Wear and tear in a rented property

Rudi1990

just bought my first house so will be moving out of the house I have rented for the past 3.5 years.
the house was painted magnolia in every room when I moved in, not freshly painted but clean and tidy.
i have decorated every room apart from one of the bedrooms and the hall/stairs/landing and the paintwork especially on the stairs has some noticeable scuffs etc
would I be expected to paint the marked areas in order to get my bond back or will it be wear and tear?
i have kept the house in great condition otherwise.

[Deleted User]

Rudi1990 said:

just bought my first house so will be moving out of the house I have rented for the past 3.5 years.
the house was painted magnolia in every room when I moved in, not freshly painted but clean and tidy.
i have decorated every room apart from one of the bedrooms and the hall/stairs/landing and the paintwork especially on the stairs has some noticeable scuffs etc
would I be expected to paint the marked areas in order to get my bond back or will it be wear and tear?
i have kept the house in great condition otherwise.

How have you decorated? With more magnolia/another neutral colour or in something more daring such as tangerine? Did you get an agreement in writing from your landlord about the decorating? 

Rudi1990

Lover_of_Lycra said:

Rudi1990 said:

just bought my first house so will be moving out of the house I have rented for the past 3.5 years.
the house was painted magnolia in every room when I moved in, not freshly painted but clean and tidy.
i have decorated every room apart from one of the bedrooms and the hall/stairs/landing and the paintwork especially on the stairs has some noticeable scuffs etc
would I be expected to paint the marked areas in order to get my bond back or will it be wear and tear?
i have kept the house in great condition otherwise.

How have you decorated? With more magnolia/another neutral colour or in something more daring such as tangerine? Did you get an agreement in writing from your landlord about the decorating? 

I’ve decorated to my own taste - nothing bizarre and yes I had permission - how is this relevant to my original question?

AdrianC

Rudi1990 said:

Lover_of_Lycra said:

Rudi1990 said:

just bought my first house so will be moving out of the house I have rented for the past 3.5 years.
the house was painted magnolia in every room when I moved in, not freshly painted but clean and tidy.
i have decorated every room apart from one of the bedrooms and the hall/stairs/landing and the paintwork especially on the stairs has some noticeable scuffs etc
would I be expected to paint the marked areas in order to get my bond back or will it be wear and tear?
i have kept the house in great condition otherwise.

How have you decorated? With more magnolia/another neutral colour or in something more daring such as tangerine? Did you get an agreement in writing from your landlord about the decorating? 

I’ve decorated to my own taste - nothing bizarre and yes I had permission - how is this relevant to my original question?

If you hadn't got permission, then you would be very likely to be facing the costs of full redecoration - especially if you painted it a non-neutral colour that's harder to paint over.

Given that you did have permission, did the landlord specify anything about returning to neutral at the end?
If so, then follow that.
If not, then don't worry.

That apart, it's all down to how good a job you did of the painting.
If it's slopped all over, with visible brushmarks and runs, then expect to be charged for remedial work.
If it's a decent, tidy job, then don't worry.

bannanna

Try using a white eraser sponge on the scuffs. I've used to very good effect in rentals at end of tenancy previously. Cheap on Amazon, have seen in the middle aisle of Aldi too.

Rudi1990

AdrianC said:

Rudi1990 said:

Lover_of_Lycra said:

Rudi1990 said:

just bought my first house so will be moving out of the house I have rented for the past 3.5 years.
the house was painted magnolia in every room when I moved in, not freshly painted but clean and tidy.
i have decorated every room apart from one of the bedrooms and the hall/stairs/landing and the paintwork especially on the stairs has some noticeable scuffs etc
would I be expected to paint the marked areas in order to get my bond back or will it be wear and tear?
i have kept the house in great condition otherwise.

How have you decorated? With more magnolia/another neutral colour or in something more daring such as tangerine? Did you get an agreement in writing from your landlord about the decorating? 

I’ve decorated to my own taste - nothing bizarre and yes I had permission - how is this relevant to my original question?

If you hadn't got permission, then you would be very likely to be facing the costs of full redecoration - especially if you painted it a non-neutral colour that's harder to paint over.

Given that you did have permission, did the landlord specify anything about returning to neutral at the end?
If so, then follow that.
If not, then don't worry.

That apart, it's all down to how good a job you did of the painting.
If it's slopped all over, with visible brushmarks and runs, then expect to be charged for remedial work.
If it's a decent, tidy job, then don't worry.

My post isn’t about the decorating I have done, I had permission to do it, used a professional decorator and the landlady has been to the house numerous times and has commented on how lovely I have made it.
my question is regarding the scuff marks to the walls in the hallway and on the stairs - is this classed as wear and tear or would I lose part/all of my deposit if I don’t get it painted?

[Deleted User]

Rudi1990 said:

Lover_of_Lycra said:

Rudi1990 said:

just bought my first house so will be moving out of the house I have rented for the past 3.5 years.
the house was painted magnolia in every room when I moved in, not freshly painted but clean and tidy.
i have decorated every room apart from one of the bedrooms and the hall/stairs/landing and the paintwork especially on the stairs has some noticeable scuffs etc
would I be expected to paint the marked areas in order to get my bond back or will it be wear and tear?
i have kept the house in great condition otherwise.

How have you decorated? With more magnolia/another neutral colour or in something more daring such as tangerine? Did you get an agreement in writing from your landlord about the decorating? 

I’ve decorated to my own taste - nothing bizarre and yes I had permission - how is this relevant to my original question?

What an appropriate user name! 

You need to return the property in the same condition, minus any fair wear and tear, as it was at the start of your tenancy and at the start of your tenancy the walks were magnolia. The walls are no longer magnolia and the landlord could charge you for painting then back to magnolia depending on what had been agreed and you could prove. Something you would have known if you’d bothered to read the sticky at the top of the board. 

AdrianC

Rudi1990 said:

AdrianC said:

Rudi1990 said:

Lover_of_Lycra said:

Rudi1990 said:

just bought my first house so will be moving out of the house I have rented for the past 3.5 years.
the house was painted magnolia in every room when I moved in, not freshly painted but clean and tidy.
i have decorated every room apart from one of the bedrooms and the hall/stairs/landing and the paintwork especially on the stairs has some noticeable scuffs etc
would I be expected to paint the marked areas in order to get my bond back or will it be wear and tear?
i have kept the house in great condition otherwise.

How have you decorated? With more magnolia/another neutral colour or in something more daring such as tangerine? Did you get an agreement in writing from your landlord about the decorating? 

I’ve decorated to my own taste - nothing bizarre and yes I had permission - how is this relevant to my original question?

If you hadn't got permission, then you would be very likely to be facing the costs of full redecoration - especially if you painted it a non-neutral colour that's harder to paint over.

Given that you did have permission, did the landlord specify anything about returning to neutral at the end?
If so, then follow that.
If not, then don't worry.

That apart, it's all down to how good a job you did of the painting.
If it's slopped all over, with visible brushmarks and runs, then expect to be charged for remedial work.
If it's a decent, tidy job, then don't worry.

My post isn’t about the decorating I have done,

With all due respect, yes, it could very easily have been... if you would have been facing the cost of complete return to neutral because of painting the whole place dark purple without permission, then some scuffs on the skirting would be irrelevant.

I had permission to do it, used a professional decorator and the landlady has been to the house numerous times and has commented on how lovely I have made it.

Great. So we've cleared that.

my question is regarding the scuff marks to the walls in the hallway and on the stairs - is this classed as wear and tear or would I lose part/all of my deposit if I don’t get it painted?

Obviously, without seeing what we're talking about...

But, yes, it is entirely possible that it is just wear and tear after three and a half years.

Ultimately, it's up to the landlord to prove to the deposit scheme arbitrators that any deductions are justified, with photographic proof.

olgadapolga

We had a rental for seven years. With four children the walls did have marks and scuffs on them. We repainted the whole house with a single coat of magnolia paint. I was happy with how I left it (it was cleaner and better decorated than when we moved in) and the LA was happy with it. It cost about £30 for the paint and a bit of time. Our full deposit was returned two days later.

I think it's going to be a case of either redecorating those areas, or taking a chance on it being accepted as "wear and tear". That will depend on your landlord. I don't think that anyone here would be able to comment on your question other than the responses given above as they have no idea what condition the property was in when you took possession of it and no idea of it's current condition. Nobody knows how your landlord will view the marks.

Whether or not to redecorate those areas is a decision that only you can make.

niceguyed

Bit of a grey area with scuffs in my experience. If the scuffs involve damage to plaster that's not wear and tear but easily repaired and painted over. A LL might argue scuffs are dirt and could and should be cleaned off to their original condition. Again, in days gone by when I rented when I did generate some scuffs they were easy to clean and fix.
As a recent LL (not anymore thankfully) our last tenants left an awful lot of scuffs. I could have been inclined to try and deduct but as I was selling some elbow grease and repainting sorted it. But then I had a good relationship with them and realised with a newborn (they needed a bigger place) that this probably impact on their time for cleaning.
So in summary it really all depends on the extent of the scuffs and whether you want or are able to make best. If not, the LL may not bother and you get the full deposit back anyway. Give and take is a rare commodity at times as I understand it.

OldMusicGuy

We were in a rental for one year and to avoid any dispute I cleaned any scuffs with sugar soap (got a lot of marks off) and then touched up carefully with the paint that the landlord had left in the garage. The managing agent commented that the house looked in better condition than when we moved in.

As you have had the house redecorated, it should be possible for you to touch up any scuffs that you can't clean off (provided you can be bothered).