Normal costs of turning over an apartment after a tenant vacates may not be included on a claim to HUD for tenant damages. The costs an owner incurs for the basic cleaning and repairing of such items necessary to make a unit ready for occupancy by the next tenant are part of the costs of doing business. When reviewing Special Claims for Damages, SHCC will only approve incorporation of those charges that are for damages that were beyond normal wear and tear.
SHCC adheres to general guidelines established in HUD’s Special Claims Processing Guide Appendix 5C.
The following is a list of items typically attributable to routine use or “normal wear and tear”.
- Fading, peeling, or cracked paint
- Slightly torn or faded wallpaper
- Small chips in plaster
- Nail holes, pin holes, or cracks in wall
- Door sticking from humidity
- Cracked window pane from faulty foundation or building settling
- Floors needing coat of varnish
- Carpet faded or worn thin from walking
- Loose grouting and bathroom tiles
- Worn or scratched enamel in old bathtubs, sinks, or toilets
- Rusty shower rod
- Partially clogged sinks caused by aging pipes
- Dirty or faded lamp or window shades
Tenant damages usually require more extensive repair, and at greater cost than “normal wear and tear”, and are often the result of a tenant’s abuse or negligence that is above and beyond normal wear and tear. Examples include:
- Gaping holes in walls or plaster
- Drawings, crayon markings, or wallpaper that owner did not approve
- Seriously damaged or ruined wallpaper
- Chipped or gouged wood floors
- Doors ripped off hinges
- Broken windows
- Missing fixtures
- Holes in ceiling from removed fixtures
- Holes, extensive stains, or burns in carpet
- Missing or cracked bathroom tiles
- Chipped and broken enamel in bathtubs and sinks
- Clogged or damaged toilet from improper use
- Missing or bent shower rods
- Torn, stained, or missing lamp and window shades
SHCC also references Appendix 5D, which provides a sample life expectancy chart for features of the unit:
| Hot Water Heaters | 10 years | All units |
| Plush Carpeting | 5 years | Family |
| 7 years | Elderly | |
| Air Conditioning Units | 10 years | All units |
| Ranges | 20 years | All units |
| Refrigerators | 10 years | All units |
| Interior Painting – Enamel | 5 years | Family |
| 7 years | Elderly | |
| Interior Painting – Flat | 3 years | Family |
| 5 years | Elderly | |
| Tiles/Linoleum | 5 years | Family |
| 7 years | Elderly | |
| Window shades, screens, blinds | 3 years | Family, Elderly |