Does fair wear and tear apply to cleaning?

Does fair wear and tear apply to cleaning?

No. TDS doesn’t regard fair wear and tear as relevant in cleaning claims (TDS). At mydeposits, it applies only to the condition of a home, not to the standard of cleaning (mydeposits).

So the home must be left cleaned to the same standard as at the start, whether the tenancy lasted one year or six (mydeposits). Your tenant is only obliged to return it as clean as it was at check-in (joint guide).

The reason is simple. Time wears a carpet thin and fades paint, and no amount of care stops it. Dirt is different, because a clean at the end puts it right.

Why doesn’t the length of the tenancy matter for cleaning?

Because there’s no allowance for time to make. With condition, a longer tenancy means more expected wear (DPS). With cleanliness, the standard stays where the check-in report set it.

TDS gives examples that aren’t fair wear and tear (TDS):

• limescale on a sink
• residue in a washing machine’s soap drawer
• blackened door seals on appliances

Each can be cleaned away, so each is a cleaning matter however long your tenant stayed. A tenant can’t point to six years of living there to excuse a greasy oven.

That works in your tenant’s favour too. Age-related wear isn’t a cleaning claim. Faded paint or a carpet worn along the walkways stays fair wear and tear, however thoroughly the home is cleaned.

Where does cleaning end and wear and tear begin?

Ask whether a clean would put it right. TDS sets out the line for carpets. Soiling isn’t wear and tear, but discolouration due to age could be (TDS).

Cleaning (no allowance for wear)

• dust, grease and grime, including inside the oven and fridge
• limescale on sinks and taps
• soiled carpets and upholstery
• smells, including from smoking and pets

Condition (allow for wear)

• carpet flattened along walkways, shading and fraying
• furniture indents in carpets
• paint faded by sunlight, and light scuffs
• discolouration that comes with age

The carpet examples follow mydeposits’ own line. Furniture indents, shading and fraying are fair wear and tear, but stains are damage (mydeposits).

A stain that cleaning won’t remove moves from one list to the other. It becomes damage, and the claim is reduced for the item’s age. So a cleaning claim is judged against the check-in standard in full. A damage claim is judged against what the item was worth, allowing for age.

Does betterment apply to cleaning?

Yes. Betterment means ending up better off than at the start, at your tenant’s expense. It applies to cleanliness as well as condition (mydeposits). Claiming a professional clean when the home was only domestically clean at the start is betterment.

DPS gives a matching example. A claim for a full professional end-of-tenancy clean, when there were some cleaning defects at the start, is betterment (DPS). At TDS, where the cleaning claimed is more than was needed, or ignores problems at check-in, any award is likely to be reduced (TDS).

In one mydeposits case, a home needed cleaning after a tenant kept a dog (mydeposits). It hadn’t been cleaned to a professional standard at the start. So £131.25 of the £175 cleaning invoice was awarded, 75%, to avoid leaving the landlord better off.

Can I require a professional clean at the end of the tenancy?

Not in England. Section 1 of the Tenant Fees Act 2019 stops a landlord requiring a tenant to enter into a contract with a third party for a service. At DPS, a clause requiring professional cleaning whatever the condition at check-in is potentially unreasonable (DPS). A clause requiring cleaning to the same standard as at the start, with evidence of that standard, is the reasonable version.

What you can claim is damages for a breach of the tenancy agreement, which the Act permits (Schedule 1, paragraph 5). That means the reasonable cost of the cleaning your tenant didn’t do, measured against the check-in. Wales has its own rules on what a landlord can require, in the Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019.

How should the check-in record cleanliness?

Separately from condition, item by item. At TDS, a check-in must mention cleanliness, and a general statement that the home is in “good condition unless otherwise stated” doesn’t cover it (TDS). Without a record, TDS won’t assume the home was clean.

In one mydeposits case, the check-in was a tick-box report rating the carpets “good”, with no comment on cleanliness (mydeposits). The carpets came back soiled, with a large stain, but only a small amount was awarded for cleaning. mydeposits’ lesson from it is to record both cleanliness and condition, as they aren’t the same.

TDS’s sample schedule of condition shows how (TDS). It gives cleanliness its own line, then notes carpets and curtains as “Not professionally cleaned” and windows as “Cleaned to interior”.

At check-in and check-out:

1. Record how clean each room and appliance is, apart from its condition.
2. Say which standard applies, such as professionally cleaned or domestically clean.
3. Note carpets, curtains and windows on their own lines.
4. Describe the same items in the same words at check-out.
5. Photograph ovens, fridges and other appliances inside, where photos help most.

At TDS, photos are of little value for general cleaning claims, except for single items such as ovens (TDS).

Where next?

The post on charging for cleaning covers how to itemise a cleaning claim and charge for your own time. For windows, see can I charge my tenant for cleaning the windows inside and out? What is fair wear and tear? covers condition, and why do so many landlords get betterment wrong? covers claiming more than the start standard. When you build a deposit dispute pack, each cleaning deduction is compared with how clean the check-in recorded each room.