Fair wear and tear vs damage: what landlords can deduct

Every deposit dispute in England comes down to one question: is this ordinary ageing, or did the tenant cause it? The schemes use a definition from case law, approved by the House of Lords in 1959: fair wear and tear is deterioration from the “reasonable use of the premises by the tenant and the ordinary operation of natural forces” (DPS). A landlord cannot deduct for that.

Damage, neglect and dirt are different, and a landlord can claim for them (TDS). But even a valid claim rarely means the full cost. The rest of this guide is about how the adjudicators get from the invoice to the award.

How the adjudicators decide

TDS, DPS and mydeposits set out in joint guidance how their adjudicators work: they decide on the evidence both sides send in, and never visit the property or meet the parties. They first ask whether the tenant is responsible at all, then whether the amount is reasonable (DPS). The landlord carries the burden of proof, because the deposit remains the tenant’s money until the landlord proves a claim.

The factors they weigh, according to DPS and mydeposits:

• Length of tenancy. The longer the tenancy, the more wear is expected. DPS gives the example that an adjudicator is unlikely to award redecoration costs after a tenancy of five years or more, because the landlord would probably have needed to redecorate anyway.
• Number and age of occupants. More bedrooms and more people mean more wear in the hallway, stairs, kitchen and bathroom. A family with small children is not a couple working from home.
• Age, quality and condition at the start. A budget carpet that was already six years old at check-in cannot be charged as if it were new. It is not reasonable to fit low-cost items and then blame the tenant when they wear out through normal use.
• Betterment. The deposit is not an insurance policy paying “new for old”. The landlord must not end up with a better property than at the start.

Apportionment in practice

When an item is damaged, the adjudicator works out what share of its remaining life the tenant took away. In one mydeposits case study on a damaged carpet, after allowing for two years of use the adjudicator awarded £195, 60% of the £325 replacement cost.

A simple way to build your own figure, which is how most reasonable claims look:

1. Estimate a realistic lifespan for the item. For carpets and decoration in a rented property, mydeposits starts from five years.
2. Note its age at check-in (1 year) and at check-out (3 years after a 2-year tenancy).
3. Remaining life at check-out: 2 of 5 years, so 40% of value remains.
4. Replacement costs £800, so the claim is 40% of £800 = £320.

The lifespan figure is your estimate, not a legal number, so write down why you chose it. An adjudicator will take a reasoned, modest figure more seriously than a full invoice.

22 examples: wear and tear or damage

No list is binding. Each case turns on the check-in record, the tenancy length and the evidence. This is how these items usually fall.

Item	Usually fair wear and tear	Usually damage or tenant’s cost
Carpet	Flattened pile on walkways, slight fading, furniture dents	Stains, iron or cigarette burns, rips, pet damage
Walls	Light scuffs and rub marks, faded paint	Large marks, holes from shelves, crayon, unapproved colours
Picture hooks	A few small holes where hanging was allowed	Many holes, heavy fixings, torn plaster
Door handles	Loose handles, worn finish	Handles snapped off, doors kicked or forced
Toilet seat	Loose seat, worn hinges	Cracked seat from misuse
Curtains and blinds	Sun fading, frayed cords	Torn fabric, missing blinds, burn marks
Wooden floors	Light surface scratches, dulled finish	Deep gouges, water damage from spills left
Kitchen worktop	Worn surface, slight discolouration	Burns from hot pans, knife cuts, chips
Oven and hob	Faded markings, worn knobs	Heavy burnt-on grease left at check-out (cleaning)
Bath and shower	Dull enamel, ageing sealant	Chips from dropped items, mould from never ventilating
Grouting	Slight discolouration with age	Black mould left unreported for months
Mattress	Slight sagging after years of use	Stains, tears, bed bugs
Sofa	Worn cushions, light fading	Rips, pet scratches, large stains
Windows	Sticking frames, worn seals	Broken glass from impact
Radiators	Chipped paint on old units	Broken valves forced by the tenant
Garden	Lawn worn by normal use	Overgrown, rubbish left, unapproved removal of plants
Lights	Fittings faded or discoloured with age	Blown bulbs not replaced, missing fittings or shades
Appliances	Failure from age	Broken shelves or door seals from misuse
Keys and fobs	Worn keys	Lost keys, fobs not returned, locks changed without consent
Smell	Stale air after a normal tenancy	Smoke or pet odour where the agreement forbade it
General cleaning	Light dust from the move	Dirt, grease, limescale well beyond the check-in standard
Decoration after 5+ years	Needing a repaint	Only specific damage beyond ageing

Dirt is not wear and tear. If the check-in says “professionally cleaned” and the flat comes back dirty, a reasonable cleaning cost is a fair claim. If the check-in says nothing about cleanliness, that claim gets hard.

How to evidence it

The adjudicator can only compare what you wrote at the start with what you wrote at the end. So:

• Record age and quality at check-in. “Carpet fitted March 2024, mid-range wool mix” lets everyone apportion later. “Carpet: good” does not.
• Photograph with a scale. A 3 cm scuff and a 30 cm scuff look alike in a wide shot.
• Use the same words at check-out. If the check-in says “light scuff by door”, the check-out says “light scuff by door, unchanged” or “scuff now 20 cm, paint removed”.
• Get both signatures. A report the tenant signed shows they saw it on the day.
• Attach quotes or invoices. A claim without a cost basis is usually reduced.
• Show your apportionment. Put the lifespan, age and percentage in the claim itself.

A check-in and check-out done on the same form, with photos and both signatures, makes most of this straightforward. With our check-in and check-out report you walk round the flat and talk while AI writes up each room with its photos. The other side can sign on your phone or later by email, and the PDF is sealed with a timestamp. For the deposit protection rules, deadlines and what happens when a tenant will not sign, see the guide to check-in inventory reports and deposit disputes.

If you cannot agree

If landlord and tenant cannot agree, either can raise a dispute with the scheme protecting the deposit. GOV.UK lists the three schemes, and once both sides agree an amount, the landlord must pay it within 10 days. A claim written with apportionment already applied is often the one the tenant accepts without a dispute, which is the cheapest outcome for everyone.