Landlord is Suing for Hardwood Floor Damage

California, here

I've caused a cooking oil stain (about 2 x 1 feet) on my landlord's old hardwood floor, and I'm concerned about getting sued for replacing the entire hardwood floor, which my landlord has threatened. Is there any chance that such a suit would be held up in a court of law, or am I looking at depreciated value or cost of refinishing/replacing that patch at most? It's an older floor and she says that there isn't wood like that anymore, which is why the whole floor would need to be replaced.

The only way the floor could be stained, in a manner you describe, is if the landlord failed to properly seal and maintain it.

If the floor is matched now, he can expect it to be matched once repaired. If it can be done with just a patch, that's great. If not, the entire floor would have to be replaced.

If this is a hardwood floor, there really isn't any depreciated value as there is no determinable life expectancy such as there is with a carpet. A properly maintained wood floor can be used for many years and then refinished and starting over.

If you are still currently living there, you might try getting an experts opinion on the floor so you have a better idea of what can be done before you are simply getting a bill.

Follow-up question: The landlord did spot the spill the night it occurred, but didn't inform me about it until the following morning. Had I had the chance to act earlier, it might have prevented a stain. Does that hold any sort of legal significance?

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Quoting Mimir

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Follow-up question: The landlord did spot the spill the night it occurred, but didn't inform me about it until the following morning. Had I had the chance to act earlier, it might have prevented a stain. Does that hold any sort of legal significance?

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Are you suggesting the oil was still on the floor and the LL ignored it?

Proving you could have made a difference will be nearly impossible. On top of that, why didn't you clean it up?

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Quoting jk

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Are you suggesting the oil was still on the floor and the LL ignored it?

Proving you could have made a difference will be nearly impossible. On top of that, why didn't you clean it up?

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The landlord told me this was the case. Saw it and left it for me to clean in the morning. I did clean it up as soon as I heard about it, but some had seeped under the floors by that point. It does clean up, but it seems there's still oil under the floorboards, so a stain comes back later on.

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It does clean up, but it seems there's still oil under the floorboards, so a stain comes back later on.

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If oil has soaked into the wood, there is no way to clean it (presuming the wood is actually sealed). The oil would soak into the wood from the edges or underneath and wet the wood. You would not be able to remove that by cleaning.



You might use the fact he allowed it to remain in the floor as a negotiating tool. How far that would get you is unknown. Again, proving the oil soaked into the wood before or after he saw it will be impossible to determine.

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Quoting jk

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If the floor is matched now, he can expect it to be matched once repaired. If it can be done with just a patch, that's great. If not, the entire floor would have to be replaced.

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I'll challenge that, to a degree. If the floor cannot be repaired, damages would normally be the lesser of replacement cost or diminution of value.

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Quoting jk

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If this is a hardwood floor, there really isn't any depreciated value as there is no determinable life expectancy such as there is with a carpet.

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Although a hardwood floor has a longer lifespan than carpet, every type of floor has a period of depreciation. Over time, hardwood floors will need to be refinished - and you can only refinish them "so many times" before you hit the nails. So you have a depreciation period for the finish, and a depreciation period for the floor itself - and that latter depreciation period can be affected by the amount of time between refinishing, the wood, usage, and other relevant facts. It might be helpful in this situation to know what type of wood we're talking about, when it was installed, when it was last refinished, what type of finish was used, and the like.

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Quoting jk

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If you are still currently living there, you might try getting an experts opinion on the floor so you have a better idea of what can be done before you are simply getting a bill.

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That would be sensible.

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Quoting Mimir

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Follow-up question: The landlord did spot the spill the night it occurred, but didn't inform me about it until the following morning.

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What did you spill on the floor - how did the spill occur and what type of oil are we talking about? Are we talking about a thin coating of oil, or was the oil pooled? How much time passed between the time you spilled oil on the floor and the time your landlord noticed what you had done? Why was the landlord in a position to notice what you did before you noticed what you had spilled? Were you asleep when the landlord noticed what you had done? If not, why did the landlord wait to speak to you?

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Quoting jk

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Had I had the chance to act earlier, it might have prevented a stain. Does that hold any sort of legal significance?

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Possibly, depending upon whether clean-up at the time the landlord found your spill would have mitigated or prevented damage to the floor. But why didn't you have the chance to clean up the oil right away, immediately after you spilled it?

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Quoting Mr. Knowitall

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What did you spill on the floor - how did the spill occur and what type of oil are we talking about? Are we talking about a thin coating of oil, or was the oil pooled? How much time passed between the time you spilled oil on the floor and the time your landlord noticed what you had done? Why was the landlord in a position to notice what you did before you noticed what you had spilled? Were you asleep when the landlord noticed what you had done? If not, why did the landlord wait to speak to you?

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It was vegetable oil, and it was enough to pool. I don't know when the spill occurred, but probably at least 10-12 hours passed. And yes, I was asleep when she noticed, which is why she did not tell me. (As much as I appreciate the sentiment, I think I would have preferred being told then and there, heh)

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Possibly, depending upon whether clean-up at the time the landlord found your spill would have mitigated or prevented damage to the floor. But why didn't you have the chance to clean up the oil right away, immediately after you spilled it?

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As per above.

Regarding the rest, the floor is at least 30-40 years old. I don't know how many times it has been finished, but apparently it has been sanded enough that anymore would be a bad idea. I think it was sealed when it was new, but it has never been since resealed. And you're both right, it's probably worth having a flooring guy come over and look at the situation.

You are stating that it was 10 - 12 hours before your landlord noticed the spill? I would be surprised if, by that point, the damage hadn't been done.

Why are you certain that you spilled the oil if you don't remember spilling it and have no idea how the spill occurred?