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Nick K.
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  • Los Angeles, CA
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Tenant ruined driveway with various automotive fluid spills

Nick K.
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Los Angeles, CA
Posted Jul 18 2022, 22:49

This is not a minor case of a tenant's car(s) leaking oil on a driveway. The tenant was trying to repair cars as a business on the property and spilled various automotive fluids over much of the driveway and concrete parking areas. Far beyond "normal wear and tear" and I have pictures of what things used to look like. Tenant has moved out. I hired a pressure washing service which removed about 60% of the stains, but overall the concrete as a whole still looks terrible. I'm going to try soda blasting next, but it seems like the damage is permanent at this point. Looks worse than an actual shop floor, as if he didn't take any care in cleanup or preventing spills.

The driveway and concrete areas weren't new to begin with and are actually a patchwork of various sized and shaped sections of concrete like you would have if you filled in or repaired areas over time. Nothing fancy, but at least before it looked tidy and decently maintained for an older house.

Security deposit was $1900. I'm definitely deducting the cost of the pressure washing. Then, I was going to keep another $500 for the permanent damage. But now I'm thinking I should just keep the whole deposit and put it towards an eventual driveway replacement. Tenant is probably going to freak out, but I guess that's the cost of doing business.

How much would you keep?

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Chris Seveney
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Chris Seveney
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Replied Jul 19 2022, 04:38

@Nick K.

Have you notified the tenant? This is a tough one, as it sounds like the driveway was already in pretty bad shape. Granted they didn’t make it better, but I would probably just charge for the pressure washing

This is without seeing any pics - if you posted pics might be easier to give you a better idea

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Theresa Harris
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Theresa Harris
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Replied Jul 19 2022, 05:14

You can only keep money for charges you incurred due to them damaging it.  

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Tim Herman
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Tim Herman
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Replied Jul 19 2022, 05:59

@Nick K. If this is an original driveway and the house is older than 30 years you will not be able to keep any money to replace the concrete. You could do that but then your tenant could possibly sue you for triple damages. Charge him for the cleaning and start saving for the replacement.

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John Underwood
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John Underwood
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Replied Jul 19 2022, 06:52

They make paints and sealers for concrete that will make it look new.

Also this will likely not detract from rental income, most tenants will not care about driveway stains.

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Bruce Woodruff
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Bruce Woodruff
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Replied Jul 19 2022, 07:24

@John Underwood is right. You can even get an epoxy sealer done that will look fantastic and save the driveway. You can't charge the tenant for all of the new work though.....just whatever it takes to put it back where it was, minus normal wear and tear.

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Matt Devincenzo
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Matt Devincenzo
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Replied Jul 19 2022, 07:53

I'd attempt to use a degreaser (purple power was a favorite when I worked on cars more often) and allow it to soak, scrub and then pressure wash and see if you can get the stains out some more. Ultimately the fluid stains should fade within a year or two as the sun does what it does and oxidizes the remaining material...my old beater SUV has a pretty decent oil drip going. It's regular parking spot switched sides of the driveway about 18 months ago and the old oil drip spot is significantly faded and nearly unnoticeable now. So I'd caution that you need to keep a level head in how you deal with the problem because as noted above your tenant can sue for treble damages if you withhold the deposit incorrectly....and some of your suggestions seem to be incorrect in its withholding. 

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Colleen F.
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Colleen F.
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Replied Jul 19 2022, 08:23

@Nick K.  Charge for pressure washing and any other cleaning you need to do.  You can't charge for replacement because it is likely past what is considered useful life by the IRS.  This is one reason sometimes I will clean something up rather than go straight to replacement.Future tenants may not care about the driveway if it is serviceable.

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Nick K.
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  • Los Angeles, CA
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Nick K.
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  • Los Angeles, CA
Replied Jul 19 2022, 15:09

Thanks for all the advice. I'll probably deduct a little extra for cleaning supplies in addition to what I already spent and call it a day.