# Why do so many landlords get betterment wrong?

Source: https://tenancyvaults.co.uk/faqs/why-do-so-many-landlords-get-betterment-wrong
By TenancyVaults (Run by a landlord in England) · Last checked 19 October 2026

## The short answer

Mostly because they expect the home back as it was at the start, and claim new for old. Betterment means ending up better off than at check-in, once wear and age are allowed for. No scheme awards it, so claim like for like, for the life the item had left.

### Key points

- Betterment is ending up better off than at the start of the tenancy, at your tenant’s expense. TDS, DPS and mydeposits all refuse to award it.
- A tenancy deposit isn’t an insurance policy. It doesn’t pay full replacement value or new for old.
- At DPS, betterment includes the full cost of a new carpet after a tenancy of several years, and a prestige-brand replacement for a modest item.
- Betterment applies to cleaning too. At mydeposits, charging for a professional clean when the home was only domestically clean at check-in is betterment.
- In one mydeposits case, £268.20 of an £894 claim for a new worktop was awarded, 30%, because the old one was already worn at check-in.
- Reducing for age applies to materials, not labour. In one mydeposits case, the call-out and labour were awarded in full and the part at 80%.

## What is betterment in a deposit dispute?

Betterment is ending up better off than you were at the start of the tenancy, at your tenant’s expense. The landlord shouldn’t end up financially or materially better off, once fair wear and tear is allowed for ([joint guide](https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/article/A-Guide-to-Deposits-Disputes-and-Damages)). If a carpet was new at the start of a two-year tenancy, it’s a two-year-old carpet at the end. Charging the full cost of a new one is betterment.

All three schemes refuse to award it ([DPS](https://www.depositprotection.com/learning-centre/disputes/in-disputes-be-fair), [TDS](https://custodial.tenancydepositscheme.com/public/support/how-tds-approaches-disputes-involving-damage-and-missing-items.pdf), [mydeposits](https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/content-hub/fair-wear-and-tear-what-is-it-and-how-is-it-applied/)). Fair wear and tear decides what your tenant pays for at all. Betterment limits how much they pay for the damage they did cause.

## Why do landlords get betterment wrong?

Mostly because of where they start. DPS lists it as a common misconception that décor, fixtures and fittings should come back exactly as they were at the start ([DPS](https://www.depositprotection.com/claims-and-disputes/common-dispute-misconceptions)). Its example is a home freshly painted for the tenancy, which doesn’t have to be returned freshly painted.

The correction is an established legal principle. A landlord isn’t entitled to charge a tenant the full cost of putting the home back to its condition at the start ([DPS](https://www.depositprotection.com/claims-and-disputes/common-dispute-misconceptions)). The deposit isn’t to be used like an insurance policy paying full replacement value or new for old.

The second reason is the invoice. A landlord pays the full price for a new item, so the full price feels like the loss. But the loss is what the old item was worth when it was damaged. At TDS, a landlord is entitled only to the amount that puts them where they’d have been if the tenant had kept to the tenancy agreement ([TDS](https://custodial.tenancydepositscheme.com/public/support/1how-to-present-your-case-to-a-tds-adjudicator.pdf)).

Improvements don’t change that. At TDS, evidence about improvements a landlord made during the tenancy doesn’t entitle them to claim new for old ([TDS](https://custodial.tenancydepositscheme.com/public/support/1how-to-present-your-case-to-a-tds-adjudicator.pdf)).

## What are the most common betterment mistakes?

These six come up across the schemes’ guidance:

1. **Claiming a new item for an old one.** At DPS, the full cost of a replacement carpet when the tenant lived there several years is betterment ([DPS](https://www.depositprotection.com/claims-and-disputes/what-makes-a-reasonable-deposit-claim)). mydeposits gives a claim for a new carpet, when the damaged one was five years old and of much lower quality, as a claim that will be reduced ([mydeposits](https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/content-hub/landlord-deposit-dispute-guide/)).
2. **Upgrading the quality.** A contribution towards a prestige-brand replacement for a modest original is betterment at DPS ([DPS](https://www.depositprotection.com/claims-and-disputes/what-makes-a-reasonable-deposit-claim)). Tenants are only responsible for costs on a like-for-like basis ([mydeposits](https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/content-hub/rules-of-claiming-for-deposit-deductions/)).
3. **Replacing what could be repaired or cleaned.** Replacement is fair only when an item is beyond economic repair or can’t be used. Otherwise a repair or a clean is the likelier award, or compensation for lost value ([joint guide](https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/article/A-Guide-to-Deposits-Disputes-and-Damages)).
4. **Cleaning to a higher standard than check-in.** A full professional clean, when there were cleaning defects at the start, is betterment at DPS ([DPS](https://www.depositprotection.com/claims-and-disputes/what-makes-a-reasonable-deposit-claim)). At mydeposits, so is a professional clean when the home was only domestically clean ([mydeposits](https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/content-hub/fair-wear-and-tear-what-is-it-and-how-is-it-applied/)).
5. **Charging for what was due for renewal anyway.** At DPS, an award for redecoration is unlikely after a tenancy of five years or more ([DPS](https://www.depositprotection.com/learning-centre/disputes/in-disputes-be-fair)). An item at the end of its natural life has little or no value left to lose.
6. **Leaving out the item’s age and quality.** TDS lists both among landlords’ common mistakes ([TDS](https://custodial.tenancydepositscheme.com/public/support/1how-to-present-your-case-to-a-tds-adjudicator.pdf)). A coffee table can cost a few pounds or a great deal, and the adjudicator doesn’t know which unless you show them.

## What happens if there’s no evidence of an item’s age or quality?

The adjudicator works it out without you. At TDS, without evidence of quality, the adjudicator is likely to base the figure on a medium-quality replacement ([TDS](https://custodial.tenancydepositscheme.com/public/support/1tds-guide-to-inventories-check-in-and-check-out-reports-v11.pdf)). Receipts and warranties can show an item should last longer, which can justify a higher deduction.

Adjudicators may ask for receipts or other evidence of an item’s age, or its cost and quality when new ([DPS](https://www.depositprotection.com/claims-and-disputes/what-makes-a-reasonable-deposit-claim)). A purchase receipt or fitter’s invoice does both jobs. Keep one for every item you’d want to claim for.

## How does reducing for age work in practice?

In one mydeposits case, a tenant burned a kitchen worktop with a pan during a two-year tenancy ([mydeposits](https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/content-hub/deposit-dispute-case-study-kitchen-worktop-damage/)). The check-in already recorded faded marks and edge wear. The landlord claimed **£894** for a new worktop, supported by one estimate with no breakdown.

The adjudicator agreed that replacement was the right remedy, and that the tenant was responsible. But the old worktop was already worn, so the full cost would have been betterment. **£268.20** was awarded, 30% of the claim. That was one decision on its own evidence, not a rule.

Over-reducing is a mistake too. Wear and tear attaches to the materials, not the labour. In one mydeposits case, a washing machine seal went mouldy during a tenancy ([mydeposits](https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/content-hub/deposit-dispute-case-study-damages-and-fair-wear-and-tear/)). The adjudicator awarded the call-out and labour in full, and 80% of the cost of the seal.

## How do I claim without betterment?

Set the claim out so the adjudicator can follow it:

1. Choose the cheapest remedy that puts the loss right: a clean, a repair or a replacement.
2. Get a like-for-like quote, priced with labour and materials apart.
3. Give the item’s age at the end of the tenancy, with the receipt or check-in report.
4. Take its expected life from your scheme’s published figures.
5. Reduce the materials for age. Labour and call-out charges may be claimable in full, depending on the facts.
6. Write out the sum. At TDS, a claim for part of a bill should show how it was shared ([TDS](https://custodial.tenancydepositscheme.com/public/support/1how-to-present-your-case-to-a-tds-adjudicator.pdf)).

The method doesn’t suit every case, and the adjudicator decides what is reasonable on the evidence ([joint guide](https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/article/A-Guide-to-Deposits-Disputes-and-Damages)). It still shows your claim has allowed for age.

## Where next?

The guide to [fair wear and tear for landlords](https://tenancyvaults.co.uk/guides/fair-wear-and-tear-landlords) works through the schemes’ own example sum, with each scheme’s lifespans. The [deposit deduction calculator](https://tenancyvaults.co.uk/deposit-deduction-calculator) does the sum for your items, and the post on [working out a deduction for an item’s age](https://tenancyvaults.co.uk/blog/apportioning-deposit-deductions) has more examples. [What is fair wear and tear?](https://tenancyvaults.co.uk/faqs/what-is-fair-wear-and-tear) covers what isn’t chargeable at all. When you build a [deposit dispute pack](https://tenancyvaults.co.uk/dispute-packs), each damaged item gets a figure reduced for age for you to check and change.

## Common questions

### Is betterment the same as fair wear and tear?

No, but they work together. Fair wear and tear is the decline your tenant can’t be charged for at all. Betterment is the limit on what you can recover for damage they did cause, so you don’t end up better off than at the start.

### Can I fit a better item than the one my tenant damaged?

Yes, but the claim is for a similar item. Tenants are only responsible for costs on a like-for-like basis, so base the claim on a quote for the same quality, reduced for the old item’s age. You pay the difference for the upgrade.

### What if the damaged item was past its expected life?

Then there’s usually little or nothing to claim towards a replacement, because it had no life left. In one mydeposits case, carpets already worn at check-in, and laid for at least the five years mydeposits expects in a rental, drew no award. A claim for cleaning or a repair may still be fair.

### Is a missing item valued at the cost of a new one?

No. At TDS, a missing item is valued at its second-hand value at the end of the tenancy, allowing for its age and condition at the start and the wear expected.

### Do I have to buy the replacement before I claim?

No. A quote can support a claim, though an itemised invoice carries more weight. Make the quote like for like, so the adjudicator isn’t pricing an upgrade.

## Sources

The facts on this page come from these official sources, checked on 19 October 2026.

1. [Guide to Deposits, Disputes and Damages (TDS, July 2026)](https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/article/A-Guide-to-Deposits-Disputes-and-Damages)
2. [TDS: How to present your case to a TDS adjudicator](https://custodial.tenancydepositscheme.com/public/support/1how-to-present-your-case-to-a-tds-adjudicator.pdf)
3. [TDS: Inventories, check-in and check-out reports](https://custodial.tenancydepositscheme.com/public/support/1tds-guide-to-inventories-check-in-and-check-out-reports-v11.pdf)
4. [TDS: How TDS approaches damage and missing items](https://custodial.tenancydepositscheme.com/public/support/how-tds-approaches-disputes-involving-damage-and-missing-items.pdf)
5. [DPS: In disputes, be fair](https://www.depositprotection.com/learning-centre/disputes/in-disputes-be-fair)
6. [DPS: What makes a reasonable deposit claim?](https://www.depositprotection.com/claims-and-disputes/what-makes-a-reasonable-deposit-claim)
7. [DPS: Common dispute misconceptions](https://www.depositprotection.com/claims-and-disputes/common-dispute-misconceptions)
8. [mydeposits: Fair wear and tear, what is it and how is it applied?](https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/content-hub/fair-wear-and-tear-what-is-it-and-how-is-it-applied/)
9. [mydeposits: Rules of claiming for deposit deductions](https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/content-hub/rules-of-claiming-for-deposit-deductions/)
10. [mydeposits: Landlord deposit dispute guide](https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/content-hub/landlord-deposit-dispute-guide/)
11. [mydeposits: Resolution case study, kitchen worktop damage](https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/content-hub/deposit-dispute-case-study-kitchen-worktop-damage/)
12. [mydeposits: Case study, repairs and replacement items](https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/content-hub/deposit-dispute-case-study-damages-and-fair-wear-and-tear/)
13. [mydeposits: Case study, fair wear and tear and replacement of carpets](https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/content-hub/deposit-dispute-case-study-fair-wear-and-tear-and-replacement-of-carpets/)