A bit of clarification regarding 'fair wear and tear'?

[1charlie1]

Hi all. DH and I are moving out of our rented flat mid- December. We'll have been in the property exactly two years on the date we move out. Our final condition check will be done on that day. On the tenant check-out list that our agent sent us, there's a requirement that paintwork, skirtings etc are wiped down.

The cream coloured paint used in the flat is unbelievably poor quality -I've never seen anything like it, it sheds fine dust when you wipe it. i.e., if you wipe it with a cloth, cream colour transfers to the cloth, but any marks remain, as though they've seeped into the wall itself. This is only really a problem in the kitchen- the wall behind the bin, and the one above the cook top. There's some tea/food stains (sort of splash marks), which are impossible to remove - I tried within moments of them occurring. Can we be held responsible for these, or is it fair wear and tear (particularly given the crappy quality of the materials used to decorate)? I've never encountered anything like it in any kitchen I've had - walls which can't be wiped clean!

Thank you in advance for any advice.

Good luck angel! It's really quite stressful, because you just don't know if the agent is going to be professional about it, or deliberately try to manipulate the situation in order to make some extra dosh. The fact that our agents have cleaners that they 'recommend', and that we're expected to attach the receipt from said cleaners to our check out documents leaves a bad taste in the mouth. What business is it of theirs who we use to clean the flat? Surely it will either be deemed to be in an adequate condition by the inspector, or not. It the latter case, and if we'd used professionals, it would be our responsibility to complain to the cleaners, and seek a refund. Nothing to do with the agents - except to try to extract a bit more commission from the deal, I guess. It just feels a bit dodgy.

Thanks for your posts, rally and Arbitrary. I guess it's all about the interpretation of 'fair wear and tear.'

My rental properties stipulate contract clean at end of tenancy.

Occasionally tenants will ask me if they can clean apartments themselves, I usually agree and say I will send the contract cleaner in to do the bits they missed.

I would clean the apartment yourself, and then book a contract cleaner to do an hour the same dat the check out inventory is carried out.

This way, you comply and the landlord can comply with the new tenancy which should state contact cleaned in the next inventory.

You sound like a great tenant.