State Specific Question About: OHIO (OH)

First time landlord has a few questions about the security deposit.

The tenant just moved out. So I took a look on the condition of the single family house we rented to them. The house is 13 years old and tenant stayed there in the last 2 years. It was in clean/OK condition when the lease started.

1. Walls. Their kids had some drawings on walls. Typically only a few small areas but to cover them, I need to paint the whole wall or even the whole room. How much should I charge the deposit.

2. Carpet. Same reason here. There are some small areas with permanent marks/spots and are not removable. Considering the age of the carpet, I am thinking to replace the whole carpet. How much should I charge the deposit.

3. Lawn. Before they moved in, the lawn was as good as my neighbors. The tenant promised to take good care of it. However, they didn't. Now the lawn is in quite bad condition. How can I do here?

There is a paragraph in the lease for the security deposit, "Resident leaves the premises in as good or better condition accepted with consideration for reasonable usage".

Thanks for any input.

how much deposit do you have? What are your state laws about walk thru and returning deposits? Where I live I can not pay myself for painting or anything.

So I pay my sister. She would paint the one wall and bill me. I would call the carpet cleaner guy and pay him and take that money out of security depsoit. I would also call my lawn guy and have him cut the grass, move the leaves, trim the bushes and i would take that out of the security deposit.

You charge whatever it costs to put the property back into the condition it was in when the lease began, normal wear and tear not included.

Now the challenge becomes defining what is 'normal wear and tear.'

Some on here say that charges for carpet should be limited to the prorated value based on IRS tables. While I would not charge someone full replacement value for brand new carpet if the carpet was in fact 5 years old, I prefer to write down the condition of the carpet when they move in, compare that with how long did they stay, and what does it look like at move out? A near mint condition 3.5-year-old carpet has more than 50% of it's remaining life left, and I bill accordingly.

Properly cared for carpet lasts well beyond the 7 years many use to depreciate carpet based on IRS tables. Some disagree when I say this, but to me depreciation is a tax concept that has no basis in reality. Sure, stuff wears out, but it's silly to say all flooring is worthless after x-years so you cannot bill for damages. I own plenty of 70+ year old houses that have been depreciated to worthless by IRS definition several times over, yet there they stand and their value remains stubbornly above zero. When a tenant gouges my 'worthless' hardwood floors or breaks my fully depreciated window glass from the 1940s, I bill them.

This is my opinion on the topic of carpet and my judge agrees with it as I have been allowed to charge in this manner before. Your judge may not agree. I offer it up for your consideration, not as dogma. Those who disagree no doubt will post their views to the contrary and say I'm nuts. I'm okay with being nuts as long as my judge agrees with me and I get paid for my trashed carpet.

Writing on walls: damage. Charge whatever it costs to clean and repaint. Be aware you cannot usually charge for you own labor if you DIY.

Lawn: damage. Charge whatever it costs to get it re-seeded as needed and back into shape. Since you probably won't have the work done until March/April, get an estimate from a reputable lawn care company and use that for the charge.