Rented house - how do you know when they were last updated?

dr0psofjupiter

Hi, 
I see it mentioned quite a bit on here that when in a rented house tenants say "the carpets were last done in X year, and the decorating done X years ago", before they moved in.
I just wondered how people knew this?

The house I rent was built in 1997 (I think) and although the carpets are hoovered, they're in an awful condition. Thin, beige, extremely old and worn. I wouldn't be surprised if they were the original carpets from 1997. Same with the wallpaper/paint. The bathroom and kitchen are so dated and faded too.

When we moved in the estate agent told us the reason the rent was so cheap (and therefore affordable for us!) was because the house needs updating so much. We moved in to the house in March 2019.
We are handing our notice in soon to vacate at the end of our fixed tenancy and I anticipate that the landlord/letting agent will want to raise a dispute with TDS for carpets or decorating. How do you prove something is part of normal wear and tear if you don't know when they were last replaced? 

Many thanks

Cakeguts

You have photos of the house when you moved in?

dr0psofjupiter

I have black and white photos in paper form on my inventory - but it'll be nearly 3 years since those were taken when we move out so another 3 years worth of wear and tear?

FaceHead

You don't prove that the condition of the property you're giving back is what you received minus fair wear and tear. 

The landlord has to prove that you've damaged it beyond fair wear and tear. If they have no photos they they can't prove anything. If they have photos they can only prove the truth with them. Either way, you have nothing to worry about. If they try it on with unfair deductions, you can get TDS to adjudicate.   

dr0psofjupiter

FaceHead said:

You don't prove that the condition of the property you're giving back is what you received minus fair wear and tear. 

The landlord has to prove that you've damaged it beyond fair wear and tear. If they have no photos they they can't prove anything. If they have photos they can only prove the truth with them. Either way, you have nothing to worry about. If they try it on with unfair deductions, you can get TDS to adjudicate.   

Thanks
I suppose what worries me is they use the photos from the original listing on Rightmove. We were told at the time, before we viewed, that those photos were taken prior to the tenant before us moving, they just used the same ones.
I guess we'll see what happens.

moneysavinghero

dr0psofjupiter said:

FaceHead said:

You don't prove that the condition of the property you're giving back is what you received minus fair wear and tear. 

The landlord has to prove that you've damaged it beyond fair wear and tear. If they have no photos they they can't prove anything. If they have photos they can only prove the truth with them. Either way, you have nothing to worry about. If they try it on with unfair deductions, you can get TDS to adjudicate.   

Thanks
I suppose what worries me is they use the photos from the original listing on Rightmove. We were told at the time, before we viewed, that those photos were taken prior to the tenant before us moving, they just used the same ones.
I guess we'll see what happens.

You would submit the inventory as evidence, they would work off those.

AdrianC

dr0psofjupiter said:

How do you prove something is part of normal wear and tear if you don't know when they were last replaced? 

YOU don't.
THEY do. Or, rather they prove it isn't. With photographic evidence from check-in and -out. The ones you signed...

Without them doing that, you are getting the deposit back.

dr0psofjupiter

Perfect thanks all - I was really worried!
I've got the inventory we signed, I think the photos are all in black and white and they're quite small actually so we may be ok.
I've asked if they can send me a digital version of the inventory so I can double check what they've got.

BikingBud

I would be seeking the original images so that you can see the exif data, otherwise they could have used older images, from when the carpet was new or decoration just completed, embedded into a word or PDF.

Always, always, ALWAYS take you own images, including meters, and ensure you save them securely. They may work out to be quite valuable.

moneysavinghero

BikingBud said:

I would be seeking the original images so that you can see the exif data, otherwise they could have used older images, from when the carpet was new or decoration just completed, embedded into a word or PDF.

Always, always, ALWAYS take you own images, including meters, and ensure you save them securely. They may work out to be quite valuable.

exif data can be easily edited, so no guarantee that the dates would be accurate

dr0psofjupiter

We're moving into a house we've bought, so hopefully this will be the last time we'll have to worry about this!