What is considered 'wear and tear'?

ncmc

I know this is a bit of a gray area, I am posting this on behalf of my sister. She has been renting a house out to a woman she knows quite well and would be friendly with for about 3 years. There was no contract for the rental. The woman had just moved out and when my sister went round to check the house, she found all fine except for the living room carpet. She said it is covered in dark stains; she says they look like alcohol spilled on the carpet and not cleaned. They are more than just ordinary stains that you would expect on a carpet with day to day wear. She is going to try and get it cleaned, but she suspects that she will need to replace it.
My question is, what it considered ordinary wear and tear? Would spilled drink that hasn’t been cleaned, or badly cleaned count as wear and tear? Would she be within her rights to keep back some of the deposit to get the carpet cleaned, or even to ask the tenant to contribute towards the cleaning? As I said, there was no contract or ‘before’ photos taken before the tenant moved in. Just looking to get general opinions on whether it’s worth her while approaching the tenant about it. Thanks in advance.

D3PO

if the carpet is stained badly then in my opinion and my opinion only this is beyond wear and tear and the cost of cleanign should be duductable.

however as for replacing the carpet I think thats going to depend on how bad it looks after the celan and also how old it is.

If the carpet is over 7 years old well your sister would have written off the cost of the carpet against her taxable income and therfore would have no right in my eyes to deduct anything for the replacement.

if it did require replacing I would suggest that the cost would be split pretty equally.

But of course we cant see how bad it is and what it looked like before she moved in. If your sister has no pictures of the before then you can assume in a PRTB dispute the tennant would win and it would be determined that your sister couldtnd educt anything.

Your sister should talk to the tennant and see where the lie of the land is with her a common sense approach should apply. That said your sister made a huge cock up by not viewing the carpet before the tennant moved out.

odds_on

There was no contract for the rental.

Was the tenancy registered with the PRTB? Failure to register could involve a substantial fine in the 1000's of euros.

And after 3 years of rental income the only DAMAGE is a stained carpet which probably wasn't new at the start of the tenancy. Write it off to experience

Was there an entry inventory stating the condition of the carpet? If not, you don't have a leg to stand on, should the tenant make a claim with the PRTB if you try to charge her, even for cleaning.

Pkiernan

I'd tell your sister just to let it go.

Sounds like there was no PTRB registration, BER Cert and possibly no reporting of income to the Revenue - not accusing anyone of anything, just saying what could be.

A damaged carpet is nothing in the grand scheme of things.

mikemac

She can replace the carpet and there is a way to offset it against tax

After three years with a good tenant, this isn't a serious issue.
And the carpet was probably not even new when the tenant moved in

I agree with the others, let it go and give the full deposit back

Aye Bosun

ncmc wrote: »

As I said, there was no contract or ‘before’ photos taken before the tenant moved in. Just looking to get general opinions on whether it’s worth her while approaching the tenant about it. Thanks in advance.

If there is no contract and proof of condition before the tenant moved in, you haven't a leg to stand on. She can bring you to the PRTB and they will laugh you out of the room. You will have to pay back the money deducted from the deposit and most likely be charged damages too for witholding it unjustifiably. Chalk it down to experience and remember before you lease the appartment again do an inventory and take pictures with a date stamp so you have proof of the condition at the start of the lease.

ncmc

Thanks for all the replies, I have forwarded this to my sister and as advised, she is chalking this one down to experience. She is all above board with declaring the income and is registered with the PRTB, but realises now that not to have a contract or take pictures was a mistake.

She is going at the carpet with a bit of elbow grease today, so hopefully she won't have to replace it. She has refunded the deposit in full. Thanks again for the replies!

Victor

If this was the only 'tear' (not wear) on the property after 3 years, I wouldn't charge for cleaning. However, if there are several similar instances on the same property, I would look for a contribution (not the full amount) from the tenant. For periods less than 3 years I would look less favourably and for periods up to 7 years more favourably.

If it is a matter requiring replacement, and it was a high quality carpet, I would be looking for a contribution.

Morlar

3 yrs wear and tear should cover a carpet needing to be professionally shampoo'd for the next tenant imo. Unless it's paint stains or something like that it should be covered in my view.