Wear and tear or damage?

money man said:

When the door broke off a tenant phoned the landlord. He was told that the money would be taken from his deposit. Other 2 ppl thought this was unfair as the door could have come off on anyone while using it and it was his bad luck it happened to be him.

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I don't think the landlord has the right to deduct the cost from one person's deposit as it's a shared dryer, unless he was swinging from it or abusing it in some way. In that case, which is doubtful, the other tenants would be right to leave payment up to him/her.

As with the carpet example and with the thread title ...who has to pay for its replacement would depend on whether it was holes burnt in the carpet (damage) or a path worn from walking on it(wear and tear) ...this is why i posted a title of wear and tear or damage? Im really looking for an answer to that question not a personal view if they are disgruntled or not which they clearly will be if they are paying for the upkeep of the landlords house?

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You did pose the question...what's to prevent the landlord coming in and deciding to change the carpets. My reply was to the effect that it would depend on whether said carpets had been damaged or not. In the case of the tumble dryer, it's very unusual for the door to fall off on opening it, especially on two different tumble dryers within two years. So unless the landlord is buying very cheap equipment, I would feel the door was damaged. Having said that, I would chat to the landlord and see if the machine is still under warranty. If it is, a technician will be sent out who will immediately know whether the door is faulty or has been damaged in some way. If the latter is the case, the warranty will not cover it and there may be an additional charge for the call out.