Deposit dispute and question re allowable deductions

tacpot12

Sausage11 wrote: »

The question then is is this a small cosmetic mark for which modest compensation should be offered, or as it is a mark that cannot be removed does this warrant a replacement carpet?

If the mark cannot be removed, I think this could be counted as fair wear & tear, if there is just one mark. If the are lots of marks, then it would not be wear & tear, and the carpet would require replacing.

I think you should make the case that one burn should be regarded as fair wear and tear. You should also be away that the burns can be repaired - often a "Carpet Doctor" will be able to make a burn virtually invisible for less than £200. It is reasonable to expect the landlord to use such a service when there is just one burn to be repaired.

I agree with you that the garden looks like you have been maintaining it well, and little or no deduction should be required. Lopping the tallest trees only needs doing every few years, so you might argue that it is unfair to charge a tenant who has only been in the property for a year for all of the work - the landlord should be paying some of the cost.

I don't think you will have too much problem arguing down the deductions to just a couple of hundred pounds, and the landlord is only going to have to pay a couple of hundred to get the property back to a lettable condition.

Craig1981

yeah, depends on age of carpet, size of burn etc - he cannot re-carpet the whole flat/house. so cost of this will depend on the section that needs replacing

Sausage11

Thanks for your comments. In response to tacpot12, the property was re-let the day that we moved out. We adjusted our own leaving schedule and bent over backwards to allow viewings at very short notice to give the landlord the best chance of re-letting immediately.