Wear and tear in a rental property

TRACEY6101

I left my flat last Wednesday the estate agent came to check me out and said that the landlord was in the area the next day so will sign it off then, otherwise she would of done it then. She then calls me the day after saying that i have to go back and repaint the entire flat as there are scuffs/marks on the walls. These are not large marks/scuffs just general marks plus with it being white they probs show up a bit more. I went to the office to discuss this as she told me i could pay £100 to have it done or do it myself but had a list to follow, i had to buy a certain paint from a certain shop costing £40 a tin! its matt white! i had to make sure i had taped dust sheets covering everything apart from the walls and make sure the walls were super smooth after painting, if there was a speck of dust in the paint i would have to sand down and start again. I was asked to leave 2 months ago (as far as im aware the LL has financial problems) and it was put on the market for sale, which it now has an offer on and is in the process of being sold and have been told they want me to repaint it because they dont want the buyer to pull out. Its honestly a few marks here and there from general use from me and my daughter where furniture has been no crayon on walls or holes, i have even given them a wash down, completely gutted the place which i have been told it was noted in how clean it was yet i was asked to go back and clean a drip of water off the glass oven door where it had run down......do i stand anywhere with this being fair wear and tear?? can i object to it?
Thanks in advance

Sharon87

Is your deposit protected? Get the deposit protection scheme sort it out. If not tell the landlord you'd be claiming 3 times the amount of the deposit if it's not protected (assuming you live in England, I think Scotland's different)

It does sound the LL seems to be taking the !!!!.

For the scuff marks - will they really notice if you use a different kind of paint if you paint it? You don't need to have them there whilst you paint.

preable

If its not protected then the landlord messed up xD

TRACEY6101

Hi thanks for replying, it is protected with the dsa i didnt realise you could go through them. Im not sure if they will notice if i used a different paint, i just think its pointless to spend so much on white paint when i can get a tub 3 times the size for half the price! I dont think its right that im being told that i have to do it all there way and that they want me to do it so the sale doesnt fall through, im sure if someone who has seen the flat wouldnt pull out if they did a 2nd viewing and saw small scuffs. Ive mentioned to them i can not return it to them after nearly 2 years in the condition it was in when i moved in as it was brand new, but also there was marks already on the walls from workmen being in and out but wasnt on the inventry, I'd rather not have to paint as moved into a new house and got enough work to do with that one, but if i have to i would like to do it as cost effective as i can.

sequence

JUst dispute it with the deposit service then. Landlord has to prove you caused the marks.

jockosjungle

They want you to pay the £100, they don't want you to do it yourself! They've picked £100 as its probably only a small part of the deposit and think you won't bother, they've added the trouble it'll take to do the painting and the cost to make you accept the offer of £100.

The LL will take your £100 and then not paint the house, I'd dispute it

R

Jowo_2

Fair wear and tear, though it doesn't have a legal definition, is largely about natural deterioration under ordinary use. So this covers things like carpet thinning at doorways where it gets more tread, curtains fading with sunlight and so forth. Fair wear and tear excludes marks, stains, burns - it doesn't have to be 'deliberately' done in order to qualify as damage.

That said, a landlord has to take into account the age and condition of the affected item when making a deduction.