Some landlords have unrealistic expectations that their property will remain in exactly the same condition at the end of the lease as when tenants first move in.
The reality is though, that wear and tear on a rental property will occur over time. Landlords should expect a level of wear and tear on their rental property while it is being tenanted.
It is important to understand the difference between accidental damage and wear and tear. While tailored landlord insurance may cover claims for accidental damage, wear and tear is generally excluded and cannot be claimed.
Accidental damage is defined as being caused by a sudden and unexpected event. This might include spilling red wine on the carpet. In contrast, wear and tear accumulates over time.
An example might be carpets. Depending on the quality of the carpet, its life span could be five to seven years. This means that if a tenant has been in the property for a number of years, you can expect there to be signs of foot traffic and flattened or bare patches.
In insurance terms the carpet has not been damaged accidentally or maliciously, but may be in a reasonable condition given the tenant’s time in the property.
It’s like living in your own home – over time there will be signs you have lived there, but this wear and tear cannot be claimed on insurance.
One of the main reasons landlords confuse wear and tear for accidental damage is because after leasing their property they often don’t see it again until the end of the rental agreement. This is why it is important for your Property Manager to carry out regular inspections and advise you on the property’s upkeep.
Examples of accidental damage
- Spilling red wine on carpet
- Dent in the wall caused by tenant moving furniture
- Cracked floor tiles after a heavy saucepan is dropped
Examples of wear and tear
- Foot traffic marks on carpets
- Minor scuff marks on floor coverings or paintwork
Source: Terri Scheer – www.terrischeer.com.au
Hi there
Where can i find out more information about how to determine what is ‘wear-and-tear’ vs ‘accidental damage’.
My tenant has just move out leaving some damage to the apartment, which I believe is not -wear-and-tear’, he argues otherwise. I strognly believe that I am not being unrealistic, but would like to have a 3rd party opinion. Any advise on who I can approach to help me with that? Thank you. Elena
Hi Elena,
Thanks for your comment.
Do you have an agent who manages your property? If so, we recommend seeking their opinion. If not, the best thing for you to do would be to refer to the original condition report. This should outline the condition of the property before the tenant moved in and you can then compare it to the condition now. Consider each mark or damage and ask yourself the question “is this reasonable fair wear and tear or accidental damage”? It is common for people to have a different opinion about reasonable fair wear and tear however consider “has this mark or scratch occurred simply because the property has been lived in or does it look as though it has been damaged by accident or on purpose?”
Were photos taken before the tenant moved in? If so, it’d be good to refer to them as well.
If you can’t come to an agreement with the tenant, the only other option is to take the matter to the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal and go through the conciliation process there.
I hope this helps.
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Regards,
Vanessa
Thank you for your reply. Elena
hi, i’m about to face a conciliation process about a dispute over a small stain in the carpet that I apparantly caused during my 2and half year tenancy at a unit.the other room’s carpet had stains in when I moved in(on entry cond report) which i had removed at my own expense. the remainder of the unit is in immaculate condition, i never had complaints from the agents with inspections. they are claiming $360 for 3sq m with <2cm stain. Is this reasonable? where do i stand?
any input will be appreciated.
thanks
ali
Hi Ali,
Thanks for your comment.
The main thing that will be looked at during the conciliation process is the original ingoing condition report. The most black and white question would be “Was the stain there prior to the tenant moving in? If so, is it a result of fair wear and tear or did the tenant cause the damage?” In our prior experience with a situation like this, a stain on the carpet has been classified as damage and a tenant is required to fix it. However as fair wear and tear is always a grey area because each person perceives it differently, the outcome may be different in your case. When you reach the conciliation process the conciliator will look at the facts from both sides. It may be worth telling them exactly how the stain occurred and if you tried to clean it at the time.
Is the landlord claiming $360 for cleaning the carpet or for replacing that section of the carpet? If they pursue it, you should be able to get your own quote and hopefully find a cheaper one.
We’d be interested in hearing how the conciliation process goes.
I hope this helps.
Regards,
Vanessa
Hi VAnessa
thanks for that input. I am going into the conciliation process confident and hopeful that the conciliator will be fair. Thanks again.
ali
Hi,
What about an office chair leaving a faded area around the where the chair has been…think the top of the pile has come off?? Is that considered wear and tear?
Thanks.
Hi Cheryl,
Thanks for your comment.
In your situation, we’d suggest this is wear and tear. Simply because this sort of thing happens over time rather than happening instantly. Accidental damage generally comes from misuse of something or may happen instantly eg. someone breaking a knob on an oven.
We trust this helps.
Regards,
Vanessa
Hi all
the outcome of my conciliation process(carpet stain) was:they wanted $300 compensation for small carpet stain – I disputed the amount on the grounds that they did not inform me within 3working days of vacating the property of any claims…I was made aware of the claim 19days after moving out! Legally the agent/owner is obliged to inform you within 3working days of any claim…I agreed to $100 only.They accepted.Dispute resolved. Moral of the story: hand in notice on the vacate day, don’t trust sweet talk of agents to buy time (they’re not on your side), stand your man and don’t give in too easily….but more importantly: try and buy your own place!
Thanks for all the input.
cheers
ali
Hi, my questions is: eg. a knob has been broken off a oven. Yes, you would no doubt say that it is accidental damage, but do you take into account the age of the stove and the condition the knob was in? Another example, an old bathroom/shower with a sliding door, the door glass was bumped with a knee while existing and it has a hairline crack. Under normal circumstances, this shouldn’t of happened as this glass should be tempered. But, my opinion is that the bathroom is old and the glass is not as strong as it should be. Would the tenant have to replace the whole glass? Thanks
I have a glass shower screen that is fixed to the wall & fits flush to the top of the bath. It only opens & closes as far as the bath, so only opens inward. After a shower I leave it slightly ajar so mould doesn’t creep in on the seal. 2 days ago I went to close the shower door & it came off in my hands. I noticed that the pivot at the top appeared to be perished & has cracked in two hence the door falling off. My agency claim it is accidental damage, I dispute this as no force was placed upon the door, I wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary & it didn’t occur as the result if me mis treating the door. Where do I stand? She wants a second opinion from their handyman & wanted to come in to the property whilst I was at work to show him. I have requested to be at the property too, which is tomorrow, so any reply would be appreciated! Thanks
Hi Kate,
Apologies for not replying sooner.
We would suggest that this is wear and tear as it would have deteriorated over time. Unless you placed significant force on the door, we wouldn’t consider this damage.
What was the outcome from the second opinion?
Regards,
Vanessa
Hi,
We have an agency managed rental property with a tenancy that recently ended. A final inspection revealed that we were not happy with the state of some fairly new carpet that was stained with dog urine and ultimately had to be replaced. We subsequently discovered that the agent regarded the staining as fair wear and tear and had in fact authorised refund of the tenant’s bond before we had carried out our final inspection and compared noted with the original condition report. We believ the agent was negligent in this regard and should be financially liable for the replacement of the carpet. They of course disagree. I guess the clear question revolves around an interpretation of whether dog urine staining on carpet is fair wear and tear?. Your opinion would be appreciated.
Hi, My rental property has hanging vertical blinds throughout the house, I have had them proffesionaly steam cleaned and have bough the top plastic hangers to re hang them all as the sun has damaged them over years. The problem is each time you open or close the blinds at least one blind falls off, is this fair wear and tear as they are cleaned and in working condition ? also there are tinted windows in the bedroom there is a 5cm scratch in the tint, I believe it was there before we moved in but its not on the condition report is this fair wear and tear? Thanks in advance for your advice !
Hi Rebecca,
Thanks for your comment.
In this case, our opinion is that it would be considered as fair wear and tear. Blinds especially are used constantly during tenancies and the problem you have mentioned is common for hanging vertical blinds. We suggest you mention it to your property manager as it is a repair the owner may consider.
I hope this helps.
Vanessa
Hi Wayne,
Thanks for your comment. Apologies for the delay in replying.
Did you approve the dog to live in the premises? If the stain was caused by the dog urinating on the carpet it would be considered as damage, not fair wear and tear. The tenant should have at least had the carpet steam cleaned.
I agree, the agent did not act in your best interest in this situation. They should have recognised that the dog caused the damage and insisted the tenant rectify it. With fairly new carpet, carpet companies can often match the carpet and just replace a small area.
Vanessa
Hi,
I have just moved out of a house. The agent has done the final inspection and has found the property to be in satisfactory condition, there were a couple of areas not cleaned to satisifaction, though they can see there has been an attempt to clean, such as the lounge window tracks and some marks on the A/C. Only a few minor issues nothing major and she has noted a few wear n tear areas.
The owner has then inspected the property as well and has come back stating that the scuff marks in the main bedroom are damage and not wear n tear as the rental manager has stated and the owner has said the kitchen cupboards are not clean , but the manager found nothing wrong and the kitchen exhaust fan, which has been cleaned and it is visible that it has been cleaned but does still have residue in the corners.
The owner wants a professional cleaner to clean the property and for the floorboards throughout the whole house to be sanded back and revarnished. Not just the small area that has been scuffed. When taking pictures of the area it is hardly visible. She wants me to pay for all of this.
The R/E mamager has stated that they work for the owner and must follow her wishes even though they didn’t have the same findings or request any of this to be done.
I have taken all reasonable care to maintain the property and have always kept it, (maintained/repaired any damage) in good/satisfactory condition.
Where do I stand and what are my rights as a tenant?
Thank you
Hi Heidi,
Thanks for your comment. Sorry we took so long to come back to you. Hopefully you have solved the situation now. We’d be interested in knowing the resolution.
This is a tough one though and we have heard of tenants finding themselves in this situation.
Did you take the matter to tribunal? This would have been our recommendation.
Vanessa
Hi,i have a few questions we just vacated a property after give 28 days notice we were not under a lease at this time…. i have paid up to the 28 days and the real estate agent has charged us an extra 2 days not sure if that is the correct way of doing it? also when we moved in we had 2 cracked pains of glass on the entrance door and one day the wind picked up and blew the door shut breaking those 2 pains we replaced all pains with wood to save it happening again..are we up for the cost? and the water for some reason was still in landlords name if we knew this we would have had it changed but was only notified after over a year of living there and the bill had gone up due to a water leak on the property which we let the agent know are we up for full cost of all water used including due to the leak of just normal domestic usage ?we are in victoria..
thank you
Catherine
Hi Catherine,
Thanks for your comment.
You mentioned you are in Victoria. Our agency is situated in NSW and I am not familiar with whether the laws in VIC are similar to NSW. My recommendation would be for you call your local Tenancy advice hotline and seek some advice from them.
I hope you get it sorted.
Vanessa
Hi there,
I am gonna move out from the apartment in two days. I have few questions.
1. Does the landlord has to send the bond to the bond centre in Wellington?
2. The medicine cabinet mirror came off it’s hinges when I was using it. It was loose before I moved in. Is that included in “fair wear and tear”? Or will I have to pay for it.
3. There is rabbit urine on the carpet. I have asked cleaners to clean it, however there are a stains in a small area. Can the landlord charge me for it or is legally allowed to use up the bond to replace the whole carpet?
4. There have been small tears in the carpet in different areas in the apartment. I have had them fixed with patches. The patches are the same colour but by eye it looks a different colour due to sunlight and wear. Also since it has been patched up you can clearly see it. Can the landlord charge me/use bond to get the whole carpet in apartment fixed if he/she decides to?
Thanks for your time
Lily
Hi Lily,
Thanks for your comment.
Where are you located? Laws can be different in different states/countries.
With relation to the medicine cabinet, our opinion would be that it is considered as fair wear and tear. Did your report that it came off the hinges as soon as it happened?
Carpet is a bit of a grey area because of its depreciated value – do you know how old the carpet is? You may need to patch the carpet where the rabbit urine is also because that is considered damage in our opinion.
Vanessa
Hi, my partner and I are renting a brand new property. We have been here for two years now. Due to the house being brand new, the condition reports states no faults, damage etc. We are not leaving this property, however have an inspection coming up and I have noticed stains in bedroom carpet from coffee and my daughter has dropped something on carpet which has discoloured it. Obviously this is accidental damage. I have booked carpet cleaners to attempt to remove these stains, however I am concerned that if I cant get them out, when we do decide to vacate we will be responsible for the carpet… Should I mention the stains to PM on inspection day? Is any staining ‘accidental damage’ or is it also dependant on how long you are in a property and age of carpet? I am very concerned as I previously was taken to tribunal over staining in a property and I dont want to risk being black listed as a result of carpet stains. Also we have tiles and there is on very small chip (from a mug falling) in kitchen, and a bottle of perfume dropped in bathroom and has chipped a tile also, both very small and not sharp – but I am also concerned that I will be responsible for this too….. I take good care of my property, keep it clean, maintain it, but it is difficult to completely prevent any accidental damage especially with kids. I have pets and they are not allowed in house to ensure no damage, but yet, it seems it is inevitable over time…. if I replace the stains with patches, can they still take me to tribunal even if I have repaired the stain? Any advice would be great.. I have been told I should never have applied for a brand new house as they can get me for everything…
Hi,
My Name is Sarah and I have been in my current property for 4 months and a 3 month inspection occured. My Agent wrote us a breach in our contract because office chairs had flattend the carpet over time. Is this fair wear and tear? I just dont see it being a breach as our bed is also on wheels aswell as our office desk. any info would be much appreciated
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for your comment.
Carpet is often a tricky one because it is depreciated. How old is the carpet?
Vanessa
Hi Kylie,
Thanks for your comment.
Great idea to get the carpets cleaned but we would recommend you mention it to your property manager and ask for their advice. Because the carpet was brand new when you moved in, some of the things you have mentioned could be considered accidental damage and it would be up to the owner how they are repaired.
Try the carpet cleaners before patching. If it comes down to patching, if the carpet is only 2 years old you should be able to get it matched quite closely. If this happens, it is our opinion that they shouldn’t need to take you to tribunal however it is best you discuss this with your property manager.
With the tiles, is it possible to match the tile and replace them? Again our opinion is that this would be considered as accidental damage.
In relation to being black listed, you will only be black listed with tenancy databases if an order is given from the tribunal. If you are open to discussing the issues with your property manager up front and willing to rectify the issues I can’t see any reason for them to have to take you to tribunal. An application for tribunal is only really made when an agreement can’t be reached between the owner and tenant .
I hope this helps.
Regards,
Vanessa
We rent a 5 bedroom house and will be vacating very soon as the owner wants to move back in to the house.
Now the owner is a very nasty woman very antisocial to the point of being rude when accompanying the agent on inspections.
My question is this..
The stove top is built into the bench and made of glass.. Recently I noticed that the glass is cracked from one side to the other.. I am being totally honest here in saying that we are not aware of when this happened or how it happened.. we do assume it has happened recently.. but none of the adults who use the stove can understand how it may have become cracked. We do wonder if age plays a part or not.. I thought it would be an easy job to find a second hand replacement and that would be that but alas it looks like it is going to cost in the vicinity of $400
What do you think?, could it be claimed on her insurance or could it come under wear and tear, as it was not deliberately done by us.. not that the owner will believe that.
cheers
Hi Kathy,
Thanks for your comment. We have a few different thoughts on this:
If the damage was caused through settlement of the building then it is the owner’s responsibility. You would probably need a builder or handyman to assess that.
The other thing to ask is whether the installer used the correct method of installation. This would dependend on how old the cook top is as well.
The owner could claim it on building/contents insurance and then you pay the excess. The owner would have to agree to claiming it on their insurance though. The other insurance option is if the owner has landlord protection insurance they could claim it on accidental damage and then you offer to pay the excess.
We hope this helps!
Regards,
Vanessa
Hi,
I recently vacated a unit and had professional bond cleaners clean the unit at the end of my tenancy. I had lived in the unit for 4 years. The grout between the bathroom tiles had gotten stained over the years. The bathroom did not have an exhaust fan and only had a small opening above the window for moisture to escape. On doing the final inspection, the realestate agent told me that the bathroom had not been satisfactorily cleaned, and that there were still water marks. I had to have the cleaners return to do further cleaning. However, the realestate agent still insisted that the bathroom was not clean enough. She told me that she was going to get other professional cleaners (her husband carries on a bond cleaning business) and that I would have to foot the bill. The professional cleaners had given us a 7 day guarantee to return and clean the unit. This guarantee had not expired when the realestate agent suggested she was going to call in other professional cleaners. Is the staining of the grout considered fair wear and tear? Would I be responsible for the additional cleaning costs if the realestate agent calls on other cleaners when the bond cleaning guarantee period has not expired?
Thanks.
Shirley
Hi Shirley,
Thanks for your comment.
Once a tenant returns keys, they are delivering up possession of the property with a view that all is in order. There is no obligation of an owner/agent to allow the return of the original cleaners or give the tenant
the opportunity to remedy the concern. This would be good business practice but not legislation here in NSW.
Should the owner/agent feel additional cleaning is required they can arrange and on-charge the tenant. If the tenant disputes this I would say to avoid paying the additional cleaning account the matter would need to go before the CTTT or an agreement reached in respects to costs incurred.
As you had organised professional cleaners and they did return, it would be the onus of the agent to prove that the staining of grout was not general fair wear and tear. As you were there for 4yrs I would recommend that you challenge the agent on why this was not brought up on any routine inspections during the tenancy.
We hope this helps.
Vanessa
Hello, had tenants for 10 months in newly renovated apartment they left leaving us with yellow smoke stained walls due to them smoking in the apartment – we knew that they were smoking and told them not to do so . They chipped the corner of a glass wall light as they stuck frames around it using some kind of double sided tape – they caused damaged to a kitchen unit door that is a dent and a coffee table left with 3 cigarette burn marks and a glass wall frame being replaced by them with a plastic one. In my view I should charge them for all the above to be replaced . what do you think ?
Hi Brandon,
Thanks for your comment.
It appears that all of the items you have listed are considered as accidental damage. Do you have a property manager or agent that deals with your property for you?
Vanessa
Good evening,
My wife and I have lived in our rental property for close to 12 months. We have been asked to vacate as the owner wants to move back in. We have timber floor boards that have showed indentations in particular around the dining table area from the chairs where people have sat on them. We have a no shoes policy in the house however I am concerned by the amount of small indentations that have appeared in our 12 month lease here. We have been advised that we will be responsible to have the floor replaced entirely at our cost. I have had independent flooring specialists come and look at the floor and they have advised that it is a very sort flooring and prone to indentation. I am concerned as we are moving out in 2 weeks as to the outcome and wonder if I should lodge a dispute with the tenancy tribunal. My wife and I feel like we are walking on egg shells all the time in the house due to the issue with the floors. My wife and i consider ourselves and great tenants and have never uncounted this dilemma before. Any assistance would be appreciated
Shane
Hi Shane,
Thanks for your comment.
In our opinion, the onus is on the tenant to ensure that all furnishings have protective coverings and to ensure any flooring will not be damaged, whilst it is appreciated that different types of wood flooring may be less hard wearing than others and it could be said the agent for all intensive purposes should’ve taken note of the flooring during inspection/marked down and maybe even recommended a solution i.e. rug so the tenants had the opportunity to address and take steps to prevent further damage. Damage to flooring is not deemed as ‘wear & tear’. The problem that you may encounter is that you may be unable to only sand and recoat one section, the full floor may need doing. As you have stated you have a no shoe policy and maintain the property to a high standard and the markings are from furniture, you have already admitted liability even if accidental. A few options could be considered to reach resolution:
* Claim made by owner under LLP insurance or building insurance as accidental damage, tenant to pay excess
* Agree to repairs and negotiate 2/3 payment of repairs, whereas, the tenant pays 2/3 and the agent pay 1/3 for not reporting on the condition of the flooring correctly
* Agree to pay compensation to the owner, using above method and repairs completed at a later date
* Dispute any claim against the bond and present their case to the CTTT and hope that a fair decision is made
We trust this helps.
Vanessa
Hi, I am a landlord, and at our last inspection we noticed that my tenants have allowed a fish tank to leak water onto our floorboards – creating quite a bit of water damage. Our property manager advises us that our tenants needs to be given the right to rectify this issue themselves. I don’t want to allow this as I am concerned about the quality of the work done and the fact that it could cause more damage or won’t fix all the damage. Do I need to give my tenants the option to repair this damage themselves?
Thanks,
Kim
Hi Kim,
Thanks for your comment.
Yes you do need to give the tenants the opportunity to repair it, however an option is:
- Get the tenant to seek a quote to repair the floorboards
- You seek a quote to repair the floorboards
- The tenant pays you the amount of the lesser quote and you get the job done by your preferred contractor.
I trust this helps.
Vanessa
Hi there,
We are soon to vacate our rental property after 5 years of living there and had a couple questions.
Firstly, there are two cracked tiles – from reading your previous posts, it sounds like we are liable for this – how much are they likely to charge us? Is there anything we can do ie filler?
Secondly, when we moved in, there were 3 or 4 half dead plants in the front yard. With water restrictions and a lack of water/sunlight (they are under cover), they, and some of the grass has died. We planted new grass, however there are now no plants in that area – do we need to replace them and do we need to mulch the area?
There is also a large tree in the neighbour’s yard that drops seed pods in our yard – despite asking for a green bin, none was provided and the council says we cannot leave them in the normal bin – the owner has previously (illegally?) thrown them into other people’s property – do we need to remove them prior to leaving?
We also have blinds which are a little bit creased from items occasionally leaning against them – is this wear and tear or damage? There are probably 3 individual metal pieces which are ever so slightly bent.
Lastly, when we moved in, the place was not clean such as the toilet and we made note of this in the condition report– are we required to clean the items which were not satisfactory when we moved in?
Thanks,
Cherie
Just a quick update – the agent called and asked whether we could vacate a day ealier – the 27th instead of the 28th, and she would carry out the final inspection on the evening of the 27th as she has two applicants looking to move in on the 28th. Should we hand back the keys earlier? Will this give us a bit more leniency on the faults mentioned previously?
Thanks,
Cherie
Hi Guys,
My tenant is getting ready to vacate my property and there is a small crack on the glass panel on the stovetop. The crack is not really close to any hotplate and does not appear to be affecting functioning. How would you play it? Order the tenant to replace the entire glass panel or just let it slide?
Cheers
Anthony
Hi,
I have been reading some of the above posts about carpet and was hoping for a little clarification.
We moved in to our house just under 3 years ago, and the carpet was new when we moved in.
I stained a small patch in my room with hair dye – will not come out with professional cleaning. It is a brown drop about 5mm in diameter on grey carpet. Can the landlord charge me to replace the carpet in the whole room (which is about 4m x 4m)? There is spare carpet, can I insist they just cut and replace the patch?
Thanks,
Febe
Hi Anthony,
Thanks for your comment.
Does the tenant know how the glass panel was cracked? It is likely to be accidental damage because glass stovetops don’t generally crack due to wear and tear.
A few options could be:
* Claim made by owner under landlord’s insurance or building insurance as accidental damage, tenant to pay excess
* Agree to repair it or replace just the glass and negotiate split payment between owner/tenant
* Agree for tenant to pay compensation to owner, but not repair or replace the stovetop until a later date when it breaks down
* Dispute any claim against the bond and present their case to the CTTT and hope that a fair decision is made
Vanessa
Hi Febe,
We have had a similar issue where the tenant has replaced the patch of carpet rather than the whole room and the landlord was satisfied with the repair. It is recommended that you discuss your plans with the agent so they are aware of the situation and not surprised at such time you move out.
Hope this helps,
Vanessa
Hi Cherie,
Apologies for the delayed response – How did the situation pan out?
If you moved out a day earlier you should have only needed to pay rent up to and including the 27th. However, this would be dealt separately to the condition of the property.
Vanessa
Hi
My wife and I have recently vacated from a 9 month lease. Our landlord through the rental agency is claiming new carpets from the 2nd bedroom which we used as an office. There is a circular ring where the office swivel chair has worn the carpet flat. It is not the kind of flat that your bed leaves but more of the structure of the carpet being flattened. Is this fair wear and tear? Should we give up the $500 for the new carpet?
Any help would be great.
Regards
Hi Tom,
It sounds like fair wear and tear because it has happened over time.
A few points to consider:
* Was there any damage to that area of carpet before you moved in?
* Did you have a plastic protector on the carpet?
* How old is the carpet? If the carpet is older than 5 years the CTTT consider it to be of nil value due to depreciation.
Vanessa
Hi Vanessa
Thanks for the reply. The carpet was considered in the condition report to be “as new” so I assume it would be under 5 years old as the owner renovated it lived in it for about 12 months then rented it out. No we didn’t use a plastic protector.In all honesty I didn’t even realise you could buy them, nor did I think it would leave such a mark, it never did on any other carpet we used it on.
Regards
Hi Tom,
If the carpet was considered to be “as new” then you would be required to leave it in the original condition minus reasonable fair wear and tear. Of course the term ‘reasonable’ varies from person to person.
If you do not feel you are responsible to pay the full $500, see if you can come to an agreement to pay a portion of it based on the fact that it is wear and tear of the carpet.
Hope this has helped you.
Vanessa
Thanks Vanessa for your advise
Hi Vanessa,
It is still ongoing! The agent told me I could go and fix anything which was not satisfactory given I handed the keys in early, but it would have to be before 5pm as that is when the new tenants would pick up the keys. She did the inspection that morning and said she would email me with any issues. She emailed me at 2pm with the list.The list she sent mentioned 2 chipped tiles, shower scum (actually discolouration due to the type of plexiglass used – which was also mentioned on the original condition report), dust on the end of the blinds, discolouration of the toilet seat (through wear and tear the plastic started to go funny), small dents in the laundry wall where the washing machine had been, and small stain in the walk in robe. I kept trying to ask whether I could come and pick up the keys and get a handyman to fix/get the cleaners back – she ignored my calls, emails and messages.
She finally answered my call and said I should see if the handyman could make it that night and the new tenant would be there from 5pm waiting for us (easter thursday), I got confirmation he could make it at 6pm – so I tried to call back to confirm that this would clear the issue with the bond and that this would be alright with the new tenant. She ignored all my calls. I didn’t want to waste money if nobody would be home or if this wouldn’t fix the issue with the bond, so I went around to the property to clean the blinds and attempt to clean the shower again. I met the new tenant who told me not to bother – she would rather clean it herself – and asked where the handyman was. She agreed to be home for him another time and I left.
To date the agent has not replied to any of my text messages or emails or phone calls! Today it has been 10 business days since we vacated and no idea what is happening!
Any ideas?
Hi Cherie,
I would suggest initiating the bond refund yourself. Not sure where you are located but I know where we are in NSW the tenant can send the bond claim form to the bond board directly requesting for the bond to be refunded. This then sends a letter to the agent to say the tenant has claimed their bond back and if they have a dispute they have 14 days to lodge it with the CTTT. 10 days is a long time without any contact or discussion about the bond.
Vanessa