Residents often call Navigate, wondering why management withheld the tenant’s security deposit. This week, Corporate Trainer Vickie Bell discusses the difference between ordinary wear-&-tear due to aging and tenant damage due to neglect. This video is full of examples. You may find the information helpful when submitting a Special Claim.

Appendix 5C from HUD

EXAMPLES (Not all inclusive) of TENANT DAMAGE versus “NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR”

Normal costs of turning over an apartment after a tenant vacates may not be included on a claim to HUD for tenant damages. The costs an owner incurs for the basic cleaning and repairing of such items necessary to make a unit ready for occupancy by the next tenant are part of the costs of doing business. The following is a list of items typically attributable to routine use or “normal wear and tear”.

Normal Wear and Tear

• Fading, peeling, or cracked paint
• Slightly torn or faded wallpaper
• Small chips in plaster
• Nail holes, pin holes, or cracks in wall
• Door sticking from humidity
• Cracked window pane from faulty foundation or building settling
• Floors needing coat of varnish
• Carpet faded or worn thin from walking
• Loose grouting and bathroom tiles
• Worn or scratched enamel in old bathtubs, sinks, or toilets
• Rusty shower rod
• Partially clogged sinks caused by aging pipes
• Dirty or faded lamp or window shades

Tenant damages usually require more extensive repair, and at greater cost than “normal wear and tear”, and are often the result of a tenant’s abuse or negligence that is above and beyond normal wear and tear.

Tenant Damage

• Gaping holes in walls or plaster
• Drawings, crayon markings, or wallpaper that owner did not approve
• Seriously damaged or ruined wallpaper
• Chipped or gouged wood floors
• Doors ripped off hinges
• Broken windows
• Missing fixtures
• Holes in ceiling from removed fixtures
• Holes, stains, or burns in carpet
• Missing or cracked bathroom tiles
• Chipped and broken enamel in bathtubs and sinks
• Clogged or damaged toilet from improper use
• Missing or bent shower rods
• Torn, stained, or missing lamp and window shades

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