Deposit dispute: Sofa wear & tear

Jarviscocker

All there and also the renter didn’t notice? Doubtful.

sal_III

Although it plausible this tear to occur due to normal "wear and tear", especially if the Sofa uses cheap material/craftsmanship, it's more likely to be classed as damage. The circumstances under which the damage occurred are not that relevant, if it was under your "watch".

Unless the damage is explicitly mentioned in the check-in report you re liable for it.

That being said £600 is way off the mark for something that can be stitched back at your local Dry cleaners (or anyone else with industrial grade sawing machine) for fraction of that. It's way to much for even new replacement cushions. Unless it was an expensive sofa to begin with, in which case the LL should be able to provide receipts of the original purchase (showing both age and original price) which can be used to determine the apportionment of how much you are liable for.

Personally I wouldn't volunteer more than £200 for that and by the sound of it the LL is unlikely to accept. So your only option is to go to arbitration and see what the experts will judge the cost to be. You have nothing to lose, by doing so, as they will not award more than the disputed amount so you can only gain.