Are scratched hardwood floors considered normal wear and tear?

Hardwood Floors: The average useful life of hardwood floors is 25 years. Fading of such flooring due to sunlight exposure is normal wear and tear, as would light surface scratches. However, deeply scratched hardwood floors or pieces of the hardwood missing would be considered tenant damage.

What is classed as normal wear and tear in rental property?

Normal wear and tear refers to gradual damage that you would expect to see in a property over time. For example, worn carpets, faded curtains and minor scuffs and scrapes on the walls are all things that are extremely difficult if not impossible to avoid over a period of months and years.

Does homeowners insurance cover hardwood floor damage?

A standard home insurance policy provides coverage for repair or replacement with like materials — so a hardwood floor that needs to be replaced should be replaced with hardwood flooring of similar quality.

Can landlords charge for scuff marks?

Damage Versus Wear and Tear Landlords may charge tenants for cleaning scuff marks off walls that weren’t listed during their initial walk-through, though the costs must be reasonable; costs may only be associated with cleaning scuff marks, and not cleaning the entire unit.

How do you calculate wear and tear on a rental property?

The wear and tear allowance is simply 10\% of the net rents from let furnished accommodation. Net rent is the rent from the furnished properties less charges and services that are normally paid by the tenant but which are met by the landlord. Examples would be council tax, water rates etc.

Can landlord take deposit for wear and tear?

Your landlord can’t take money from your deposit for ‘reasonable wear and tear’ – this means things that would gradually get worse or need replacing over time, for example paintwork, or a piece of furniture.

Why is my hardwood floor buckling?

Leaking appliances or moisture from a concrete subfloor can buckle your wood floors. When it gets wet and moisturized, the wood needs to accommodate the moisture. Thus, causing the hardwood planks to swell. It would need to move upward and expand, which leads to buckling of the wood floor.

Can a landlord be held responsible for damage to hardwood floors?

That “normal use” which inevitably results in damage to the floor is not something that a tenant can be held responsible for. Therefore, any landlord who delivers a gleaming new scratch free hardwood floor to a tenant at the start of a tenancy can not complain about receiving a less than perfect hardwood floor when the tenancy ends.

What are the rules for hardwood floors in a rental property?

Firstly, there is no section in the Residential Tenancies Act that deals specifically with hardwood floors. To find the rules you need to apply the general duty of a tenant that applies to all of the things in the rental unit.

What does it mean when a tenant is not responsible for damage?

The phrase implies that some damage is expected to occur in the use of an apartment and the tenant is not responsible for that damage. It is a fair statement to say that the use of a hardwood floor–in a normal way–will naturally result in some deterioration of the condition of the floor over time.

Is this normal wear and tear on a rental property?

It’s normal wear and tear and part of the rent. The worst thing a tenant can do is buy some awful floor product and paint it all over the surface. Then that has to be removed too… My husband is now routinely cleaning up spots where I drip gin when making martinis (yes I do feel classy) with a hair dryer.