Aibu to not mention the carpet mark

[Grumpyandtired91]

So I am going to be moving out of my house in the next few weeks and I have accidentally marked the carpet (see photo) it’s two small burns and it’s from my hair dryer but not massively noticeable, or I don’t think so at least? Do you think I should mention it or do you think I should just try my luck coz it will mean I lose my deposit and I kind of need it for moving into my new house and also will need it to put towards things for my baby due end of the year.

I’ve checked out the shelter housing website which states they can take the bond to replace to the same value and as the room is reasonably sized then I think it would be the full amount of deposit.

The rest of the house is immaculate and I have kept it in really good condition, I am thinking of asking to leave the fridge freezer, the tv unit and the bed and mattress (all excellent condition) so she can advertise as part furnished and ask for more rent to make up for this.

What do you think

How long have you rented the house for ?

Rented the house for 6/7 months

Is it council ?

No private

I think it’s pretty noticeable so if they do an inventory check out I expect it will be flagged up.

Sorry, I think I would have to be honest with them, or look for the carpet and replace it myself if its cheaper than the amount of the deposit.

I only asked if it was council as they can't keep anything, they rip everything out and charge you if you leave anything, my Nans was council.

They can NOT take your deposit to cover a new carpet!

Believe me, this is my job, I do Check Outs every day of the week, am typing up 32 student ones at the moment!

What they can take is the value of life lost for that part of the carpet.

For ease of maths lets say the room carpet cost £250 and was laid 5 years ago. Lets us also assume that carpets last 10 years on average.

Had you ruined the whole carpet they could ask for 50% of the carpet cost, minus a bit for the 5 years it had been down already, that's Fair Wear and Tear, the precise amount is a rule of thumb "Fair amount", let's say £250 minus 50 = £200 compensation for loss of carpet life/use

You have wrecked less than 10%, let us say, so let's be fair to your landlord and offer him 10% of that 50%, £20. Be really nice and agree to £50, show willing!

DO NOT think that offering to leave some of your possessions is automatically a good thing. or some lanldords they will just become more stuff to remove before re-letting - and charge you for! But offering cannot hurt.

I hope that helps explain how it works. The real sums will obviously be a bit more complicated and only your landlord will have the full details, but you can have a good guesstimate and see if they are being reasonable when they ask for compensation to be deducted from your deposit!

How old is the carpet? They can't charge you for the cost of a new replacement if the one you damaged wasn't new.

I would be more inclined to mention it and make sure you both agree. Inventories can become very imaginative if only one person completes it.

She probably won't let you leave the fridge freezer as if you do, she will become responsible for maintaining it and supplying a replacement if it breaks.

look for the carpet and replace it myself Please don't do that either! The landlords is quite within their rights to assume you got cheap carpet, laid it yourself, badly, and charge you for the replacement of the whole carpet! They may even be given that at arbitration!

Just talk to them. Let them know.

But I should have asked... did you get a full inventory at the start of your tenancy?

6 months tenancy? Was the carpet noted as new on your inventory?

Even if it was, the amount won't be your whole deposit, honest!

@CuriousaboutSamphire

Really?? I read on shelter that they can take the deposit to replace any damage I.e carpet burns to the value of the one to be replaced? I was referred to shelter as I mentioned it to CAB and they told me to have a look at the website for my rights etc

Not sure how old the carpet is to be honest the houses were refurbished a while before I moved in as I had seen them advertised on rightmove periodically. I have also noticed a few things that haven’t been included in the inventory (a tv bracket was screwed to the wall in the living room and the holes filled and painted over) which I am concerned I’ll be penalised for. I found a hole in the wall where the curtain pole is but luckily managed to add this to the inventory before the 14 days expired

I have just tried to look at the inventory I had been sent a link for a digital version but it is saying it is now expired.

Can’t recall it being listed as new though think it was in good condition minus a few paint blobs

I am 100% certain. They cannot have new for old, that is called Betterment and s absolutely a no no. You have not destryted the carpet you have made it look less pretty! Irin marks, GDH burns etc are usually charged at £50, as a general rule of thumb.

Shelter adn CAB are often misinformed, or write things so they can be easily misreaad. If you want to be more reassured read this link from the TDS

www.tenancydepositscheme.com/resources/files/Tenancy%20Deposit%20Dispute%20Case%20Studies%20-%20Damaged%20and%20missing%20items.pdf

Page 2 is specifically about a very visible carpet burn

Your landlord or agent must be able to give you a link or a copy of the inventory. Pictures of the room should show the TV bracket as good inventories show every wall clearly! Poor ones don't help landlords as the deposit schemes like to ensure the bad clerks, self made inventories become history quite quickly once identified!

Sorry, holes for the tv barcket obviously won't show up as well.. bu the clerk/landlord may have the original picture that could be blown up to check. I keep all mine for years... tiresomely large storage required!

Sorry about the typo's - it has been a long day!

I did this in a house I rented house a few years ago and fessed up. They were going to take the cost if it, when I weighed it up it was cheaper to replace the whole carpet which I did

@DharmaInitiativeLady

You burnt it same as me? Hope they don’t as a PP advised! Might just ‘fess up and take the consequences!

They can't do that, as in take the price if a whole room replacement.

Please do read the TDS info I linked to. All 3 of the deposit schemes say the same. You do not have to pay, you can refuse and open a claim with whichever scheme your deposit is kept in...

That's another question I should have asked... Did you get the deposit information at the start of your tenancy?

Pretty sure those marks were there when you moved in, weren't they?

I burnt it in two lines with hair straighteners.

Rules are more in favour towards the tenant these days so you might be ok?

How on earth do you burn a carpet with hair straighteners or a hairdryer? Why is it even on the carpet to start with? 🤦‍♀️

So far none of my tennents have done this, however if they had we would charge them for damage, but the amount would depend on how new the carpet was, were we about to refurbish the home etc. If the carpet was a few years old and the mark sort of blended, we would take a fee for damage, but leave the carpet in place as we replace all carpets in our properties every 5 years. If there was a hole in the carpet we would charge you for the new carpet we would lay.

Tip: Straightners and hairdryers belong in bathrooms or dressing rooms and not on carpet.

@ScotsinOz maybe it was on and fell on the floor.

I’m a landlady. Doesn’t matter how old the carpet is. You can’t be charged more than about £40 for that sort of damage.

You can’t just leave the stuff you don’t want. I would charge for removal. You don’t get to decide if a house you rent is part furnished or not. That adds massively to her expenses when the stuff needs replacing. The fridge freezer will need PAT testing every year to the tune of £50 a time. She wouldn’t get anything extra for a bed and fridge freezer. Just hassle.

Leave the house as far as possible as you found it. Put the stuff you don’t want on free cycle.

I'm an ex-LL
They can't claim new for old - and the minute that carpet was laid, it became used
Its value reduces every year too

As pp said, you should just get charged for the bit you damaged - when a tenant once did something similar, I received far, far less than new replacement cost.

They might not even notice it, depending on the light - I always paid (over £100+ each) for professional inventor, checking in & out, but some things did occasionally get missed

• Do NOT attempt to replace the carpet yourself

• that would probably be annoying to an LL, because they might disagree with both your choice / standard of carpet and your standard of carpet-laying You could end up paying to have your carpet ripped out and disposed of, as well as any replacement cost

• Do NOT leave any of your possessions - without prior written / EM permission - especially not big, heavy ones like bed or fridge

• if the LL wanted to let part-furnished they would probably already have done so I would definitely have been cross over a tenant just dumping stuff they don't want - that breaks the terms of your let.

The LL can charge to have them removed professionally, which would be expensive for you
Dispose of your possessions yourself, if the LL doesn't want them