Moth Damage to Carpets in Rental Propery

rosemary65

I am the landlord of a rental property and the tenants have just left after 2 years. They have left the property immaculate except for serious moth damage to the carpets, which were brand new before they moved in.

The damage is so bad that the carpets need to be replaced in the whole house at a cost of c£1,800.

Despite regular six monthly checks by our rental agent we were not notified of the damage, which must have been obvious (there are even holes on the stair carpet) - and there must have been a lot of moths flying around!

My question is twofold - 1) are we entitled to keep some or all of the tenants' deposit to put towards new carpets and 2) is the rental agent liable as he didn't notice any damage during his regular inspections?

prudryden

We learned a lesson the hard way as well. We had to throw out an 80/20 wool carpet because of moths and fumigate the entire flat. Unfortunately, there is little that one can do except don't put in wool carpets - all synthetic. Of course, vacumming helps get the eggs, but unless you move everything around to vacumm under sofas etc., it won't get them all. They also get under the carpet next to the join of the skirting board. 1) Tenant's fault - maybe, but certainly not proveable. 2) agent's fault - maybe, but will be very difficult to get them to admit that they didn't check under every table, sofa, box, vase etc.

Brallaqueen

Do you have a professional check in inventory clearly stating the state of the carpet? Photos?
What about check out inventory and photos?

Do you have receipts from when carpet was first laid?

Do you have anything that would give an indication as to the life of the carpet (X year guarantee etc)

If you have all the above, you would have a case to get back a percentage of the costs from the deposit dispute.

You would not get the whole amount as the carpets are two years old. I'd estimate (totally non professionally) a 5 year lifespan so you might get 3/5 back?

G_M

My view is that, whilst moths is bad luck, it's just one of the overheads of a rental business. Hardly the tenants' fault. And they could argue 'wear and tear'. Now, if you could prove they went out and collected moths, sorted out the carpet-eating variety, and then introduced them into the property........

£1800? Obviously we don't know the size of the property, or the target market/quality expected, but you can carpet tenanted properties much more cheaply, and after this experience, perhaps you'll want to.

Personally I wouldn't deduct from deposit. If you did, and the tenants' posted here asking for advice, I'd probobly advise them to go to arbitration.

Tr1pp

has the agency signed off on the inventory when the tenants left, if they have and everything has been ok'd then you may struggle (i would have thought) you may find it hard to recoup costs if the ex tenant decides to dispute your claim.

I would be going to the rental agent for a damned good explanation as to why they didnt spot or notify you of this "damage" and if they did sign off the final inventory check with no mention of deductions then I would be checking the contract to see if you can get the money back from the agents who seem to have dropped the ball (though i imagine they have lots of clauses for this kind of situation)

thegirlintheattic

Whilst the tenant should have notified you of the moth problem - moths are pretty hard to get rid of even with all precautions taken. My parents still have a battle with months even with call clothes washed and in plastic storage boxes, moth balls, the carpet pulled up and those electric zapper things.

geoffky

what next getting the tenants for squirrel damage..

Tr1pp

geoffky wrote: »

what next getting the tenants for squirrel damage..

Come on, be fair.

having been a renter up until about 5 months ago, I would be miffed if my LL came after me for Moth damage but remember tenants are also responsible for neglectful damage ie) not informing landlord or letting agent of moth damage therefore preventing preventative treatment.

but as said this may well be all the letting agents fault in the first place

Callie22

It can actually be hard to spot moth damage until it's very serious - even in very heavy infestations, you don't get 'loads' of moths flying about and it's often only when you move heavy furniture that you notice the major damage. It's very easy to not notice the signs of infestation, holes and thinning carpets are often assumed to be wear and tear.

I speak from experience, as many years ago my grandparents had a very, very serious moth infestation in their house. The first sign was a worn spot at the bottom of the stairs which they assumed was just wear - it was only when they moved a cabinet that they discovered that the moths had destroyed the carpets under all the furniture to the point where all that was left were the backing fibres. My gran was a clean freak, but like most people didn't move cupboards and wardrobes on a weekly basis, and the infestation went un-noticed.

My point is that it's not easy to know that you've got a moth problem, and also it's not easy to know where they've come from or how long they've been there. My last rented house had a moth problem, which I kept on top of by a *lot* of cleaning and regular spraying with a cypermethrin based insect spray (the landlady was aware btw). I don't think it's necessarily fair to blame the tenants, if the property was immaculate in every other respect then it's unlikely that they haven't been cleaning/vacuuming enough. It could even be that the carpets were infested before they were installed - I know that's what caused the problem with my grandparents.

G_M

geoffky wrote: »

what next getting the tenants for squirrel damage..

Absolutley!

And on the subject. My tenants did nothing about the seagulls that were landing on the roof! Nothing! Just let them sit up there, squabbling and flying back and forth (the seagulls, not the tenants you understand).
As only one in 3 of my tiles are nailed down it was inevitable a couple would slip (I mean the tiles - not the tenants). £285 for a roofer! Still, that's what they pay deposits for (the tenants that is, not the seagulls).

prudryden

Basically, it's a tax writeoff. You can carry the loss forward until your next profit. You have no chance against a tenant for moth damage. Moth's are notoriously hard to train to stay outdoors and not enter thru an open window. They are a bit independent in that way.