Are scuff marks on walls fair wear and tear?

Are scuff marks on walls normal wear and tear?

Light ones are. Small scuff marks on walls are fair wear and tear, while large holes and unapproved alterations are damage (mydeposits). Light scuffs and rub marks are among the typical signs of wear in a rental (mydeposits).

mydeposits sorts wall marks into three lines (mydeposits):

• light usage marks are fair wear and tear, and no breach
• heavy marks or damage are a breach
• redecorating without permission is a breach

So the question isn’t whether the walls have scuffs at the end. After any tenancy, they will. It’s whether there are more, or worse, than normal living would leave. Scuffs and scrapes are part of normal family life (DPS).

When do scuff marks become damage?

When they go beyond normal day-to-day use and won’t clean off. TDS publishes sample guidance that landlords can add to a check-in report. It asks tenants to wash down scuffs and marks to walls, ceilings and woodwork at the end of the tenancy (TDS).

The same sample says a deduction may follow if the marks can’t be removed by cleaning and are excessive. Excessive means more than normal day-to-day use would leave. Its examples of chargeable items include hooks and nails in walls, pencil or crayon marks, and torn wallpaper.

Marks like these usually go beyond wear:

• deep gouges, chips or dents in plaster
• pen, pencil or crayon drawing
• heavy rub lines or chips where furniture was pushed hard against a wall
• marks that remain after washing down

Furniture is a common grey area. Light marks where furniture stood are wear. TDS’s sample end-of-tenancy notes treat excessive furniture marks that weren’t there at the start as the tenant’s responsibility (TDS). Marks from Blu Tack, tape, nails and pins are less clear-cut, and whether they’re damage or wear can be subjective (TDS). Holes left by fixings are a separate matter, because filling them is a repair, not redecoration.

What makes adjudicators expect more scuffs?

The same factors as for any wear, applied to walls (DPS, TDS):

1. Who lived there. More occupants means more marks in shared rooms, and children bring scuffs that can’t be avoided.
2. How long they stayed. The longer the tenancy, the more marks build up.
3. Which room. Decoration in a hallway, kitchen or bathroom wears faster than in a bedroom or study.
4. The walls themselves. Newer builds often have thinner walls and painted surfaces that mark more easily in busy areas. An adjudicator may take that into account when deciding how much your tenant should pay towards redecorating.
5. How old the paint was. Decoration near the end of its life has little value left to lose.

Can I charge to repaint a whole room for a few scuffs?

Rarely in full. Where the marks do go beyond wear, the claim is a share of the repaint, reduced for the decoration’s age. At TDS, the award allows for the length of the tenancy, the occupants, the décor’s age and condition at the start, and the life expected for that area (TDS).

Decoration doesn’t last long in a rental. mydeposits expects up to 3 years in a hallway, landing, stairs, kitchen or bathroom. It expects up to 4 in a living or dining room, and up to 5 in a bedroom (mydeposits). At DPS, an award for redecoration is unlikely after a tenancy of five years or more, because the landlord would probably have needed to redecorate anyway (DPS).

In one mydeposits case, a tenant lived in a home for over three and a half years with two young children (mydeposits). The check-in recorded very few minor scuffs in the lounge and bedrooms. By the end there were scuff and rub marks, pencil drawing on bedroom walls and twelve fixing holes.

The adjudicator awarded £180, or 20% of the £900 redecoration claim. Décor in a rental lasts about five years, and this paint wasn’t new at the start. Filling the holes was a repair, awarded in full at £150. That was one decision on its own evidence, not a rule.

Claim for the walls in breach, not the whole home. A one-line invoice to redecorate a whole flat led mydeposits to award only a proportionate amount for the areas in breach (mydeposits). Ask the decorator to price each room or wall separately.

Does the home have to be returned freshly painted?

No. DPS lists this among common misconceptions. A home freshly painted for the tenancy doesn’t have to be returned freshly painted (DPS). Your tenant owes walls in the condition they started, allowing for fair wear and tear.

How should I record scuffs at check-in?

Wall by wall, in words. TDS’s sample check-in report describes each surface separately. One wall has “few minor scuff marks at low level”, and another “4 old fixing holes at high level with surrounding rub marks” (TDS).

At TDS, if the check-in doesn’t describe the décor, the adjudicator won’t assume it was in good condition (TDS). Photos and video are of little value for decorating claims unless they show obvious damage. So the written description carries the claim, and photos support it.

A short checklist for walls:

1. Note when each room was last decorated, and keep the decorator’s invoice.
2. Describe each wall’s marks, with their size and position.
3. Photograph the marks with something in the frame for scale.
4. At check-out, describe the same walls in the same words and order.
5. Get a quote or invoice priced room by room.

Where next?

The post on charging for redecorating covers repainting without permission, smoke staining and mould. What is fair wear and tear? sets out the general test, and the guide to fair wear and tear for landlords shows each scheme’s lifespan figures. The deposit deduction calculator works out the share for each room. When you build a deposit dispute pack, each wall deduction is set against the check-in and check-out descriptions.