Hi, I’m looking for advice please. I have a few repairs that need doing and just want to know what is the correct procedure and what my rights are.
A carpet has been badly stained and while I’m not disputing that it needs replacing, am I responsible for the entire cost ie does the age of the carpet come into question.
Also, where do I stand on marks to paintwork? There’s the odd spot where I have tried wiping a stain and the paint has come off. My landlord is asking me to re paint the entire room. Is that reasonable or is it fair wear and tear. If so is that deductible?
Hi. The age of carpet is considered. Normally life expectancy of carpet is 10 years so if it is say 5 years old then you would be responsible for 50% of the cost of replacing it as landlord would have lost half of carpets expected lifespan.
For the paint you would normally just have to do the wall that is damaged, assuming same colour paint is available. Normally it should be repainted every 5-7 years so if it hasn’t been painted for more than 5 then it is unlikely landlord would be able to deduct from your deposit.
Hi Richard, thank you for the info, I really appreciate it. If you don’t mind I’d like to give you the full picture as I’m really torn over how to deal with this. I’ve tried Citizens advice and Shelter and can never get through.
Thanks Richard, I’ll try to summarise as best I can. Moved in nearly two years ago after marriage ended. I’m bipolar and have been struggling for a while. Renting through a letting agent but after about 6 months I contacted my landlady as I wanted to get a dog and needed her permission. It didn’t work out with the dog and that’s how the living room carpet got damaged. The damage to paintwork is where I’ve tried to clean the wall and it’s removed paint. The plastic drawers in the freezer have become damaged with one needing replacing and the other two having minor hairline cracks which do not affect use. A lampshade got damaged but I have replaced both to keep a matching pair. There is some slight mildew marking on the grouting in the bathroom.
Unfortunately I had an argument with my landlady previously when my letterbox was damaged. I was under the impression that I wasn’t responsible for criminal damage and told her so which didn’t go down well. In the end I replaced it as it was only a tenner. The trouble is that she’s more involved than I think she should be. She’s very fussy and house proud and lives on the same estate meaning she comes round quite often. I’m a good tennant and have always paid my rent on time and in full. I want to do the right thing but don’t want to be taken advantage of. So the following needs doing
New living room carpet - definite
Walls repainting?
Bathroom?
New freezer drawer - it would make sense to replace this as if not she may focus on the other two. Again though, does age depreciation come into it. It’s £50 for a new draw which seems high compared to the cost of a second hand fridge. It’s not new by any means and has a dent in the door.
I’m just trying to weigh up pros and cons, I don’t want to shell out for brand new items and then get picked up for minor things later on and don’t want to affect future referencing if required. On the other hand I want to put things right but don’t want to lose out for being too honest. I’m also unsure about how the deposit return works and how they decide on deductions.
They are all things that impact your use of property rather than doing long term damage so don’t see that LL can insist they are done now. If you don’t then LL could give notice but in current climate I would think that’s unlikely if you are paying the rent and damage doesn’t sound that bad.
It is likely LL would be concerned that deposit wouldn’t cover damage particularly if you don’t pay last months rent which some tenants don’t so an option to keep LL happy could be to offer to pay last months rent in advance if affordable to you so LL knows deposit is available to cover any damage at the point you want to move out.
At the end of the tenancy if LL wants to make deductions from deposit then burden of proof is on them to prove loss to deposit protection company. Dependent on time since decoration/age of appliance they often say it is due for replacement anyway or if not then a pro rata amount would be applied.