Landlord trying to get me to pay $700 in damages for removing carpet I paid to install?

In most cases any you put in a rental property becomes a permanent fixture. This includes flooring, lighting ect. If you didn't get it in writing that you had permission to take the carpet with you then they can legally hold you responsible for the cost of them having to replace it. For future reference make sure you always get things in writing just to protect yourself. Good luck to you.

I can only tell you about apartments and how landlords of apartment complexes work with regard to a situation like yours. If you had a lease then you would have to have had permission from the landlord to remove and to install a new rug, and then the rug would become part of the place as a fixture and you could not remove it. Now if you didn't have a lease then you had no right installing any rug, ripping up theirs, or even taking yours out. You can't just go about doing your own things on matters like these.

If you're not living there anymore then you'd let them know your current address so they could notify you of a circuit civil court suit if they file one. If they planned on suing you and you've already told them that you won't pay up then they won't be answering you because they already started working toward filing a suit in court against you.

When you go to court you'd have to show a receipt for the carpet that you installed, and maybe before and after pictures (before, and after the rug was in, and after you pulled up the rug) for showing to the judge. If there was a rug to start with and you left them with none then for sure you owe them a carpet. The question then would be how much a replacement carpet would cost plus how much in labor costs and the judge would decide that. If you lose the case then you'd probably have to pay the court costs and if they bring an attorney along or consulted one. Usually in circuit civil cases you don't need an attorney but if they bring one there's a cost for that. So so, would you rather pay the $700 or more, or dicker over a few hundred dollars? That's the million dollar question.

Well let me start by saying that if you did not sign a lease then you would be considered only a guest. In that status you have absolutely no rights to perform any maintenance labor or material unless it was expressly given by the Landlord in writing. Therefor you are responsible for the damage cost.

e.g. One of our previous tenants removed the carpet from our unit because of pet soiling and replaced it with a laminate flooring. She argued in court that the unit condition was enhanced with new flooring and shouldn't charged for damage. However the judge saw it differently and awarded a judgment to the Landlord for not only the cost of new carpet installed but also a charge to remove and haul away the laminate flooring.

Having said this I am confused as to how you were permitted to stay in the fraternity house in the first place. If there is no signed lease or some contract and you were guest status you should have never got involved with the carpet. Most states give the Landlord up to 45 days to inspect their property and the fill out a form listing damages,but this is reserved only for properly leased tenants.

Past Property Manager

The problem isn't that you opted to take your carpet with you, but that you didn't replace it with the original carpet that existed before. As a result the housing manager had no choice but to replace the missing carpet. My guess is that the carpet is not the only issue and the large dollar amount is part of a cumulative larger repair bill for the entire house.

Whether or not you had a lease is a moot point. There is no denying you were a tenant in the house, and that is all that mattered. If they are going to charge you this extra money they will provide you an itemized bill of what it is all for, so there is nothing really to say until you receive this bill. For all you know it could be a clerical error or include some unpaid rent on your part.

By law when you install something it becomes part of the property. Unless you you were able to put back the carpet that was there you should not have removed what you put down even though you paid for it.Your housing manager was wrong.Your going to have to pay the $700

By installing carpet it is a fixture and you committed waste when you removed it from the carpet

They are within their rights to get your money. Try to get them down to $500 and go from there.

For future reference don't install stuff to property that's not your if you plan to keep it and then remove it later. Even if you improve the value of the property its still waste.

Area rugs are better ideas for the future!

Some people seem to think that threatening with the first letter is the best option. Everything is negotiable, especially when they will be unable to produce the lease.