Compensating landlord at end of tenancy

RAS

If you've been a tenant for 10 years, you reclaim your entire deposit the day you leave. The DPS will expect any landlord to do an almost total refurbishment after 10 years. Leave the place clean and if possible get in a cleaning company to give it the once over including a cooker clean.

What would be an issue is broken windows, holes in walls, doors ripped off hinges, and mould on tiles. And a total jungle for a garden, unless you acquired a jungle originally.

Mae16

RAS said:

If you've been a tenant for 10 years, you reclaim your entire deposit the day you leave. The DPS will expect any landlord to do an almost total refurbishment after 10 years. Leave the place clean and if possible get in a cleaning company to give it the once over including a cooker clean.

What would be an issue is broken windows, holes in walls, doors ripped off hinges, and mould on tiles. And a total jungle for a garden, unless you acquired a jungle originally.

Thanks. Unfortunately the wood floor is scratched in a few places such that it will need resurfacing, and the dog scratched two wood doors deeply when she had separation anxiety(many years ago) which I had planned to get sanded, filled and repainted. Professional clean and carpet clean will be happening for sure, but that won't fix the damage. 

silvercar

I would wait and see what happens. The landlord could decide that after being a tenant for so long and saved them the cost of finding a new tenant and having voids, they are happy to keep the deposit alone and move on. Don’t stress too much, it’s part of the landlord’s business to deal with end of tenancy issues.

Grumpy_chap

The OP simply sounds like too good to be true as a Tenant.

I am a LL and, after 10 years of reliable rent received (I assume that to be the case) with no voids and little expenditure on maintenance, I would be expecting to undertake a fairly substantial refurbishment of the property before marketing to let again.  On that basis, I'd probably expect to refund the deposit pretty much regardless.

The OP should simply follow the standard check out process and then claim back their full deposit, citing anything (even the damaged floor and doors) as wear and tear.
If the LL claims to withhold part (or all) of the deposit, then it seems as though the OP will accept that and not fight.
I certainly do not think the OP should offer anything over and above the deposit.  As a LL, I always consider that, for practical purposes, the deposit is the maximum cover I have for remedy in case of damage by the T.

_Penny_Dreadful

Mae16 said:

RAS said:

If you've been a tenant for 10 years, you reclaim your entire deposit the day you leave. The DPS will expect any landlord to do an almost total refurbishment after 10 years. Leave the place clean and if possible get in a cleaning company to give it the once over including a cooker clean.

What would be an issue is broken windows, holes in walls, doors ripped off hinges, and mould on tiles. And a total jungle for a garden, unless you acquired a jungle originally.

Thanks. Unfortunately the wood floor is scratched in a few places such that it will need resurfacing, and the dog scratched two wood doors deeply when she had separation anxiety(many years ago) which I had planned to get sanded, filled and repainted. Professional clean and carpet clean will be happening for sure, but that won't fix the damage. 

That flooring is at least 10 years old now. Its residual value is zero meaning the landlord is due zero even if it is damaged over and above fair wear and tear. Landlords are not entitled to betterment or in other words they do not get new for old. Don’t offer the landlord a lump sum. Don’t spend time and money on the scratches. Do claim your full deposit back from whichever scheme it is registered with. 

Mae16

Grumpy_chap said:

The OP simply sounds like too good to be true as a Tenant.

I am a LL and, after 10 years of reliable rent received (I assume that to be the case) with no voids and little expenditure on maintenance, I would be expecting to undertake a fairly substantial refurbishment of the property before marketing to let again.  On that basis, I'd probably expect to refund the deposit pretty much regardless.

The OP should simply follow the standard check out process and then claim back their full deposit, citing anything (even the damaged floor and doors) as wear and tear.
If the LL claims to withhold part (or all) of the deposit, then it seems as though the OP will accept that and not fight.
I certainly do not think the OP should offer anything over and above the deposit.  As a LL, I always consider that, for practical purposes, the deposit is the maximum cover I have for remedy in case of damage by the T.

Thank you. That's helpful. I've certainly never been late with rent and have taken care of a lot of the minor maintenance myself, with the LL's permission. 

Mae16

_Penny_Dreadful said:

Mae16 said:

RAS said:

If you've been a tenant for 10 years, you reclaim your entire deposit the day you leave. The DPS will expect any landlord to do an almost total refurbishment after 10 years. Leave the place clean and if possible get in a cleaning company to give it the once over including a cooker clean.

What would be an issue is broken windows, holes in walls, doors ripped off hinges, and mould on tiles. And a total jungle for a garden, unless you acquired a jungle originally.

Thanks. Unfortunately the wood floor is scratched in a few places such that it will need resurfacing, and the dog scratched two wood doors deeply when she had separation anxiety(many years ago) which I had planned to get sanded, filled and repainted. Professional clean and carpet clean will be happening for sure, but that won't fix the damage. 

That flooring is at least 10 years old now. Its residual value is zero meaning the landlord is due zero even if it is damaged over and above fair wear and tear. Landlords are not entitled to betterment or in other words they do not get new for old. Don’t offer the landlord a lump sum. Don’t spend time and money on the scratches. Do claim your full deposit back from whichever scheme it is registered with. 

Thanks. It is parquet flooring, so it's considered to have a lifespan of multiple decades, not the usual 10 years. However, I won't offer additional money until it is asked for. 

_Penny_Dreadful

Mae16 said:

_Penny_Dreadful said:

Mae16 said:

RAS said:

If you've been a tenant for 10 years, you reclaim your entire deposit the day you leave. The DPS will expect any landlord to do an almost total refurbishment after 10 years. Leave the place clean and if possible get in a cleaning company to give it the once over including a cooker clean.

What would be an issue is broken windows, holes in walls, doors ripped off hinges, and mould on tiles. And a total jungle for a garden, unless you acquired a jungle originally.

Thanks. Unfortunately the wood floor is scratched in a few places such that it will need resurfacing, and the dog scratched two wood doors deeply when she had separation anxiety(many years ago) which I had planned to get sanded, filled and repainted. Professional clean and carpet clean will be happening for sure, but that won't fix the damage. 

That flooring is at least 10 years old now. Its residual value is zero meaning the landlord is due zero even if it is damaged over and above fair wear and tear. Landlords are not entitled to betterment or in other words they do not get new for old. Don’t offer the landlord a lump sum. Don’t spend time and money on the scratches. Do claim your full deposit back from whichever scheme it is registered with. 

Thanks. It is parquet flooring, so it's considered to have a lifespan of multiple decades, not the usual 10 years. However, I won't offer additional money until it is asked for. 

Even with parquet flooring after 10 years the landlord should expect to do some maintenance on the flooring at their own expense. 

Rather than offer money if the landlord asks for it use the deposit scheme’s arbitration service to decide if money is owed. My guess is that they’ll find in your favour. 

Mae16

_Penny_Dreadful said:

Mae16 said:

_Penny_Dreadful said:

Mae16 said:

RAS said:

If you've been a tenant for 10 years, you reclaim your entire deposit the day you leave. The DPS will expect any landlord to do an almost total refurbishment after 10 years. Leave the place clean and if possible get in a cleaning company to give it the once over including a cooker clean.

What would be an issue is broken windows, holes in walls, doors ripped off hinges, and mould on tiles. And a total jungle for a garden, unless you acquired a jungle originally.

Thanks. Unfortunately the wood floor is scratched in a few places such that it will need resurfacing, and the dog scratched two wood doors deeply when she had separation anxiety(many years ago) which I had planned to get sanded, filled and repainted. Professional clean and carpet clean will be happening for sure, but that won't fix the damage. 

That flooring is at least 10 years old now. Its residual value is zero meaning the landlord is due zero even if it is damaged over and above fair wear and tear. Landlords are not entitled to betterment or in other words they do not get new for old. Don’t offer the landlord a lump sum. Don’t spend time and money on the scratches. Do claim your full deposit back from whichever scheme it is registered with. 

Thanks. It is parquet flooring, so it's considered to have a lifespan of multiple decades, not the usual 10 years. However, I won't offer additional money until it is asked for. 

Even with parquet flooring after 10 years the landlord should expect to do some maintenance on the flooring at their own expense. 

Rather than offer money if the landlord asks for it use the deposit scheme’s arbitration service to decide if money is owed. My guess is that they’ll find in your favour. 

Thanks. I'm assuming that the deposit will be swallowed up before we get to the floor. A couple of doors need repairing too (they will need sanding,filling and repainting, so a couple of days work for a handyman). And I'm aware that even if I've cleaned and had a professional clean there are always imperfections somewhere that are picked up on and billed for. Plus, I'm reseeding the lawn, but it's not going to recover completely in time, so that will be an issue. Based on everyone's advice, I won't offer extra money until I'm asked for it. 

Slinky

Do come back and let us know the outcome please.