carpet and renting?

Legacy_user

Hi all

Asking for a friend:

Her dad recently passed away and was in a privately rented property for 11 and half years. There have been no issues etc whilst he was there the landlord was happy etc... she told the LL that he died, gave notice and all that.....
He said he wants the carpets cleaned.
He was an old chappy and you can see where he used to sit in his chair for hours on end, the carpet has worn where his feet were and also where he got into bed etc..
The rest of the house is immaculate, he is now getting the hump about the carpet in these two main areas?
Anyone know what she can do? She is worried about the deposit. How much wear is acceptable for this length of time?
Thanks again all

warwicktiger

I am a professional Carpet Cleaner.

When I go to quote I often tell people that I can take away the dirt but not the wear and tear. If the carpets are 11 years old or older then it will be reasonable to expect worn areas which will never clean as new.

If you have a professional do it then you will get an invoice to show the LL. Do not accept being told the worn areas are not satisfactory, we are not miracle workers!

Smith_007

How old were the carpets?

If the carpets are > 11.5 years old, then they are probably knackered and need replacing anyway. It would be foolish and a false economy to clean something which needs replacing. (The carpets will all have worn unevenly around all the furniture, not just where the old boy sat down.)

Also note that if the landlord does replace the carpets

• They must allow for fair wear and tear
• They cannot charge the tenant 'new for old' and get them to pay the full cost of a brand new carpet. Google 'betterment' for an explanation.

If the carpets are that old, I'd suggest they are essentially worthless and any worn patches are entirely reasonable.

EDIT: If the deposit was held in a deposit protection scheme (a legal requirement) then she has nothing to worry about.

MentalMinnie

Can I come and rent a house from you please Artful? You seem like a fair LL, unfortunately ours is a pain in the !!!!.