What to charge for damages

[Kelly McBride]

Our tenants recently moved out after 4 years and I need help determining what to charge them for some damage to the kitchen cabinets.  They were good tenants but they installed 2 different kinds of child locks on the kitchen cabinets (without permission) and when they were removed they left damage.  The cabinets are 9 years old from IKEA made of thermofoil so basically shrink wrapped.  The child locks were attached with an adhesive tape that ripped the paint right off when removed.  3  cabinet drawer fronts had 2-3 inch diameter damage where you could see the mdf underneath. And then another 3 or 4 cabinet doors have screw holes on the inside which is less of an issue.  As a temporary fix they patched and painted but the result is noticeably different.  The color is good but the texture is all wrong and extends 6 inches beyond the damaged spot. Also I'm worried the patched are is vulnerable now to water and warping.

I would just replace the 3 with the most damage but they have been discontinued at IKEA.  I've scoured the internet and come up empty.  In fact the whole line of Akurum kitchens from IKEA has been replaced so I can't even replace the doors easily with something different because the mounting systems are different.

My new tenants are already moved in so at this point I'm inclined to leave the patch but what can I justifiably charge the old tenants?  

[Nathan Gesner]

Hire a contractor to do the work and then charge the tenants accordingly. You can spend a lot of time researching this and still get it wrong. IHore a professional and be done with it. Your charges will stand up better in court.