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What About Fair Wear & Tear?

Fair wear & tear occurs through normal changes that takes place with the aging of the property.

This statement is obviously open to interpretation and can often be seen as a grey area of property management. Section 17.2 of the Residential Tenancy Agreement states;

17. The tenant agrees, when the agreement ends, and before giving vacant possession of the premises to the landlord:
17.2 to leave the residential premises as nearly as possible in the same condition, fair wear and tear excepted, as at the commencement of the tenancy

So where do we draw the line? To what degree do we class fair wear & tear? This has been an ongoing challenge for many years.  It is a challenge that we as property managers have to deal with every time a tenant vacates a property.

Damaged caused by a tenant’s negligence or miscare is not what we consider fair wear and tear.  Wear and tear is unavoidable damage, like the compression/wearing of carpet due to continual traffic, not the staining of carpet because the tenant had split a drink. Or the fading/discolouration of paint on wall due to direct sunlight or oxidisation in comparison to holes/dents or marks on the wall from the furniture being moved through out the property with out care. It is really quiet simple, we believe in most cases commonsense will prevail.

At Ray White Dubbo, to avoid any confusion, we set very high standards.  We expect the property to meet our standards prior to the commencement of the tenancy and we therefore expect the tenant to meet our standards at the end of the tenancy agreement. We will continue to adopt the policy of if it’s clean when the tenant moves in then it will have to be the same when they move out.

It is vitally important to ensure that the condition report at the commencement of the tenancy is completed with much attention to detail. A well-documented entry report will avoid any disputes that may arise at the end of a tenancy.

Should you wish to discuss this matter further or for any Property Management advice contact the Professional team at Ray White Dubbo on 68841555, they will be more than happy to offer assistance.