Dishing the Dirt on Deposit Disputes in Lettings
Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) has revealed the dirtiest room of the house at the end of tenancy according to landlords throughout the UK. In this month’s article, TDS shares the results of the poll and the latest insights from the Statistical Briefing, with some real-life case studies to help landlords avoid the same greasy issues.
It probably won’t surprise NRLA members to know that kitchens topped the list of dirtiest rooms in the home at the end of tenancy. A whopping 84% of the 600 landlords and agents polled listed the kitchen as the most unclean room when tenants move out, closely followed by bathrooms.
Whilst deposit disputes only occur in less than 1% of tenancies (according to the recent Statistical Briefing from the Dispute Service), that still equates to a high number of cases nationwide. And, as many landlords will have experienced, deposit disputes can cause costly delays and extra administration time.
Best-practice deposit management processes and detailed inventories can help to avoid these disputes altogether. Here are a few real-world kitchen disputes from the TDS Adjudication team that demonstrate how important the small details are when presenting evidence for deposit claims.
Wear and tear or damage?
The landlord claimed £30.00 as a contribution towards new vinyl flooring to the kitchen which was ripped and marked at the end of the tenancy.
The tenants did not dispute the vinyl was torn at the end of the tenancy. However, they said the small tear (which was approximately 25mm) was caused by a small stone that was underneath the flooring when laid which protruded through the flooring, during the three-year tenancy. The tenants claimed the tear was therefore unavoidable.
As the adjudicator could not see that the tenants reported this to the agent, to enable steps to be taken which may have prevented or lessened the damage, the adjudicator found the landlord’s claim to be justified. Given that the flooring was new when the tenants moved in and taking into account the length of the tenancy, the relatively short life span of vinyl flooring and an element of fair wear and tear, the claimed contribution was found to be fair and reasonable for the extent of damage identified and awarded accordingly.
A counter argument
The landlord claimed for a £180.00 deduction from the deposit for repair to the kitchen worktop.
The tenants claimed the worktop was scratched at the start of the tenancy. A photograph was provided to support this statement.
The adjudicator reviewed the check-in report which recorded the worktop in ‘fair to good used order’, with the check-out report recording a light scratch mark. In view of the photograph provided by the tenants, the adjudicator was satisfied the scratch was, on balance present, at the start of the tenancy and that in any event the light scratch mark was not damage beyond the scope of fair wear and tear during the tenancy. There was no award made to the landlord in this case.
Missing crockery
In this case, the landlord claimed £39.00 for missing bowls and glasses.
A comparison of the inventory and check out report showed four white bowls were missing at the end of the tenancy. Where replacement of an item is required, the landlords are not entitled to replace items on a ‘new for old’ basis, as this would amount to betterment.
In the absence of any evidence (such as a receipt) to demonstrate the age, cost or quality of the original bowls, the adjudicator awarded the landlord £8.00 towards replacement. The check-out report didn’t record any glasses as missing at the end of the tenancy so no award could be given for those.
How clean is clean?
The landlord claimed £288.00 for a full professional end of tenancy clean, excluding carpets, and provided an invoice in support of the claim.
The tenants disputed the claim saying the property was not cleaned to a good level for the start of the tenancy.
For the avoidance of doubt, if items are described as being in a good condition, TDS regards such statements as indicative of general condition, rather than cleanliness. In this case, the check-in report stated that the property had been domestically cleaned but also that there were various cleaning omissions with descriptions of ‘very dirty’, ‘dusty’, ‘greasy’ and ‘cleaning required’ - particularly in the kitchen and bathroom. There was no evidence that the tenants either amended the check-in report to reflect their dissatisfaction with the cleaning standard, nor did they report any cleaning issues at the start of the tenancy.
The check-out report records the property to have also been cleaned to a domestic standard only with omissions and that further cleaning was required throughout.
Based on a comparison of the check-in and check-out reports, notwithstanding the level of cleanliness for the start of the tenancy, the property was considered to have been returned in a less clean condition. Given that the property was only domestically clean with omissions mainly in the kitchen and bathroom, for the start of the tenancy, the adjudicator could not award the full amount claimed for an end of tenancy professional clean as that would place the landlord in a better position than at the start of the tenancy. Taking account of this and the omissions at the start of the tenancy, a reduced award of £145.00 was made to the landlord to return the property to its pre-tenancy standard.
Advice for landlords
The running theme here is all about detail. Capture a good level of detail at check-in and check-out and this will provide the evidence you need to support a dispute claim.
In fact, in many instances, the process of simply showing the tenant this evidence (before it comes to TDS) when you propose the initial deposit deduction, can be enough to avoid a dispute claim entirely. TDS recommends using the Deposit Deductions Template to demonstrate to the tenant the reasons for deduction.
Landlords can find further interesting case studies, tools and templates in the TDS Information Lounge, all designed to help reduce deposit disputes and make life for landlords easier. Visit the TDS Information Lounge
Some of these resources are only available to landlords who use the free deposit protection scheme at TDS Custodial or the insured scheme at TDS Insured. You can access all templates, tools and the full tenancy deposit management dashboard by joining TDS.
It’s quick and easy, and NRLA members receive extra discounts on TDS Insured too!
