Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Damage by tenant

137 replies

Babysister · 15/04/2023 16:30

Am I being unreasonable to feel the way the tenant has left my house is unreasonable?

Two years ago I was offered a job in France through a teacher exchange and decided to rent out my house while I was living there. I was not sure of my future plans so put all my belongings and furniture into storage to let my house unfurnished. My dream was to move elsewhere when I retired but my personal circumstances have changed so I decided to move back to my house when the tenant gave notice.

I arrived in the UK last week to collect the keys to my now empty house having got a new job here. I fully expected to need to decorate after a two year let and clean carpets etc but was hoping that would be all. Maybe I was being unrealistic!

All the carpets are stained, there are lots of picture hooks on the walls as well as damage where the tenant has used poly filler to fill in a large hole but not sanded it down, there are sticky hooks on the fireplace which I cannot get off and the blinds ( new two years ago) are badly damaged in two rooms - will need replacing.

However, the main issue is that they have removed fitted wardrobes in the box room and left a real mess behind - missing skirting board, bare walls with uneven plaster and large holes in walls where screws were. I did find the wardrobe and drawers in pieces in the garage, along with some other rubbish like old carpets, only fit for the tip! The carpets were not from my house!

The property agents are going to come and look at the house on Monday to give their opinion but I thought I would ask here if I would be wrong to hold back some of the £1000 deposit to replace the wardrobes and blinds, as well as repair the worst of the damage caused by holes in the walls. I’m not sure some of the carpet stains can be cleaned but I’ll be replacing them soon so am not bothered too much about them.

My plans were to get my things out of storage in a couple of weeks after the decorators have been in but I think it will take longer than that now so I’ll be staying longer in my hotel room than I thought.

I’ve attached a couple of photos to try to show the damage.

Damage by tenant
Damage by tenant
Damage by tenant
Damage by tenant
Damage by tenant
OP posts:
FrostyFifi · 15/04/2023 16:32

Yes definitely itemise the damage and take pictures and put in a claim against the deposit.
We managed to succesfully keep the deposit after our tenants were evicted left, for all that it barely touched the sides of what they'd done to the place.

lipstickwoman · 15/04/2023 16:35

How dare they remove the wardrobes! I'd be replacing with their deposit and billing them for the rest of the damage.

tillytoodles1 · 15/04/2023 16:36

That's what deposits are for. Spend as much of it as you need to get the place back to how it was.

CastleTurrets · 15/04/2023 16:38

You'd be mad to allow them their deposit back - definitely instigate a claim!

BlackFriday · 15/04/2023 16:41

When we were moving out of a rental property some years back, we inadvertently packed a £1 Ikea loo brush in with our stuff. Easily done.
We had a (vast) amount removed from our deposit for this crime, although I manged to find said loo brush and return it so got the "fine" overturned.
I wouldn't have minded but the place was an absolute mess when we moved in and we vastly improved it in terms of cleaning carpets and scrubbing floors etc... so overall it was in a much better state than they could have expected.

So no, I wouldn't worry about keeping back some/all of the deposit.

LIZS · 15/04/2023 16:41

Did the agent manage the property? They should have done inventory and check out with the tenant if so. Do you have "before" pictures? Stains would be wear and tear but removing the wardrobes is not.

SunnySaturdayMorning · 15/04/2023 16:42

Why did your agents not keep on top of this with regular inspections?

Assuming you have an itemised list of everything as it was when it moved in and you lawfully held their deposit in a DPS then yes of course you should do that.

PrincessofWellies · 15/04/2023 16:42

Claim for everything even if you intend to change the carpets. The average lifespan of a good quality wool carpet is 8 to ten years so you need to calculate. For example the blinds were new. Say they cost £100 each. You would expect say 6 years out of them. So you have had 2 years use out of 6 so you can claim 2/3 of the cost of replacement including installation cost. So £66 for each blind. Do the calculations and show them when you claim the deposit.
Don't forget cleaning costs and decorating.

TheObstinateHeadstrongGirl · 15/04/2023 16:42

This is exactly what a deposit is for OP - claim it back!

PrincessofWellies · 15/04/2023 16:42

Carpet stains are not wear and tear.

Poppyblush · 15/04/2023 16:42

Keep it! But those blinds are awful…

Alaimo · 15/04/2023 16:43

The wardrobes, I'd claim for. Blinds and the sticky hooks possibly as well. I couldn't get too worked up about the polyfilla and picture hooks. Sure they could have done a better job with the polyfilla, but it shouldn't take you more than an hour to redo and sand it.

theheights · 15/04/2023 16:47

OP, this is vandalism. I don't know why people do such awful things to other people's property. There's at least £1000 worth of damage so you should definitely claim for that if not more. I'd ask a local tradesperson to come and quote to do all the repairs and then charge accordingly.

A member of my family had something similar happen to them although the damage amounted to more than the deposit. They priced everything up and in the end the tenant didn't get any of their deposit back. It's awful to have this done to your home.

Original poster
Babysister · 15/04/2023 16:49

LIZS · 15/04/2023 16:41

Did the agent manage the property? They should have done inventory and check out with the tenant if so. Do you have "before" pictures? Stains would be wear and tear but removing the wardrobes is not.

I thought the property company would do a check out inventory but they haven’t although when I spoke to them today. The tenant just dropped off the keys and told them that the house had been cleaned thoroughly!

Luckily I do have photos that were taken to get it advertised and also one of the bedroom with wardrobes dated Feb 2022 at an annual inspection the agents made.

OP posts:
Lindy2 · 15/04/2023 16:51

Yes. It comes from their deposit to put right. Normal wear and tear doesn't count so just repainting wouldn't be deductible. The wall damage and replacing the fitted wardrobe should be paid for though. Also desposing of the old carpets that aren't yours.

You have to itemise and price the deductions you want to make.

The tenant then has to agree. Hopefully they will or it triggers a dispute process.

Your agents will advice and the deposit protection scheme has set processes you need to do.

Sometimes agents will try and be lenient because they don't want to risk the dispute process. I'd suggest keep it fair and hold your ground.

£1,000 is hopefully enough to cover it all. You're unlikely to get them to contribute any more than the deposit though so unfortunately any extra costs are usually covered by the landlord.

It's just one of those things that experienced landlords get used to and incorporate into their budgets.

Mumsnet like to call landlords the money grabbing villans but in reality getting good tenants that are careful and respectful of the property is a rare and valuable thing. Most tenants cause more damage than homeowners would to where they live.

Iris1976 · 15/04/2023 16:53

As a tenant I would expect to be charged to put it right.

YippedyDooFar · 15/04/2023 16:54

That's terrible and very rude of the tenants. Definitely claim on the deposit.

SunnySaturdayMorning · 15/04/2023 16:55

Is the deposit in a DPS?

Dilemma19 · 15/04/2023 16:55

Yes you would need to raise a dispute. This is awful that they have done this. The agent needs to be accountable too, why haven't they done an entry and exit inspection?

BritishDesiGirl · 15/04/2023 16:56

Is the deposit proceed by a DPS scheme ?

MaireadMcSweeney · 15/04/2023 16:56

You can only charge a proportion of repainting and new carpets, depending on how old they were when you let it. You can charge for the damage however, and disposal of the junk. Assuming you have evidence of the state when you let it and you protected the deposit properly.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 15/04/2023 16:57

As long as you've fulfilled your responsibilities as a landlord then yes - of course you should retain as much of the deposit as it costs to put right what they've done

Do be aware though that you're on the wrong forum for this; all too often landlords are despised on here, and the usual posters will doubtless be along to say why should someone else pay your mortgage, that housing should never be used for financial gain and all the rest ...

LakieLady · 15/04/2023 17:00

Bloody hell, that's shocking. What on earth made them think it was ok to rip out fitted wardrobes?

Definitely show the pics to the agents and get quotes for fixing everything, and replacing the wardrobes and blinds. Sadly, I think that might come to more than the £1k deposit.

AHugeTinyMistake · 15/04/2023 17:07

I would definitely claim for the fitted wardrobes as they were fixed and no way should have been removed.

Probably the sticky hooks if they can't be removed without damage & definitely for disposal of rubbish left behind.

The blinds and carpets - yes you could probably argue damage but it's been 2 years and the blinds are horrible.

TBH I should think the wardrobe alone is more than 1k.

BillyNoM8s · 15/04/2023 17:11

Was there an inventory at the beginning of tenancy? You would've received a copy to review if so. If there was, then there should've been one on check out too. Presumably you knew they were leaving and proper notice had been served etc?

Did you opt for a managed service? If so, they typically they should've been conducting periodic inspections and advising you of their findings. If you only asked them to advertise the property then you've no come back. Do you have landlord insurance?

I don't think the deposit is going to cover the damage if it includes ripped out wardrobes. If be livid.

I never understand why people start ripping places up. It's bizarre. We currently rent and the cats have absolutely wrecked the carpets. I knew this was a possibility and will have them replaced when I move out.