What's "wear & tear" and what's actual "damage"?

Astec

After 2 years I think something that can be fixed with a lick of paint is fair wear and tear. Especially if it wasn't freshly painted when you moved in. Damage would be ripped wallpaper, broken plaster etc IMO.

It is what the LA thinks tho.

NEH

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

In your position, if it's at all possible, I would invite the landlord round a few days before final check-out, ask them to do an interim inspection and then you can discuss anything which the landlord would consider making a deduction for and then you have the opportunity to put them right.

If I were a landlord I would consider Blu-Tac marks to be damage. Your landlord might not.

Have you tried removing the Blu-Tac with some bread, or maybe Sugar-Soap? Blu-Tac has something oily in it so remove as for oil/grease

A warning about sugar soap, i tired that on some of the heavy marks left on the wall from the furniture people when lifting a sofa in and out and it takes paint off...

Our walls are very badly painted, probably only one coat so be careful if your walls are not as well painted as the sugar soap will take it right off.....

BitterAndTwisted

Agreed, which is why a patch-test would be necessary. Sometimes it's quicker to just paint the whole room, or even the whole wall in question rather than mucking about with small, individual scuffs and marks the removal of which might leave the paintwork in a worse condition overall

Jowo_2

Astec wrote: »

After 2 years I think something that can be fixed with a lick of paint is fair wear and tear.

Alternatively, something that can be fixed with a lick of paint is a damaged wall, damaged through the negligence or by accident by the tenant. It doesn't have to be deliberate to warrant a deduction. How it is fixed (cheaply, easily, etc) is also irrelevant in determining if it falls within fw&t.

A landlord is obliged to take into account the age and condition of the item when calculating a deduction.

But it is a false assumption that a tenant can hand back a property in a damaged condition after x period of habitation and expect it to be automatically written off as fair wear and tear because of the duration of their tenancy.

In the OPs case, its all relatively minor and the landlord may well be happy to write it off, perhaps planning to refresh the decoration anyhow.

NEH

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Agreed, which is why a patch-test would be necessary. Sometimes it's quicker to just paint the whole room, or even the whole wall in question rather than mucking about with small, individual scuffs and marks the removal of which might leave the paintwork in a worse condition overall

Thankfully i tested it on the bit behind the bin though we will porobably repaint that bit anyway as the lid from the bin caught the wall causing scuff marks....

mlz1413

Scarlett.1974 wrote: »

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Unfortunately the LL lives 300 miles away so it will be the LA doing the inspection. Would they give us the opportunity to put any 'damage' right, do you think?

If the LL is entrusting the LA to do the closing inventory then yes it is the LA you need to come out before the final day. As they are a business then they may well want this to be in work hours.

Get LA out ASAP and then back up any conversion with a letter, recorded delivery, so that if they do try and charge you for anything verbally agreed as W&T you have some back up.

Hopefully you will have a good LA!

Scarlett.1974

Thanks again for all the helpful advice, much appreciated

Especially thanks for the warning about the sugar soap! The walls here are pretty poor......... just 1 coat of paint straight onto plaster in the bedrooms.

NEH

Scarlett.1974 wrote: »

Thanks again for all the helpful advice, much appreciated

Especially thanks for the warning about the sugar soap! The walls here are pretty poor......... just 1 coat of paint straight onto plaster in the bedrooms.

Then don't risk it, ours is either one coat onto plaster or one coat onto plaster board thin stuff....I also tried a tiny bit of cif but to no avail, maybe water is the best thing...

Fire_Fox

It's the water that does the damage not the sugar soap as emulsion is water soluble! IME sugar soap will remove marks no other cleaning product will.

NEH

Fire_Fox wrote: »

It's the water that does the damage not the sugar soap as emulsion is water soluble! IME sugar soap will remove marks no other cleaning product will.

Forgot about that, it's the illness i have i forget sometimes. The sugar soap i used a dry cloth and only the sugar soap and it took the paint clean off.