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Repairing damage/wear and tear on end of tenancy
mildredalien
Posts: 1,057 Forumite
I have been living in my rented house for around two years with my partner and two cats. We aren't planning to leave until the end of next year at the earliest, landlords willing, but have recently contacted the LLs about adopting another cat (they gave us permission for the first two on the condition that we get the carpets professionally cleaned which we agreed to).
They have asked that we rectify any pet damage which of course is reasonable. I'm just wondering how we work out what is wear and tear and what is additional damage?
For example, our cats have scratched and damaged the wallpaper in the hallway which of course we are happy to contribute to repairing. However the wallpaper is clearly quite old and not in great condition anyway. It won't be as easy as replacing a couple of wallpaper panels as I don't think there is any spare, it is old in any case, and to get it looking 'normal' we'd have to replace all the wallpaper in the hallway and upstairs landing... which seems quite a large job to expect us to do.
Would we be liable for replacing the whole lot? Is it our responsibility to do the work before we actually leave, or is it up to the landlord to figure out what needs replacing/repairing and take some of our deposit to cover it?
Additionally, they did not ask us to sign a detailed check in inventory before we moved in, is the burden of responsibility on them to prove what state the decor/furnishings were in before we moved in or is it on us? We have no plans to be awkward but don't want to get stuck with a huge bill for them to update the house when it was pretty scruffy to start with!
They have asked that we rectify any pet damage which of course is reasonable. I'm just wondering how we work out what is wear and tear and what is additional damage?
For example, our cats have scratched and damaged the wallpaper in the hallway which of course we are happy to contribute to repairing. However the wallpaper is clearly quite old and not in great condition anyway. It won't be as easy as replacing a couple of wallpaper panels as I don't think there is any spare, it is old in any case, and to get it looking 'normal' we'd have to replace all the wallpaper in the hallway and upstairs landing... which seems quite a large job to expect us to do.
Would we be liable for replacing the whole lot? Is it our responsibility to do the work before we actually leave, or is it up to the landlord to figure out what needs replacing/repairing and take some of our deposit to cover it?
Additionally, they did not ask us to sign a detailed check in inventory before we moved in, is the burden of responsibility on them to prove what state the decor/furnishings were in before we moved in or is it on us? We have no plans to be awkward but don't want to get stuck with a huge bill for them to update the house when it was pretty scruffy to start with!
Savings target: £25000/£25000
:beer: :T
:beer: :T
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Comments
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No inventory means no grounds for deductions, so the LL/LA have no leg to stand on. Asking to replace all the wallpaper would be betterment. If the wallpaper is as old etc. as you describe, I'd offer a small payment as a goodwill gesture is you want to stay on good terms with the LL/LA and get a good reference, otherwise, I'd walk away and leave it. Just have to be hard in this world sometimes to get somewhere...
Our LL was/is trying to get a large chunk of our deposit on our rental we left recently, but the LA overruled him as nobody ever made an inventory and have promised to release our full deposit back, minus a goodwill gesture of £160 towards a deep clean of the carpets from our side as we did have cats. The proposed deductions weren't our doing anyway, most were already present when we moved in and the rest were wear and tear.0 -
Yeah that's what I thought, we'll definitely have the carpets cleaned and probably offer a goodwill sum towards sorting out the wallpaper.
Fingers crossed we won't need a reference as we'll be buying next year!!Savings target: £25000/£25000
:beer: :T
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mildredalien wrote: »Yeah that's what I thought, we'll definitely have the carpets cleaned and probably offer a goodwill sum towards sorting out the wallpaper.
Fingers crossed we won't need a reference as we'll be buying next year!!
So your LL has not gone about this professionally but they have been kind enough to let you keep pets and make the property your home.
We are constantly on this forum getting asked why LL won't take pets and you have illustrated the reason why.
Your cats have damaged the wall paper in the hall and rather than take responsibility for this you have suggested that it is not fair that you pay for the whole room to be decorated and you will just leave a goodwill sum which the LL is then expected to cough up and pay for the rest despite your cats doing the damage.
You must feel this is inappropriate hence your comment on not needing a reference. It's sad that you have posted in this way, I hope it doesn't put too many LL off allowing people to have pets.0 -
So your LL has not gone about this professionally but they have been kind enough to let you keep pets and make the property your home.
We are constantly on this forum getting asked why LL won't take pets and you have illustrated the reason why.
Your cats have damaged the wall paper in the hall and rather than take responsibility for this you have suggested that it is not fair that you pay for the whole room to be decorated and you will just leave a goodwill sum which the LL is then expected to cough up and pay for the rest despite your cats doing the damage.
You must feel this is inappropriate hence your comment on not needing a reference. It's sad that you have posted in this way, I hope it doesn't put too many LL off allowing people to have pets.
I hope it encourages landlords to act like landlords. ie take a full inventory and get it signed by the tenant. Not too much to ask, is it?0 -
It would be fair of you to pay for any damage your cats have done although without a proper inventory it might be difficult for your LL to make you.
When paying for damages your LL cannot make you pay for betterment i.e. they don't get new for old. Say wallpaper lasts for 10 years and it was already 5 years old when you moved in. The property has had 7 years of use out the wallpaper so your contribution towards replacing it would be 3/10.0 -
I'm all for a fair relationship between LL /LA and tenants, but in the years I have spent renting it has always been the LL/LA trying to shaft me, so why be accommodating when they drop the ball and forget/forgo something as basic and important as an inventory. Maybe they'll learn their lesson and have one made for the next tenant.
In our case, our last LL hadn't been bad, just tried to keep our deposit to fund his redecorating of wear and tear. We were kind enough to pay for a deep clean of the carpets (or money towards new ones) as we had cats, can't be more fair than that.
If the deposit schemes/courts don't have a documented starting situation, there is simply no grounds to make deductions from a deposit and this should be recognised by the LL in this case. He can ask for a contribution that he deems fair and Op might agree to pay it, offer what he thinks is fair or pay nothing at all if the wallpaper is indeed so old it holds no more value.
LL's seem to often overvalue their assets anyway, paint/wallpaper isn't going to last 10 years in a rental.0 -
lighting_up_the_chalice wrote: »I hope it encourages landlords to act like landlords. ie take a full inventory and get it signed by the tenant. Not too much to ask, is it?
I agree with this, the LL is certainly wrong.0
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