Deposit dispute case study – fair wear and tear and replacement of carpets

What happened?

The tenant said:

• The carpets were not new when they moved in and there were stains to some areas with existing fraying to the edges
• They asked the landlord if the carpets could be replaced after five years of living at the property as they were looking untidy because of their age, but the landlord did not want to do this and only agreed to replace the carpet in the lounge. The tenant admitted to dropping the iron on it which they are willing to pay towards

The agent responded, saying:

• The carpets had several marks and stains at the end of the tenancy and can no longer be used in future tenancies. The lounge carpet, which had been replaced by the landlord two years prior was burnt in two places and the landlord should be entitled to replacement by the tenant

What evidence was provided?

Tenancy agreement, check-in report, checkout report, invoice and quote.

What was decided and why?

1. The check-in report recorded the downstairs carpets as being in a generally good condition with some wear. In the bedrooms, there was fraying to the edges and tread wear to walkways.
2. The landlord provided an invoice to show that the carpet in the lounge was replaced two years before the tenant moved out.
3. The checkout report noted two large iron burn marks to the centre of the lounge carpet. The other carpets were said to be very worn and discoloured throughout with stains and spot marks to numerous areas.
4. The adjudicator found that the carpets were returned in a worse condition, particularly to the lounge where the deterioration exceeded fair wear and tear. The adjudicator highlighted, however that the average lifespan of medium quality carpets in a rented property is up to eight years and a large amount of natural depreciation will have occurred, given that the tenant, a family of four, occupied the property for a period of almost seven years.
5. The quote provided was for £600.00 to replace the carpet in the lounge (£200.00), stair/hallway (£140.00) and two bedrooms (£260.00).
6. Taking into consideration that the carpets were already starting to wear at the start of the tenancy and the length time the tenant the tenant lived there, it was decided that the carpets, with the exception of the lounge, would have no residual value and would have come to the end of their lifespan. No award was made towards the replacement of carpets to the stair/hallway and bedrooms.
7. The adjudicator did award £150.00, being 75 per cent of the cost of replacing the lounge carpet, allowing a small amount for fair wear and tear from the time it was replaced to the end of the tenancy, to avoid betterment.