Water damage to Kitchen work surface in rental property.

neilvicks

Hello,

We have recently moved out of a rental property of 2 and a half years. We were very good tenants (IMO) and always paid the rent on time.

We vacated on 31/05 after the landlord said they wanted to move back in. We left the house very clean and tidy as per the tenancy agreement.

We are still waiting for our deposit to be returned, after contacting the LA several times it appears the LL is dragging their heels over the kitchen work top. It appears there is some water damage and black marking next to where the sink is.

I've done a bit of research online but can't find enough to pin it down exactly but from what I gather wooden kitchen worktops in a rental are a bad idea in the first instance. It looks like wooden tops need a bit more care and shouldn't be allowed to remain wet.

First of all, we didn't know that when we moved in and nowhere in the TA does it say that wooden worktops need special care and attention.

Is it unreasonable for the LL to deduct any of our deposit on these grounds? It seems to me that a wooden worktop around a sink would be subject to water marks throughout its life and could be considered fair wear and tear. It is certainly not damaged beyond use.

The LA seem to agree with me that the property is in good condition and they believe the deposit should be returned.

It's annoying that we pay so much to these people and they drag their heels over a matter such as this.

I should add that there is some considerable damp damage to external walls which have never been dealt with properly through our entire tenancy.

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.

Regards,

Neil.

Pixie5740

It doesn't matter what material the worktops are made out of, you chose to rent a property with wooden worktops and if you have caused damage over and above fair wear & tear then your landlord can deduct money from your deposit. If you'd never had wooden worktops before then you should have found out how to care for them. Yes, it might have been sensible for the landlord to have left some care instructions along with the manuals for appliances but it isn't a requirement.

Any damp on the external wall makes no difference to your deposit claim. What is important is how the check-in report compares with the check-out report.

neilvicks

Thanks for the prompt reply, I presume your opinion is firmly of the LL perspective.

Surely by definition fear wear and tear means that not everything in the property will be returned to how it was when the tenant moved in?

The worktop is not damaged beyond use, it has some water staining and black marks around the sink area. It's not even a part where you would prepare food.

I don't accept that it would adversely affect the rental value so in an absolute worse case scenario i might contribute a % of the cleaning bill but I'm more inclined to take it to arbitration.

I also believe that the fact the landlord has neglected to maintain their property is an important point.

Regards,

Neil.

Hoploz

He cannot retain the whole deposit over this in any case. Surely he can only retain the amount it will cost to put it right. I'm ot an expert in wooden worktops myself, but I assume to rectify it it'll need a sand and then put some oil on. A DIY job, or possibly handyman etc. If its a top end immaculate finish throughout the house and this is the only sign of wear then he might want to get a new worktop fitted I suppose, but even that would prob cost less than your full deposit.

Pixie5740

neilvicks wrote: »

Thanks for the prompt reply, I presume your opinion is firmly of the LL perspective.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

neilvicks wrote: »

Surely by definition fear wear and tear means that not everything in the property will be returned to how it was when the tenant moved in?

It's fair wear & tear. Say for example I rent a flat that has brand new cream carpets in it. At the end of my tenancy they won't be in the same condition even after I've cleaned them as I would have walked on the carpets and put furniture on the carpets. That's fair wear and tear. If I spilled something on the carpets and couldn't clean the stain off then that wouldn't be fair wear & tear but damage and so the landlord could make a claim against my deposit. Would the carpet still be usable, absolutely, would the landlord have to use the money to replace the carpet, no he would not.

neilvicks wrote: »

The worktop is not damaged beyond use, it has some water staining and black marks around the sink area. It's not even a part where you would prepare food.

It's still damaged rather than just being fair wear & tear.

neilvicks wrote: »

I don't accept that it would adversely affect the rental value so in an absolute worse case scenario i might contribute a % of the cleaning bill but I'm more inclined to take it to arbitration.

It's nothing to do with the rental value, it's to compensate the landlord for the loss. He isn't entitled to betterment i.e. new for old but because you caused damage he is entitled to something.

neilvicks wrote: »

I also believe that the fact the landlord has neglected to maintain their property is an important point.

The time to deal with repairs is during the tenancy. If after writing (ink, paper, stamp) to the address for the serving of notices given in your tenancy agreement twice your landlord doesn't do anything about the repairs you can escalate it to the council. It's too late now.

neilvicks

The damage to the walls were reported on every Letting Agent inspection but that's not the point here I suppose.

Its disappointing people go down this route, I've paid them a small fortune over the period and to gripe about a hundred pounds or so on a worktop seems extremely pedantic.

They said they wanted to move in ASAP and they haven't even done so which is even more disappointing as it cost me extra ££ to move earlier than planned. They don't even think of the knock on effect this has on families with stress and the rest and now to rub salt in the wounds they're moaning about this.

So much for common decency.

Anyway, cheers for the advice.

martinthebandit

neilvicks wrote: »

So much for common decency.

.

It does seem pretty uncommon sometimes.

......... perhaps one could consider that the decent thing to do is, if you damage something through lack of care then you put it right?

fishpond

neilvicks wrote: »

The damage to the walls were reported on every Letting Agent inspection but that's not the point here I suppose.

Its disappointing people go down this route, I've paid them a small fortune over the period and to gripe about a hundred pounds or so on a worktop seems extremely pedantic.

They said they wanted to move in ASAP and they haven't even done so which is even more disappointing as it cost me extra ££ to move earlier than planned. They don't even think of the knock on effect this has on families with stress and the rest and now to rub salt in the wounds they're moaning about this.

So much for common decency.

Anyway, cheers for the advice.

Maybe you were not as good a tenant as you are making yourself to have been.
Therefore the LL wanted you out.:)
"to gripe about a hundred pounds or so on a worktop seems extremely pedantic"
So, why are you?
Who knows?

neilvicks

Terrible tenant.....always paid the rent on time in full. Cheers for the words of wisdom. :money:

neilvicks

Through lack of care? By not using the water maybe I could have avoided splasing to foul the innocent worktop.

It's a wooden worktop next to a sink, of course I'm sure though, you are commenting from a position of experience?

Of course you are, it's the internet so everyone is an expert (troll).

desdemona01

The standard comment to these sort of queries on this forum tend to go along the lines of:


Was an inventory carried out at the start and end of the tenancy?
Is the deposit in one of the approved schemes?


Oh! There you go, I've asked them!