Moving out of rented, patching things up...

FATBALLZ

I'm hopefully moving out of my rented flat soon, where I have lived for over 3 years. However due to the crappy build quality and plasterboard walls, there are quite a lot of obvious marks on the walls. Would this constitute reasonable wear and tear?

We are trying to clean them up a bit, and have tried to find paint that matches the walls to go over some of the worse ones, but I'm conscious that trying to paint over them may make it look worse if the colours don't blend enough. Is it worth painting over them? I've done this before once and the landlord was fine about it, although I knew which colour the walls were painted that time.

Additionally there is a small dent in one of the wooden doors, how much is this likely to cost to fix? We've looked at using wood filler to make it look a bit better but again it's a case that it doesn't blend very well, so trying to fix it may make it look worse.

BitterAndTwisted

Obvious marks on walls aren't due to the crappy build-quality, they are a result of the occupants not taking enough care to avoid making them!

Instead of trying to paint patches, which rarely works satisfactorily, I would consider asking the landlord which paint colour was used. If you don't want to ask this question I would advise you to try and find a very close match and paint the whole room.

Ditto the damage to the door: fill it and completely repaint the door.

On the other hand, you could invite the landlord to do an inspection and ask what deductions they might consider making if you don't address them before you hand the property back. I doubt that it's possible to give an accurate estimate of what a contractor might charge to do these repairs. You could always contact a local one and have them prepare a quote for you.

mustrum_ridcully

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Obvious marks on walls aren't due to the crappy build-quality, they are a result of the occupants not taking enough care to avoid making them!

SOME marks on walls/carpets/etc. might well be wear and tear, for example finger marks around light switches - especially after 3 years.

I wonder how many landlords take the 10% wear and tear tax break allowance? I've no idea how much rent FATBALLZ was paying but lets say it's £500pcm, that would equate to £1800 of LL earnings over 3 years that weren't taxed, which would have come to £360 (assuming 20% tax).

BitterAndTwisted

Fingermarks round light switches are absolutely not wear and tear. That's dirt!

katygeorge

ild either ask landlord to come see and get his disicion in writing or fix them properly as said before paint whole room and door ect you can do this all so much cheeper that your ll would take out of you deposit as he will be paying somebody to do the work. I would still seak permission from landlord about fixing just incase

Ulfar

Get a colour of paint that matches as close as possible, then paint the whole wall. It won't cost you much more than buying paint to patch as the little pots are a rip off, it doesn't take long with a roller to do.

As for the door I would look to replace that myself, as you will probably source a door cheaper than the landlord. Again putting up a new door doesn't take long.

FATBALLZ

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Obvious marks on walls aren't due to the crappy build-quality, they are a result of the occupants not taking enough care to avoid making them!

I've lived in various properties over the past 20-30 years and I have enough experience to know the way this property is put together and decorated makes it extremely susceptible to these sort of marks, and its more or less impossible not to make them unless you don't actually go in the place on a regular basis. I've never experienced it in any other type of property. Have you ever lived in a crappy new build flat? The materials used are the cheapest of the cheap.

That aside, they marks are mostly coming out with a bit of cleaning, and I'll paint over the ones that are still quite obvious, so I can't see any justification for deposit deduction on that front.

The door is a varnished ( i think) wood effect sort of door, a bit like this:

http://housedoors.org/wp-content/themes/thesis_17/custom/rotator/door%20header.jpg

So it can't be painted, and you can't get filler that isn't noticeable. I did put some filler in but the colour was a bit off, so I'm going to try mixing it with a lighter colour filler and see how it looks. If he wants some money to do a proper repair I'll accept that, but I'm interested to know how much that costs because I don't want to get ripped off.

Interesting point about the wear and tear allowance, my rent actually is £500pcm, and theres deffo nowhere near £360 worth of damage (given the life expectancy of the poor quality materials).

terryw

mustrum_ridcully wrote: »

I wonder how many landlords take the 10% wear and tear tax break allowance? I've no idea how much rent FATBALLZ was paying but lets say it's £500pcm, that would equate to £1800 of LL earnings over 3 years that weren't taxed, which would have come to £360 (assuming 20% tax).

This 10 per cent wear and tear allowance is for wear and tear on the furnishings.

tyler80

When we moved out of our last place I took a lot of marks off with a damp cloth. There were still some marks left but 3 years after moving a house the walls are not going to be as new. If I remember correctly the life expectancy of walls in a rented property is around 3 years and so any decent landlord would be expecting to repaint walls after a tenancy of this length. The deterioration in the walls over your rental period could be attributed to fair wear and tear (beyond obvious damage). To charge you for these minor marks would be betterment for the landlord

FATBALLZ

Ulfar wrote: »

As for the door I would look to replace that myself, as you will probably source a door cheaper than the landlord. Again putting up a new door doesn't take long.

When we first moved in we put some scratches in the door - the lock was broken and my partner was trapped in the bathroom (!) and it got scratched taking the hinges off - and the developer was able to fix them so you can barely notice them now, so I'm assuming it's easier to fix the door than replace it?

mustrum_ridcully

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Fingermarks round light switches are absolutely not wear and tear. That's dirt!

According to the House of Lords “Reasonable use of the premises by the Tenant and the ordinary operation of natural forces”.

Touching a wall when searching for a light switch in a dark room is normal reasonable use. However, reasonable would also include time, so there would be a difference between what is reasonable after 6 months and after 3 years.

@FATBALLZ I don't think many tenants are aware of the tax break. Hmm, I wonder how many LL 'pocket' their wear and tear allowance and just pass on the cost of new fixtures and fittings to their tenants through increased rent...