Reasonable Deduction For Fair Wear & Tear

JuliaJames

Hi tbs624,

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I shall certainly give my son a copy of the guide for his future reference!

His deposit is protected. I'm just trying to be fair to the landlord and I do think it's fair, and a gesture of good will, to replace the blinds.

However, I just wanted to know if,legally, I could ask for a percentage reduction to reflect the fact that the blinds have had (at least) three years wear and tear. I know that excess grime is not general "wear and tear" and that's why I am not questioning the landlord's objection to their condition. It's just that I've read about people who have damaged carpets (beyond cleaning/repair) but have only been asked/made to pay a percentage which reflects the remaining life-span of the carpet due to "betterment" (thank you olly300). I just want to be absolutely sure that this principle could be applied to my situation with the blinds.

In short, I want to be fair BUT I don't want to be a pushover!

Thank you again.

orcocan

I think your landlord is taking the !!!! and you're being overly accommodative. You repainted the flat?!?

tbs624

OP -you've confirmed that the deposit is protected but didn't respond to the other part of my query, about the provision of the "prescribed information". If that has not been provided then your son can pursue the LL to court and the court has to award your son between 1 and 3 x the deposit equivalent ( he can also seek to recover his court fee) Successful case on this late 2012 ( will post details later).

Its right that you want to be fair to the LL but the balance to that is that you/your son are entitled to expect the LL to act in an equally fair manner.

If the paperwork is all in order then its as follows:

You haven't mentioned whether or not a jointly signed inventory was completed at the start of the tenancy. If it was, does it say anything about the condition/age of the blinds?

Ask the LL to confirm (in writing) when the blinds were bought. As Olly has mentioned the LL cannot user your son's deposit for betterment, ie as some sort of "new for old" insurance cover

If you can't reach a satisfactory agreement with the LL then your son should use the deposit scheme's arbitration

JuliaJames

tbs624 wrote: »

OP -you've confirmed that the deposit is protected but didn't respond to the other part of my query, about the provision of the "prescribed information". If that has not been provided then your son can pursue the LL to court and the court has to award your son between 1 and 3 x the deposit equivalent ( he can also seek to recover his court fee) Successful case on this late 2012 ( will post details later).

Its right that you want to be fair to the LL but the balance to that is that you/your son are entitled to expect the LL to act in an equally fair manner.

If the paperwork is all in order then its as follows:

You haven't mentioned whether or not a jointly signed inventory was completed at the start of the tenancy. If it was, does it say anything about the condition/age of the blinds?

Ask the LL to confirm (in writing) when the blinds were bought. As Olly has mentioned the LL cannot user your son's deposit for betterment, ie as some sort of "new for old" insurance cover

If you can't reach a satisfactory agreement with the LL then your son should use the deposit scheme's arbitration

Yes this (bold) is in order.

There is a signed inventory but there isn't any mention of the condition or age of the blinds. It only states that there are blinds at the two windows in question.

If a fair deal can't be negotiated, then I'll certainly let it be dealt with by the Deposit Protection Services arbitration.

The reason why I kept asking about if I could pay a reduced amount is that the LL told my son that he is expecting to be reimbursed for the full cost of the replacement blinds (plus fitting). You and Olly have certainly put my mind at ease concerning that issue.

He hasn't yet responded to my request for information as to when the blinds were purchased. Neither has he provided the requested information about the actual/approximate cost of the blinds in question. Of course, I want to ensure that my son's deposit (or my cash) is only used to provide a product that's of comparable quality to the original.

Your replies (and those of everyone else) have certainly made me more aware of what my response to the LL should be.

Thank you.