When a bath gets chipped, a tile cracks or a worktop gets damaged in a rented property, the question of responsibility is almost always the first thing that comes up. Landlords and tenants have different legal positions, and the answer depends on how the damage occurred. This guide explains the legal framework and practical approach to surface damage in rental properties.
The Legal Framework: Fair Wear and Tear vs Damage
Under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and the Housing Act 2004, landlords are responsible for maintaining the structure and exterior of a property and keeping installations for water, gas, electricity and sanitation in repair. Tenants are responsible for taking reasonable care of the property and must not cause damage beyond fair wear and tear.
Fair wear and tear is the natural deterioration of a property and its contents through normal, everyday use over time — surfaces losing their sheen, grout discolouring, paint fading. This is the landlord’s responsibility to address between tenancies, not the tenant’s.
Tenant damage is deterioration beyond fair wear and tear — chipped baths, broken tiles, burned worktops caused by careless use. This is the tenant’s responsibility.
Who Pays for What: Common Scenarios
Chipped Bath or Shower Tray
A chip in a bath or shower tray caused by dropping a heavy object is tenant damage — the tenant pays or it’s deducted from deposit. A bath that is discoloured, stained or has worn finish through age and normal use is fair wear and tear — the landlord’s responsibility.
Cracked or Chipped Tile
A cracked tile from impact (dropping something, furniture movement) is tenant damage. A tile that has cracked due to substrate movement, poor installation or age is the landlord’s responsibility to investigate and repair.
Burned or Chipped Worktop
Burns on kitchen worktops are almost always tenant damage — caused by placing hot pans directly on the surface without a trivet. Chips from normal kitchen use may be less clear-cut, but significant chip damage from impact is generally considered tenant damage.
Mouldy Grout and Silicone
Mould in bathrooms is a grey area. Where a tenant has failed to adequately ventilate the bathroom, mould accumulation may be considered tenant responsibility. Where the property lacks adequate ventilation (extractor fans, windows) and mould is a structural consequence, this is the landlord’s responsibility.
Practical Resolution: Repair Rather Than Dispute
Professional surface repair is often cheaper than the deposit dispute process. A chipped bath repaired professionally for £100–£200 may otherwise result in deposit deductions disputed through the tenancy deposit scheme — a process that takes weeks, may not result in full recovery, and damages the landlord-tenant relationship.
For tenants: commissioning professional repair and presenting the invoice to the landlord or deposit scheme as evidence of remediation is the cleanest resolution to a damage dispute.
For landlords: professional repair is typically cheaper than replacement and more defensible than simply withholding deposit for perceived damage without evidence of the cost.
Get a Repair Quote
Whether you’re a landlord or tenant, send photos of the damage for a free assessment and written quote — useful as evidence in any deposit negotiation.
