Damaged Floor - Deposit

Landlord Discussion Repairs & Maintenance
1

Hi Everyone,

I was wondering if I could pick your brains. Some tenants have moved out my property and they’ve left it in a right state. But strangely, they don’t seem to understand this. The place was filthy - when I picked up the keys they were there fruitlessly trying to clean the oven with a tissue!

Anyway, the floor in the kitchen has come up. It’s a fitted wooden floor. It’s only lifted two boards at the end but I can already see the knock-on effect it’s having. I suspect it’s been like this for some time.I estimate the whole floor will need replacing at some point soonish and it runs across the whole lower floor (although it’s a small studio property the full deposit still wouldn’t cover this.) I wondered if anyone has had a similar experience and had success getting it off the deposit? I have a signed itinerary and I have photos of the damage but I am concerned they’re going to do a Mexican stand off and just say it wasn’t them, claim wear and tear etc. They seem blissfully unaware that it’s even an issue. They sort-of shrugged and said ‘oh’ when I pointed it out. I really don’t know how they could not see it, two panels are completely loose and move when you walk over them, plus you can see the gaps.

I’ve had tenants make a mess of the place before, but nothing structural like this so would really appreciate any advice on how to handle this.

Thank-you
Kate

2

You can only claim for a repair in this case, not the whole floor replacement. Get a couple of quotes and make a claim based on them. As long as you have good evidence of before and after, you should win.

3

Like David122 says, you need good photo evidence of the condition of that section of the floor where the damage is and affected surrounding area prior to the tenancy commencing in order to make a valid claim. I’ve had several experiences of claiming for damage to high quality floors. In each case I could only claim for the like-for-like repair/replacement and allowing for fair wear and tear in the area damaged - not the entire floor even though it is impossible to lift out any one section on its own. This is if you are claiming against the deposit held by an approved scheme.

Do not expect to get much if the damaged area is a low percentage of the total connected floor area. In each case I chose to settle matters directly with the tenant rather than go through arbitration. It is just more time efficient. My floors cannot be repaired to previous condition (either very significant and localised abrasion or penetrating water damage) so I get quotes to replace the whole floor and then apply a percentage for the area actually damaged. Tenants have found this fair. Good luck.

4

Thanks so much for your help Nilesh and David. Appreciate it.