Wear and Tear vs Damage

In a competitive rental market, not knowing your rights and responsibilities can be costly; and that’s for both landlords and tenants.

One of the most common grey areas is the difference between fair wear and tear and plain old damage. The confusion around this can spark disputes over who is responsible to pay for repairs and replacement of certain features of a rental property.

To simplify it, landlords should expect to cover the cost of repairing or regenerating parts of their investment property that fade or break with age. But tenants who cause damage to the property by doing something that isn’t a part of everyday life will need to cover the cost of the repair.

But what about when you’re not sure which is which? Here are a few examples and explanations.

How is it defined by law?

Most leases in eastern states define fair wear and tear as “wear occurring through normal use or ageing”.

One good example is sun damage. The Australian climate causes a lot of fading, discoloration and ageing of things due to sun exposure. The carpet against the windows might fade over time when the sun comes through, or the vertical blinds get sun damaged and wear to the point they might break.

This fits the “normal use” part of the definition because windows are there to let daylight in. Tenants aren’t expected to live in darkness to avoid sun damage.

The flipside would be if the carpet by the windows had a lot of dust and dirt walked into them and became permanently stained… or those vertical blinds actually broke because they hadn’t been cleaned properly for a long time and became brittle with dirt. Cleaning and maintaining your property should be part of normal life – and it certainly is when you look at your lease – so that then becomes damage the tenant is accountable for.

Number one fan

A very popular maintenance request received by property managers is to replace exhaust fans in bathrooms. However, tenants are often surprised when they get the bill. That’s because if they’re not cleaned regularly, dust gets in there and they burn out and break. That’s not fair wear and tear. The same goes with the range hood above your cooker in the kitchen and also air-conditioning. Even ceiling fans need the dust cleaned off the blades regularly to stop it getting in and breaking the motor.

Tenants may not realise

– Scuff marks on walls are classed as cleaning. Unless you are able to walk on walls or ceilings, you couldn’t expect it to be fair wear and tear.

– Been moving furniture and scratched the floor? That’s damage. Moving furniture is a part of everyone’s life, but it’s not legally seen to be fair wear and tear.

– Cleaning generally means removing dirt, dust and grime that can be wiped off a surface. But say you’ve got a double glazed shower screen and there’s mould between the glaze that you can’t clean. That’s generally got to that state because it hasn’t been regularly cleaned in the first place. If it’s happened since the tenant moved in and wasn’t there already, the tenant should cover the costs of a fix by a professional cleaner.

Things tenants need to do

It is wise to have your carpets professionally steam cleaned every six to eight months. It helps to do the same with curtains, blinds and mattresses.

If you live in a furnished apartment, the furniture will need to be professionally cleaned. You will sit on chairs and couches so there will be wear and tear, but keeping them clean is still your responsibility.

When is it not the tenant’s fault?

Some things may seem like the tenant’s fault, but are in fact seen as the landlord’s. For example, a cracked bathroom tile is usually the result of a single damaging incident, like something has been dropped on it. But if a towel rail that wasn’t properly installed by the landlord falls out and cracks a tile, then it’s not the tenant’s fault.

Then there are outside pavers, which can be cracked by tree roots pushing them up from below.

If a tenant makes the claim that something like the above has happened, the property manager should engage a suitably licensed tradie to have a look. That professional will provide their expert opinion on the cause of the damage and property managers refer to that when passing the bill on to either tenant or landlord.

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