Deposit issue - Stain on linoleum floor

Sirok86

Hi everybody!

I hope you can help me.

I recently vacated an apartment after two years and I have been very happy about it. I hired a professional cleaning service to make sure the flat was returned in the best condition possible.

However, due to using an incorrect bathmat, there was a stain on the linoleum floor in the bathroom which neither the cleaners nor the landlord have been able to remove. The stain is small and not very visible (the landlord did not notice it at first, but I was too good and pointed it out to him) and does not compromise the usage of the room.

As it cannot be taken out, the landlord is now asking me to pay for a full new flooring. After negotiating, he is discounting the value of the two years I have been living there (20%), but the amount still goes up to £230 (was asking £288 at first).

My view is that it is not reasonable to have to pay fur a full new flooring due to an extremely localised stain that does not compromise the usage of the bathroom but the landlord does not agree with me.

Before we raise a dispute with the government-approved scheme, could I have your view as to whether my landlord's request is reasonable? I have never rented an apartment in the UK before and therefore I am not sure what is expected in these circumstances. But it does feel like over the top to me.

Thanks a lot!

anselld

It is fair to replace as there is no other way to remove the stain.
However, a 20% reduction implies that the Lino should have a 10 year life and was brand new when you moved in, for example.
I doubt a Lino which can be damaged by "the wrong type of bath mat" could be anything but cheap so I doubt it could have an expected 10 year life and it probably wasn't new when you moved in.
You could make a counter offer and then dispute if not accepted.

nimbo

In my last rented house I had to arrange for new lion flirt in the kitchen (landlord couldn't be bothered) after the floor boards were all replaced after being found to be rotten.

That including fitting cost £100. Yes I chose somewhere cheap. But it's exactly what he would have done. He even asked if i could get it cheaper? Cheeky !!!!!!.

The does sound a lot for a bathroom that will probably be smaller than the kitchen was.

jessex1990

Is it a single piece of lino or is it in strips? If it is in strips just the one section needs to be done and there should be spare left over from when it was put in. You always buy spare pieces for flooring in case this kind of thing happens.

When my partner sold their old property I did our bathroom floor with 'floor in abox' lino. It was on a small roll and you just stuck it onto the subfloor. It was £10 (yes TEN!) for the whole room. On every viewing everyone commented on how nice it looked ><You will probably find your landlord has used something equally cheap.

I wouldnt say replacing the whole floor would be reasonable if it's right next to the bathtub, after all the next tenant is just going to put their bathmat there as well. As you said the stain was so small the landlord didn't even notice!

If there really is no alternative but to replace the whole floor I hope that he is doing it on a like for like basis (no upgrades!) and has obtained multiple quotes for the installation as some will be more expensive than others

Sirok86

Thanks for your answer anselld! Just to note, the linoleum was new when I moved it. It had to be changed as the previous tenants had left heel marks around the sink (makes you think about the quality of the product...). I also think that £288 for less than 10 square metres of flooring is way too much.

jessex1990

£288 for 10m of floor? He's having you on surely?

https://www.carpetright.co.uk/vinyl

Have it as cheap as £8 per metre square. .I did a quick quote for one of them and 3x4 bathroom floor - (you don't do under the bathtub) is 12metre of floor for only £150 inclusive of fitting.

unforeseen

So £170 for vinyl plus a fitting charge? £230 isn't fair off the mark

anselld

Sirok86 wrote: »

I also think that £288 for less than 10 square metres of flooring is way too much.

Yes, too much. Have you even measured it? 10sqm is a massive bathroom!

jessex1990

No unforeseen it's £150 inclusive of fitting on the quote I did for a 12 metre floor bathroom.

Go on carpet right pick a floor / tile and enter your bathroom measurements - and it will give you a price then you can select professional fitting before checkout

10m x10m is like 30ft - thats bigger than my lounge diner. I'm sure you mean it's 10m when you multiply it together so more like (3m x 3.33m)

FBaby

So we are talking about a dispute between £50 and £80. Is it worth going through the ADR? It's up to you.

In the end, it will come down to the case the LL makes. They'll have to demonstrate the quality of it they want to argue it was the cheapest lino in the first place and replacing like for like, taking W&T as a deduction.

jessex1990

FBaby wrote: »

So we are talking about a dispute between £50 and £80. Is it worth going through the ADR? It's up to you.

In the end, it will come down to the case the LL makes. They'll have to demonstrate the quality of it they want to argue it was the cheapest lino in the first place and replacing like for like, taking W&T as a deduction.

I doubt for a tiny stain they themselves didn't even notice that it's going to be replaced. Sounds like the landlord sniffed easy money to me