Laminate flooring is chipped- deposit held- deductions?

[mind the gap]

Cheers for your comments. We do have a inventory it just doesnt specifically comment on the condition of the floor. The deposit scheme arbiter has been notified by the landlord and I am begining to wonder if I should seperatly inform them. The laminate floor is only a cheap one as confessed by the landlord himself. Do you have a source of reference for the useful lif expectancy of a laminate floor?

Not to hand, although I have a good quality laminate floor in a rental property of mine and I would expect it to last about 5-6 years.

The scheme arbiter will have a formula for working these things out - but to be honest, unless the inventory is specific about the quality and condition on the flooring at commencement, I think it won't come to apportioning cost. He'll just tell the LL to give you the deposit back!

Good luck - let us know how you get on. You may find this site, with info about deposit dispute useful:

http://www.adrnow.org.uk/go/SubPage_88.html

There'a also one somewhere with reports of actual cases/decisions - I shall hunt for it.

[ratdemon2003]

Cheers for your comments. We do have a inventory it just doesnt specifically comment on the condition of the floor. The deposit scheme arbiter has been notified by the landlord and I am begining to wonder if I should seperatly inform them. The laminate floor is only a cheap one as confessed by the landlord himself. Do you have a source of reference for the useful lif expectancy of a laminate floor?

[mind the gap]

Hi 'mind the gap', the floor was two years old when we moved inand we have lived there for 2 1/2 years therefore 4 and 1/2 years in total. The inventory does not comment on the state of the floor. I'm not sure if it constitutes as wear and tear however I am more than willing to pay for a percentage of the replacement, I believe areound £60 is fair? The landlord will not accept this.

Definitely dispute this with your deposit protection scheme, since without a detailed inventory your LL will struggle to prove either what the floor was like when you moved in, or that you caused the damage. You would probably get the full deposit back, and it would be worth keeping written evidence that you offered £60 as a goodwill gesture and that he refused it. 4.5 years old laminate is nearing the end of its useful life anyway, unless it was extremely good quality.

Give him one final chance to accept the £60 (which seems more fair to me, in the circumstances - he could get a decnt rug for that to cover the chips up, or even get them filled), or tell him you intend to let the deposit scheme arbiter decide.

[ratdemon2003]

It seems unreasonable. At the very least, he should deduct a percentage of the replacement cost for 'fair wear and tear'.

How old was the flooring when you moved in and how long have you been there?

Does the check-in inventory record the state of the floor in any way?

Hi 'mind the gap', the floor was two years old when we moved inand we have lived there for 2 1/2 years therefore 4 and 1/2 years in total. The inventory does not comment on the state of the floor. I'm not sure if it constitutes as wear and tear however I am more than willing to pay for a percentage of the replacement, I believe areound £60 is fair? The landlord will not accept this.

[mind the gap]

We have recently moved out of our rented property and bought our own home. When moving out we realised that our sofa had broken and had chipped the laminate flooring in the living (which is just short of 30 square metres). There are 3 chips in total no more than and inch or so in size each all roughly one meter in from the wallls. The Landlord has seen these chips and has had an estimate for replacing the floor prepared at a cost of £465 which he wants to take from our depoist. (All £465 not just a percentage). As far as I understand this comes under betterment as he is replacing the whole floor and not just making repairs. The chips are only to the surface of the laminate and do not penetrate to the underlay. Does he have a right to charge us this amount and is it a wise move in taking it to the arbotration board with the holders of the deposit? We live in England, UK.

It seems unreasonable. At the very least, he should deduct a percentage of the replacement cost for 'fair wear and tear'.

How old was the flooring when you moved in and how long have you been there?

Does the check-in inventory record the state of the floor in any way?

[ratdemon2003]

We have recently moved out of our rented property and bought our own home. When moving out we realised that our sofa had broken and had chipped the laminate flooring in the living (which is just short of 30 square metres). There are 3 chips in total no more than and inch or so in size each all roughly one meter in from the wallls. The Landlord has seen these chips and has had an estimate for replacing the floor prepared at a cost of £465 which he wants to take from our depoist. (All £465 not just a percentage). As far as I understand this comes under betterment as he is replacing the whole floor and not just making repairs. The chips are only to the surface of the laminate and do not penetrate to the underlay. Does he have a right to charge us this amount and is it a wise move in taking it to the arbotration board with the holders of the deposit? We live in England, UK.