UK Landlord Forum / Life

Dear Forum

I am a new landlord and would welcome your advice on the following.

Tenant has moved out and the check out report notes damage to the laminate floor.

The damage covered about 60% of the total floor so the only option was to replace the floor.

When the floor was taken up the smell of dog urine was was present and the underboards were wet.

I have charged the tenant for the total cost of replacing the whole floor which they are now contesting as no discount has been taken for wear and tear.

When pet damage happens is wear and tear a viable argument and if so how much should be deducted?


The tenant had my agreement for one dog as long as it was house trained but we have evidence to show they had two dogs.

How old was the floor? How long was the tenancy? What would be the expected lifetime of the floor? You cannot usually just replace old for new and charge the Tenant full whack. I would suggest you be a bit more reasonable. You did allow a dog (note a) to be there, so you must have been aware of the extra wear and tear implications from that. I think you need to compromise as your position seems unfair.

If I was the Tenant I would contest this through the adjudication process of the deposit scheme and I'd be confident of getting a good result. Deposit was all handled correctly by you, I assume?

Hi

The floor was 5 years old and had a 10 year guarantee on it.  The check in report showed no damage, the tenant signed to say there was no damage.  80% of the floor space was covered by a super king size bed and its clear that the dog weed up the end of the bed so deductions for wear and tear when it was covered by a bed seem harsh to me.

Deposit is protected by DPS via my managing agent.

But it was already 5 years old! You don't get a brand new floor paid for by your Tenant alone. Get real. If that goes through the DPS ADR process I would expect them to laugh out your claim. Either be more reasonable and resolve it, or run the risk of your Tenant wanting to dispute and the onus of proof being entirely on you.