Carpet damage in tenancy - wear and tear?

Cairez

We rent a three bed flat above a convenience store, have been living here about 9 months now and not looking to move out any time soon.

We’re good tenants, we’re quiet and tidy and have two cats that are clean and don’t damage anything, except their scratch posts!

I had my desk in a little cubby hole in the living room, what I didn’t realise was that the carpet was laid in a way that the seam was underneath my chair wheels. So through moving about and my fidgeting etc, I noticed that the carpet was starting to come apart at the seam. I immediately moved my desk away but some damage had already been done.

Photos of the damage:

I’m worried that when we move out the landlord will charge us for new carpets - is there any way this could be classed as wear and tear? We also have an inspection tomorrow and I’m worried the estate agents are going to rip us a new one.

photo of the seam from another point in the living room:

We don’t use this part of the living room, but you can see the seam I’m talking about where the carpet has been laid together.

AdrianC

That's a bit more than wear and tear.
Have you considered moving your chair a bit, so the wheels aren't over that seam?

As far as what they can charge you for, were the carpets new when you moved in? Doesn't look like it.

You aren't moving out soon, so it's all based on the age of the carpet when you DO move out... If they were 2yo when you moved in, and you stay there 5yrs, then they'll be 7yo when you move out. If there's an expectation of 10yrs life from them (which looks optimistic - they don't look the best quality, or the best fitted...), then the maximum you could be hit for is 3yrs, 30% of the value.

Sacher50

I would not worry about this. 1) it looks really minor and unlikely to get picked up 2) it's definitely wear and tear 3) it doesn't pose a health risk so isn't going to prompt the landlord to address/fix it

Penguin_

It looks like a join in the carpet from where it was laid.

FaceHead

I wouldn't worry about it - the agent will see much worse things tenants have done to properties that day, and by the sound of it will put you on the 'don't worry about' list. 

So that little bit of carpet has been replaced before, rather than them replacing the whole carpet? Doing this and leaving seams across the floor is always going to make it catch and wear more quickly.

Did they have an inventory done when you moved it? Which would actually have documented the condition of the carpet in the way you have there, by photo-ing it from 6 inches away? I think that no inventory is going to be detailed enough to pin that on you, even if they wanted to. More likely, being decent tenants, the landlord/agent will want to hold onto you and not try it on for this.  

When I lived in a rented flat and had a carpet seam like this across the hallway, when the agent came around to inspect the property they documented it as a 'trip hazard' and directed the landlord to replace the carpet. Neither me nor the landlord seemed bothered by it.

Cairez

AdrianC said:

That's a bit more than wear and tear.
Have you considered moving your chair a bit, so the wheels aren't over that seam?

As far as what they can charge you for, were the carpets new when you moved in? Doesn't look like it.

You aren't moving out soon, so it's all based on the age of the carpet when you DO move out... If they were 2yo when you moved in, and you stay there 5yrs, then they'll be 7yo when you move out. If there's an expectation of 10yrs life from them (which looks optimistic - they don't look the best quality, or the best fitted...), then the maximum you could be hit for is 3yrs, 30% of the value.

I moved my chair and desk away immediately once I noticed

They said they were new but I’ll check the inventory so see if it specifies that

Martin_the_Unjust

If you are worried how about repairing it?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Coconix-Fabric-Carpet-Repair-Kit/dp/B083B7B3QN

I’ve used similar on a car seat cigarette burn to good effect.

Cairez

Penguin_ said:

It looks like a join in the carpet from where it was laid.

That’s what I’m thinking, there’s a strip of carpet along the back of the living room so there’s a line where the two pieces meet, rather than it just being one whole piece

Cairez

Martin_the_Unjust said:

If you are worried how about repairing it?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Coconix-Fabric-Carpet-Repair-Kit/dp/B083B7B3QN

I’ve used similar on a car seat cigarette burn to good effect.

Thanks for the link, I’ll have a look at this 

AdrianC

FaceHead said:

So that little bit of carpet has been replaced before, rather than them replacing the whole carpet?

They probably used a 3 metre wide carpet in a 3-anna-bit metre wide room.

We're having a room recarpeted shortly. Turns out to be 3.98m x 4.65m. They're ordering in the 5m version, and laying it long-edge, for a better change of getting the edges to stay neatly tucked..

lookstraightahead

That carpet looks really badly laid. So it's no surprise what has happened. Had it been laid in one piece it wouldn't have happened, so they can either charge you for a new piece, or not at all. Shoddy work.