Landlords can keep part of your deposit if you’ve caused damage beyond normal wear and tear, or for any cleaning required – but does this mean you need to repaint the property when you move out?
Moving out of your rented home and getting your deposit back can be a stressful experience.
Around 25% of tenants don’t get their deposits back in full from their landlord, according to the latest data from the Deposit Protection Service. Landlords can keep part of your deposit if you’ve caused damage beyond normal wear and tear, or for any cleaning required. But does this mean you need to repaint the property when you move out?
Christian Fox, barrister at Becket Chambers, said it all depends what your tenancy agreement says. He said: “If the lease says the tenant must repaint the property or that the tenant is responsible for the cost of repainting beyond normal wear, then that is what you have agreed.
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“That said, a normal assured shorthold tenancy agreement and most local authority leases do not include repainting or maintaining the outside, or structure of the property as those are usually landlord responsibilities. It helps if you have an inventory which sets out the condition when you arrived. If you are not sure what to do, speak to a solicitor, your local free law clinic or Citizens’ Advice.“
Mr Fox said if you’re in dispute about whether you need to paint or not, you should speak to the deposit scheme where your deposit is being kept. He added: “They will not release any money to your landlord until the dispute is resolved. Don’t let a landlord push you into spending money if it is their responsibility – find out first.“
It comes after a survey by the TDS Charitable Foundation found that about 60% of landlords increased the rent on at least one of their properties over the past year. The main reason for doing so was rising costs and fees, particularly maintenance and repairs, which were cited by 45% of landlords.
This was followed by 38% who said they raised prices to align with local market rents, as ongoing demand for properties kept prices high. Some 36% said it was due to increases in their mortgage costs, especially those with an interest-only, buy-to-let mortgage. The survey, conducted by the charitable arm of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS), polled 2,000 private landlords in England.
