Wear and tear in sofa - tenant question

abinanthanb

I am a tenant and renting a furnished property since 2 yrs. The sofa in the flat has torn in 2 places (for about an inch long each). This is certainly because of wear and tear, the sofa is made of faux leather.

I have written to the letting agent and he is coming for an inspection on coming wednesday.

I am worried what he would say. Whats the standard if something happens because of wear and tear? Do I have to pay for it?

Thanks in advance.

BitterAndTwisted

Wear and tear is the natural degradation from normal use but distinguishing this from damage isn't easy. It all depends on how old the item is and what the projected useful life of it is.

If the agents believe that the sofa has ended its useful life and it needs to be replaced this will be at your landlord's expense. If they believe that you have damaged it, you will be charged for what its value was when it was damaged. That is, not the total cost of its replacement.

Say, for argument's sake you accept that the useful life of that particular sofa might be five years and it was brand-new when you moved in and that you caused the damage, you would be liable for 60% of its replacement cost. In that particular circumstance, if I were the tenant I'd want to see the original receipt. With some cheap sofas you'd be lucky to see two year's worth of wear.

moromir

Just to clarify - has it actually torn or cracked and where is the damage exactly?

If it has torn clear through the leatherette AND the nylon webbed backing leatherette is bonded to, if I were a Landlord I would be somewhat suspicious about whether it had happened through normal wear and tear as that webbing is pretty tough stuff or whether you had caught it with something, ie studs on jeans, keys etc.

If it had cracked (pale webbed stuff showing through) then I would be more inclined to think wear and tear, as that just happens to leatherette thats stressed over a long period through weight and fluctuation in temperature.

missdee85

I cant see how a clean tear would be through wear and tear especially not on leather which tends to be much more durable than fabric?

moromir

missdee85 wrote: »

I cant see how a clean tear would be through wear and tear especially not on leather which tends to be much more durable than fabric?

Its not leather, the OP says its its faux leather, or leatherette which is a synthetic covering which is usually bonded onto webbed synthetic fibre backing.

HellsGranny

Leatherette hardens and cracks after a certain time in use, in a sofa it tends to happen on seat and back, rather than the arms.

theartfullodger

Good advice on what is/isn't fair wear 'n tear...

http://www.lettingsinventoryclerk.co.uk/9.html

If the LL will buy cheap furniture made of very thin fabric he'd have to accept the consequences... ;-)

abinanthanb

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Wear and tear is the natural degradation from normal use but distinguishing this from damage isn't easy. It all depends on how old the item is and what the projected useful life of it is.

If the agents believe that the sofa has ended its useful life and it needs to be replaced this will be at your landlord's expense. If they believe that you have damaged it, you will be charged for what its value was when it was damaged. That is, not the total cost of its replacement.

Say, for argument's sake you accept that the useful life of that particular sofa might be five years and it was brand-new when you moved in and that you caused the damage, you would be liable for 60% of its replacement cost. In that particular circumstance, if I were the tenant I'd want to see the original receipt. With some cheap sofas you'd be lucky to see two year's worth of wear.

Thanks for the reply. The sofa was not brand new, the previous tenant lived in the flat for more than 3 years and it was there since he moved in. And I have been living in this flat for nearly 2 years.

We are absolutely no hassle tenants so far, hopefully the letting agent doesnt try to make it difficult for us.

abinanthanb

moromir wrote: »

Just to clarify - has it actually torn or cracked and where is the damage exactly?

If it has torn clear through the leatherette AND the nylon webbed backing leatherette is bonded to, if I were a Landlord I would be somewhat suspicious about whether it had happened through normal wear and tear as that webbing is pretty tough stuff or whether you had caught it with something, ie studs on jeans, keys etc.

If it had cracked (pale webbed stuff showing through) then I would be more inclined to think wear and tear, as that just happens to leatherette thats stressed over a long period through weight and fluctuation in temperature.

Its cracked, not torn. You are correct, only the top layer has cracked, the white web underneath is absolutely intact. I am absolutely confident that its because of wear and tear. The reason is, it has cracked on the side of the seat where it has long line of crease.

Its would be pretty obvious the moment you look at it and I hope the letting agent would find it the same way unless he wants to play some petty trick.

abinanthanb

theartfullodger wrote: »

Good advice on what is/isn't fair wear 'n tear...

http://www.lettingsinventoryclerk.co.uk/9.html

If the LL will buy cheap furniture made of very thin fabric he'd have to accept the consequences... ;-)

To be fair on the LL, until it has cracked, I always thought that the sofa was of high quality. Infact I remember me and my DH discussing if it was made of pure leather.

BitterAndTwisted

I'd say that cracking is definitely wear and tear. That kind of damage would be hard to do by other than normal use. Now, it all depends on whether your landlord thinks it worthwhile replacing it for you or not.