Deposit

SSH_2

My husband and I have been renting our present house for 10 months. We are due to leave this week.

Our landlady called round a week or so ago. Now she has been on the phone to my husband complaining about the state of the sofas. The sofas have been slightly damaged by our cats (that she knew about and agreed to when we moved in)

These sofas are at least 5 years old and I want to know where we stand regarding getting our deposit back. If she decides she wants us to re-upholster them it could cost us our full deposit. Is she able to do this or is there another cheaper way we can compensate for the damage.

I'm also worried because her two sons are lawyers and she keeps dropping that into conversation.

Can anyone suggest anything?

moromir

If (and it should be) the deposit it registered with a deposit scheme, then I would assume that they all hold formulas to work out how much items such as sofas/carpets etc decrease in value per year, and she would only be able to claim against that much. (I only have experience of TDS, there are two other schemes).

SSH wrote: »

The sofas have been slightly damaged by our cats (that she knew about and agreed to when we moved in)

This reads as if the Landlady agreed your cats may slightly damage the furniture which I'm sure wasn't your intention. I think what you mean is that she agreed your cats could join you at the property.

Do you have this permission in writing? (if not she may be able to deny she ever agreed to them being at the property). If you have it in writing, what does the tenancy agreement say about pets?

Pets damaging furniture is not fair wear and tear, what is the scope of this damage? (claw marks where the fabric has been pulled? stains?)

I doubt she could claim for the full cost of reupholstering the sofa at this point, but I think you should consider her point of view, without getting to heavy on the morality of it all, your pets have damaged the property and if it were your property I think you'd probably want the person responsible to make good.

PS if its stains, have you spoken to your local vets? They sometimes carry specalist cleaning foams which might help.

SSH_2

Thanks for this, we've checked and we do have it writing about the cats being allowed. I'll have to double check about the deposit.

I do agree that if our cats had badly damaged any furniture we would be responsible for compensating the landlady but what I object to is paying hundreds of pounds to re-upholster 5 year sofas that only have a few new pulls on them. If they were brand new when we moved in, thats one thing, but they weren't exactly in mint condition when we moved in.

Thanks again

Jowo_2

Was an inventory/schedule of condition undertaken at the start of the tenancy?

Landlords are obliged to take into account the age and condition of the item when calculating deductions.

As per the previous poster, fair wear and tear doesn't cover any accidental or negligent damage - it basically means natural deterioration under ordinary use and so damage by pets is not fw&t.

Astec

Pet damage is a little more than fair wear and tear, but the sofa's value is an issue. Try and reason with her and give a percentage of the sofas used value. ie, sofa new £2000, 5 year old worth £400, give £100 or 25%.

If they were bought new for you then it's fair to ask for a re-upholster, but if they were battered anyway anything more than £50 is a bit harsh!

clutton_2

well you must come to some sort of compromise agreement then - your cats did the damage, she needs to have it repaired, you need to contributre to the cost, you need to agree a fair amount... i would offer 1/4 of the amount since it is a 5 year old sofa...