Why don't landlords just rip out all the carpet in their rentals and replace it with tile?
As I am in the peak cleaning season for the college turnovers this is a question that I have been pondering.
I can understand why someone would want carpet in their own home, After all last night when I came downstairs barefoot for a midnight snack, I had to take an extra long step to avoid stepping on the cold tile. For indoor air quality carpet does wonders, it traps dust that would otherwise float back into the air with the slightest of breeze down in it's fibers until it can be removed with a vacuum. The variety of carpet makes it so you can change to look and feel of a room dramatically. but the overall question is "why in a rental"?
Carpets in rental properties seem to be neglected. Carpet that should last 20 years sometimes don't even last one season without being damaged beyond repair. Lack of vacuuming causes buildup of debris in the fibers, as the fibers rub together the debris acts like sandpaper and just shreds the fibers causing severe wear. Common damage also includes bleach, melted wax, cosmetics, and if you are near campus you will find burn marks in the carpet that have formed a pattern resembling a crop circle in the living room where someone had knocked over a hooka. Don't get me wrong I love to clean these carpets and do what I can do minimize the appearance of damage, and make them presentable to potential renters again, but what stops landlords from replacing the carpet with another type of floor covering?
Are other floor coverings more expensive? Harder to install? What are the maintenance costs? Maybe they get just as damaged as carpet does? I'm not sure, I focus just on carpet. Until I learn more about other flooring systems, and understand the answers to these questions I will not understand why landlords don’t just rip out all of the carpets and put in tile. Until then it is a mystery, one I am willing to accept as I clean away.