General Wear & Tear

smp77 · 19 August 2010 at 8:11PM

Ok advice would be great here as I am getting myself stressed. I am due to move out of my rented house on Monday after almost 3 years. The landlord had new carpets put in before it was let to me, all light coloured carpets (biscuit and beige). I am not being funny when I say this, but they are cheap carpets, I know because I used the same in my house when I had to sell it quickly and it needed a quick spruce up!

Now the problem is, I bought a vax machine after I moved in because the carpets were light, and every 6 months have given them the once over! I have shampooed them 3 times in the past 2 weeks knowing I am leaving, but the living room one still looks slightly dirty in the high traffic places! I am sure this is because they are cheap carpets and do not have much pile, but I am getting stressed about whether they will take money out of my deposit for this when I am trying my hardest to leave them clean....would this be classed as three years wear and tear? A friend recommened the rug doctor, but is that really any better than a vax? I also don't want to spend too much money when I think the landlord is going to sell it and the carpets will be replaced. Advice please.

Ash1982 · 19 August 2010 at 8:44PM

I'd take some pictures at the very least so if you need to argue condition later you have evidence.

If you are on decent terms with your landlord I would also request that you meet him/her over the weekend at the property to hand the key back and go through the inventary (if there is one) to agree if anything needs doing. That way you can tell them you have washed the carpets, scrubbed the toilets etc, the landlord will be less like to claim against you later then.

It sounds like your tenancy started after 6th April 2007 so you should be protected by the Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme (see below link for info)

www .tenancyagreementservice.co.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection-schemes.htm

Do you let through an agent or with the landlord direct?

smp77 · 19 August 2010 at 8:48PM

I let through an agent and they are coming tomorrow to do a pre check out. I was going to tell them how much I have shamppoed them, but in my experience, they like to get every bit of money out of you possible. They are doing the check out not the landlord. My deposit is protected so I assume money taken out has to be agreed between the two parties.

Ash1982 · 19 August 2010 at 8:56PM

That's good, if you have a dispute you can go to ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution)
What happens if a deposit dispute occurs?
Both the Insurance Based and Custodial Schemes provide details of an Alternative Dispute Resolution Service (ADR).
Any disputes over the deposit can be refereed to the ADR service provided both the landlord and tenant agree to use this service to settle the dispute. Once the ADR makes a decision about the deposit this is binding and neither the tenant nor landlord can take the dispute to the courts. If the tenant or landlord does not wish to use the ADR service then the dispute is resolved through the courts.

It's better to go through an agent, they are usually more reasonable and knowledgable. The deposit is not actually held by the landlord directly so if you dispute it the landlord will not be able to get hold of all the money anyway.

I'm sure you will be fine, just be polite but confident with the agent. The agent doesn't get any money from your deposit so it's not in their best interest to rip you off. If they try too, do name and shame them on here!

kerri_gt · 19 August 2010 at 9:02PM

I would take photos, the letting agent may also do this, and the company doing the checkout should also do this too. It is possible that the landlord will want to take money off your deposit for a professional carpet clean even though you have also shampooed them. Make sure you are there at check out and if they point anything out - you have a chance to comment and have it noted. We moved out of a flat in Dec and there was a bit of carpet that hadn't been secured properly, therefore over the time we'd been there, it had frayed a bit with hoovering. It was suggested it was our cat that had caused the damage but I clearly stated the carpet had always been unsecured in that corner, that I had tried to rectify it but it kept coming out from the gripper rod, and it most certainly wasn't our cat that had caused the wear.

smp77 · 19 August 2010 at 9:26PM

Thanks for the advice! I am going to take photos before I move out. I am hoping it will be general wear and tear, I thought it was great having new carpets when I first moved in...now I don't! The landlord will not have a say in the check out, the house was sold during my tenancy so this is the second landlord and he did not know the state of the property when I moved in. The LL is also evicting us and cutting ties with the LA, so I hope they will be generous towards me rather than the LL! lol They are doing the pre check out tomorrow and the final key handing back one on moving day! Gives me a couple of days to recitfy issues...but I am such a worrier and want most if not all my deposit back!

<sebb> · 19 August 2010 at 9:35PM

I don't believe dirty carpets can be classed as fair wear and tear. Home Vax machines tend not to clean carpets to a very high standard I'm afraid. I don't personally have any experience of Rug Doctors but I have heard they are quite good.