Defining FWT
Fair Wear & Tear has been defined in part through the legal process. A tenant cannot be held responsible at the end of a tenancy for changes to a property's condition caused by what the House of Lords has called "reasonable use of the premises by the tenant and the ordinary operation of natural forces (i.e. the passage of time)."
A professional inventory clerk uses experience and common sense to assess the many factors present before reaching a judgement as to how much should be allowable for Fair Wear and Tear. Amongst other things they will consider:
The quality of the supplied item (and that varies greatly)
The condition at the start of the tenancy
The condition at the end of the tenancy
Any extenuating circumstances
It is important to realise that the Law does not allow for betterment. This means that a landlord can not expect to have old replaced with new at a tenant's expense. A Fair Wear and Tear allowance must be considered.
A tenant has a duty of care to return the property at the end of a tenancy in the same condition, Fair Wear and Tear excepted, as that recorded on the Inventory at the start of their tenancy.
Decorations have an accepted life expectancy. However, there may be circumstances where excessive wear and tear require a tenant to pay compensation or charges to make good, e.g. numerous nail or picture pin holes, torn wallpaper, gouges in walls/woodwork etc.
Charges for cleaning, making good etc are often apportioned to account for Fair Wear and Tear.
Example: A tenant renting a property and the inventory from the Check-in inspection notes that the carpet in the lounge had not been freshly cleaned and had a few spot marks. At the end of the tenancy, the Check-out report notes the carpet as soiled. In this scenario the landlord should not be entitled to full compensation for the carpet cleaning costs. A fair solution would be for the tenant to pay a percentage of the cleaning costs which would be calculated by a professional Inventory Clerk.