Q:Me, my husband and baby are just about to move from a flat we have rented for 2 years. I want to make sure we get our deposit or at least most of it back from the agents. Obviously, two years of living in a place and having a baby there are a few marks on the walls and a few marks on the carpets. Nothing major otherwise. I am wondering what constitutes 'wear and tear'? I assume that most landlords would give a place a paint job after 2 years when the tenants move out after we have given the place a clean? What is the standard for both wear and tear and how often do landlords normally do a basic redecoration of a property? Thanks.
Still looking for the other about life expectancy of a rental carpet.
Thanks for your reply.
In response to your question, the walls had been painted but the flat is in a very old art deco block and only superficial things have been done. The carpets had been here at least 1 year before we moved in possibly longer but I think the only thing they had really done was a paint job. The windows are all old iron and one of them is broken (I pointed this out to the agents at the beginning of our term). I am hoping that I can clean the carpet with some shampoo as there are a few minor stains but the walls do have a few marks and I don't want to have to pay for them to do a new paint job as most of the walls are ok and as I said previously, I would assume marks on the walls and paint chipping off are wear and tear. We also have some mould around our bath which I have tried numerous times to remove but as mentioned it is an old block and there is a lot of damp which appears even though we leave the bathroom windows open most of the time.
We have an inventory but it is not particularly detailed. It just says walls 'in good condition' but I guess those terms are pretty subjective aren't they.
I would love a gander at that link if you can find it again.
Best wishes,
Dinski
The link I found suggested paintwork had a 3 year life, and carpets 5 – 10 years depending on quality. After 2 years I personally would expect a few scuff marks, and marks around removed paintings to be present, and would probably repaint anyway. For this I would not charge the outgoing tenant. Lots of holes in the paintwork and plaster from shelves, gouges to the plasterwork, blue tack 'holes', large nails holes etc would be a different matter, and I would therefore get quotes for someone to come in and repair these, and then repaint.
As for the carpet, if it had been new, I would expect it to have had the pile flattened in heavy use areas, have dents from a different arrangement of furniture, but not to be stained. If you think it has been very marked/stained, either try cleaning these bits yourselves, hire a carpet cleaning machine, or get a carpet cleaner in.
finally, was it all new when you moved in, and did you have a detailed inventory, and did you sign it?
hope this helps