of the vacant 2 BR apartments at your current rate.
With you out of the 1 BR it would be easier for them to do the work, and you could move back as soon as they are done.
Another option is to see if they will let you out of the lease due to the conditions and you can then find another affordable 1 BR somewhere else.

 

[Capucine]

I'm allergic to cats, and a friend noted that cat urine is high in ammonia, so I think that's why my family was concerned about me living around cat urine. I don't think any of them are well-versed in law or anything - just their personal opinions about my living situation!

Thanks, mightymoose. I'm debating if I should try to move into a different place... I'll have to look into it.

I understand the manager is in a difficult position: she didn't charge the past tenant for damages to the carpet, so how does that get covered? Is urine in carpets considered "normal wear and tear"? The money to pay for cleaning/new carpet has to come from somewhere. My problem is just that I'm frustrated that the burden falls on the new tenant, who has to just deal with it, whether or not they knew what they were getting into. If I had known, I would've kept looking instead.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

No, urine in carpet is not considered normal wear and tear. And unfortunately (especially with cat urine) even cleaning the carpet using special products to treat the odor doesn't take care of the issue. As you've found out, intially after cleaning the odor is gone but, unfortunately, it tends to come back quickly.

Treatment is removal of carpet and the pad and (often) resealing any floors under the affected area.

Gail

 

[mightymoose]

I understand the manager is in a difficult position: she didn't charge the past tenant for damages to the carpet, so how does that get covered?

The cost comes out of the manager's pocket for failing to assess the fees on the tenant. The last thing the manager wants to do is pay for new carpet... so you may be waiting awhile on this one.

If you are persistent, but polite, they may work with you. The apartment was apparently misrepresented to you as the urine smell was covered up upon your move-in, but quickly exposed after.