Carpet permanent Stains

[Guka Kagu]

My tenants just moved out. I conducted an inspection of the property and found multiple big colorful stains on the carpet. It appears they tried to remove the stains, but they are still visible. I contacted a professional cleaning company, and they said I will have to remove the entire carpet since they are permanent. Should I deduct the cost from their security deposit or is it considered normal wear and tear?

[Theresa Harris]

It shouldn't be normal wear and tear, however, you can't charge them the full amount to replace them.  Everything has a lifespan and if the lifespan for carpet is 10 years (look it up as I made up that number), and it is 6 years old, you can only charge them 40% (ie for the remaining lifespan).  Sometimes, they can pull a piece of carpet from another area (eg closet) and patch it, but it can be hard to get an exact match as the colour will fade differently depending on where the carpet is.