carpet cleaning charge

[tford]

Hi,

My mother is in a US goverment senior citizen apartment in Southern Ohio. She recently moved to another apartment in the same building. Upon inspection of her old apartment, the inspector told her that she smelled a cat smell & that my mom would be charged $125 for cleaning & deodorizing the carpets.

Yes, my mom has a cat, but no one in our family has ever smelled anything when entering the apartment.

I thought it was a requirement in Ohio that all aparments had to have the carpet cleaned before it was rented again. Is that true?

Thanks!

[ohiolandlord]

I thought it was a requirement in Ohio that all aparments had to have the carpet cleaned before it was rented again. Is that true?

No this is not true. The law in Ohio is that the tenant must return the apartment in as good a shape as she received it minus reasonable wear and tear. The landlord must turn the apartment over to the tenant in a habitable condition which does not necessarily mean shampooing the carpet.