Fair Wear & Tear Question

clare1076

We have just moved out of our rented property and the landlady has pointed out a couple of scratches on the leather sofa, i have two small children who climb on the sofa with toys etc.. and the scratches were caused by this, i would say that these were fair, wear & tear but she is saying she disagrees and will get the letting agent to decide. Obviously i don't want to be paying for a new sofa but the scratches are not huge and would not prevent her from renting the property out.

In your opinion would these be classed as fair, wear & tear or am i looking at forking out for a new sofa?:mad:

poppysarah

Do they colour in?

If they're small scratches and not major scuffs (Even these might be considered fair wear and tear though on cheap leather) they'll cover up very easily.

prudryden

It will be a matter of interpretation, probably by a third party.

clare1076

They are small scratches, its a cream leather so i suppose they could be coloured in but how?

I'm getting very tetchy about this now as i have two small children and really can't afford to be buying a sofa.

I'll have to wait i suppose for the letting agents decision.

mlz1413

Any chance of a photo? Difficult to comment without seeing how deep and long the marks are.

Also have you given it any sort of clean, say with warm soapy water, did it look any different?

With leather you can clean and soften it either with leather furniture cleaner or with saddle soap and oil from a horsey shop. These may help, but beware clean one patch and the whole thing will need cleaning!

poppysarah

LOL - cream sofa in a rented property that allows children!

Wow. I'm impressed. I'm sure it looks lovely but everyone knows that creasm is the worst colour to have if you have kids ever visiting.

Captain_Mainwaring_2

clare1076 wrote: »

We have just moved out of our rented property and the landlady has pointed out a couple of scratches on the leather sofa, i have two small children who climb on the sofa with toys etc.. and the scratches were caused by this, i would say that these were fair, wear & tear but she is saying she disagrees and will get the letting agent to decide. Obviously i don't want to be paying for a new sofa but the scratches are not huge and would not prevent her from renting the property out.

In your opinion would these be classed as fair, wear & tear or am i looking at forking out for a new sofa?:mad:

I have two smallish children - they aren't allowed to play on the furniture with toys that could damage it.

I'd hardly call it it fair wear and tear if it was avoidable in normal use.

Common sense say to get a connolly kit before the LL sees it.

If someone scratched your car you could still use it but you wouldn't want it left like it - why should the LL tolerate it?

Captain_Mainwaring_2

poppysarah wrote: »

LOL - cream sofa in a rented property that allows children!

Wow. I'm impressed. I'm sure it looks lovely but everyone knows that creasm is the worst colour to have if you have kids ever visiting.

LOL? what's funny? some people do look after things.

prudryden

Even if you have to pay something, it certainly won't be for a complete new sofa - sounds like a negotiating situation, they start high, you counter low. Eventually, you end up somewhere in the middle - which is probably what would happen at the TDS anyway.

Loretta

I think you ought to give the whole sofa a good clean, any mild liquid detergent will do, diluted in water and a cloth and wash it all over, it will probably be a lot less noticable then. You don't need to buy any 'special' expensive stuff. There may be some dirt in the scratch which makes it show more.

What date did you move in?

poppysarah

Captain_Mainwaring wrote: »

LOL? what's funny? some people do look after things.

Accidents happen. Kids are kids.
It makes me laugh to hear people say "I never let my children play on the sofa with something that could damage it" - and makes me feel sorry for the kids who must worry about so many things before they should have to. No wonder kids grow up warped.

A cream leather sofa will scuff and mark so easily - in rental 101 class you should have learnt that cream is not the colour for family rental sofas.