Rental markets across Australia have never been so competitive. Tenants will feel vulnerable because landlords seem to hold all the cards. But there is also plenty of financial risk for landlords if their properties aren’t properly looked after.
One of the most common areas of dispute is the difference between fair wear and tear and tenant caused damage. Confusion around this can spark disagreements over who is responsible to pay for repairs and replacement of certain features of a rental property.
In a landlord’s market, tenants may feel nervous about being seen to ‘cause trouble’ by being demanding about repairs. But both parties need to know their rights and responsibilities to mitigate financial risk.
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.
Not sure which is which? Here is what you need to know.
What’s the definition?
Leases generally define fair wear and tear as “occurring through normal use or ageing”.
Look at sun damage for example. Australian properties encounter fading, discolouration and ageing 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.
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 the blinds broke because they hadn’t been cleaned properly and became brittle with dirt. Cleaning and maintaining a property is par for the course for tenants. It will all be written into your lease and you’ll be held accountable for damage caused when you fail to do so.
Things that will surprise tenants
A 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. Then there are scuff marks on walls. These are classed as cleaning neglect. Unless you can walk on walls, you couldn’t expect it to be fair wear and tear. If you move furniture and scratch the floor, that’s also damage. Moving furniture is a part of life, but is not legally seen to be fair wear and tear.
Mould matters
Cleaning generally means removing dirt, dust and grime that can be wiped off a surface. Tenants will often complain about mould on walls and ceilings, and that’s fair enough, but if there’s mould in a double glazed shower screen, it would be argued that the cause was a lack of adequate regular cleaning and the tenant should cover the costs of a fix by a professional cleaner.
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 trades 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.