Who pays for damage caused by a tenant?

In England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, tenant damage is usually dealt with as breach, negligence or criminal damage/vandalism depending on what happened and where the property is. The practical question is not whether the landlord owns the property, but whether the damage was fair wear and tear, accidental, negligent, deliberate, insured, or caused by something the landlord had to repair anyway.

Who pays for damage caused by a tenant?

A tenant pays for damage they, their family, lawful occupiers or guests cause wilfully, negligently or in breach of the tenancy, but the landlord cannot charge for ordinary fair wear and tear. In England and Wales, the Court of Appeal’s tenant-like-use rule says: “In addition, he must, of course, not damage the house, wilfully or negligently; and he must see that his family and guests do not damage it; and if they do, he must repair it.” Wales uses contract-holder language, and the landlord is not required to repair where disrepair is “wholly or mainly attributable to lack of care by the contract-holder or a permitted occupier of the dwelling.” Northern Ireland states the tenant “shall make good any damage” wilfully or negligently caused by the tenant or lawful visitors. In Scotland, the model private residential tenancy notes put it plainly: “The tenant must pay for the cost of any damage caused by the tenant (or by any visitors) to the property or fixtures and fittings”. Damage means a deterioration beyond normal use: broken fittings, burns, holes, missing items, unauthorised alterations, ruined carpets or similar loss.

How much can a landlord charge for a damaged carpet?

A landlord can charge only the proven loss for a damaged carpet, not the automatic cost of a new carpet, and no UK legislation sets a fixed carpet-damage tariff. Deposit adjudicators reject new-for-old claims because, as TDS puts it, “If it was damaged beyond repair and the landlord was claiming the full cost of replacing the carpet, this would lead to betterment.” A useful working calculation is: original or like-for-like replacement cost, less the carpet’s age and expected remaining life, plus fitting only if replacement is genuinely needed. TDS says low-quality carpet typically lasts two to four years, medium-quality five to eight years and high-quality eight to fifteen years; Shelter gives the example that a five-year-old £250 carpet may justify £125, not £250. If the problem is a stain that can be cleaned, Shelter says: “If the landlord buys a brand new carpet for £250, they should only keep the £50 cleaning cost from the tenant's deposit.” Tenant carpet damage is therefore priced by evidence, condition, lifespan and repairability.

Is a tenant liable for water damage?

A tenant is liable for water damage they cause by negligence or misuse, such as overflowing a bath or leaving a window or skylight open in heavy rain, but not for water damage caused by the landlord’s repairing obligation or an inevitable flood. GOV.UK gives the direct England example: “If you damage another tenant’s flat, for example if water leaks into another flat from an overflowing bath, you’re responsible for paying for the repairs.” The same principle explains tenant negligence water damage across the UK: Scotland’s statutory notes say a person is negligent if they leave a skylight open all day when rain is forecast and the carpet below is damaged by rain. If a tenant accidentally leaves a window open during heavy rain and damages the carpet, the tenant can be charged the reasonable drying, cleaning or depreciated replacement cost, including a dehumidifier where that cost is necessary and evidenced. The landlord’s building insurance may fund structural drying first, but that does not by itself remove the tenant’s liability for the negligent act.

Who is responsible for fire damage to a rental property?

Fire damage to the rental building is normally handled through the landlord’s buildings insurance unless the tenancy or facts create a recoverable tenant liability, but the core repair statutes in all four nations do not force the landlord to rebuild after fire. England’s and Wales’s section 11 repairing covenant does not require the landlord “to rebuild or reinstate the premises in the case of destruction or damage by fire, or by tempest, flood or other inevitable accident”. Wales has the same result for occupation contracts, where fire is one of the “relevant causes”. Scotland’s repairing-standard duty also excludes requiring “the house to be rebuilt or reinstated in the event of destruction or damage by fire”, and Northern Ireland’s statutory duty contains the same carve-out. Where the lease puts fire insurance on the landlord for both parties’ benefit, the landlord may be limited to the insurance money even if the tenant was negligent: the court has described that bargain as leaving “no further claim against the tenant for damages in negligence.”

What is malicious damage by a tenant?

Malicious damage by a tenant is not a special tenancy-law category: in England and Wales it is ordinary criminal damage where a person intentionally or recklessly damages another person’s property without lawful excuse. The Criminal Damage Act 1971 says: “A person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property belonging to another intending to destroy or damage any such property or being reckless as to whether any such property would be destroyed or damaged shall be guilty of an offence.” Northern Ireland uses the same formula under its 1977 Order. Scotland does not use the criminal damage label for this offence; the closest statutory offence is vandalism, where a person who “without reasonable excuse, wilfully or recklessly destroys or damages any property belonging to another” is guilty. Landlord insurance policies often use malicious damage by tenants to mean intentional tenant or guest damage, and cover may be an add-on rather than standard; NRLA says typical cover levels are generally £5,000–£10,000. Do not rely on references to a Malicious Damage Act 1964 as the current legal definition.

Can you charge a tenant who cut down a tree without permission?

You can charge a tenant who cut down a tree without permission only for the actual proven loss caused, not automatically for full replacement of a mature tree, because a damages claim must avoid betterment. In England, damages for breach of a tenancy agreement are a permitted payment, and the statutory guidance says: “This act does not affect the landlord’s entitlement to recover damages through the tenancy deposit or through the courts.” The practical claim is evidence-led: photographs at check-in and check-out, ownership of the tree, the tenancy terms, arborist or gardener evidence, whether the tree had amenity value, and whether the landlord has genuinely lost money. TDS has put the deposit point this way: “If the landlord can show they have suffered a loss and the condition of the property has changed from the beginning of the tenancy to the end which is a direct result of the tenants actions… it’s possible that a deduction can be applied.” Whether cutting the tree was criminal damage is a separate question.

Is cutting down a tree criminal damage?

GOV.UK’s guidance quotes a £20,000 cap for illegal tree-felling, but the current Town and Country Planning Act 1990 section 210(2), as amended, makes the fine unlimited in both magistrates’ court and Crown Court. Cutting down another person’s tree without lawful excuse can be criminal damage in England, Wales and Northern Ireland because the criminal damage statutes cover damage to property and define plant to include a tree; in England and Wales, the Act says a person who destroys or damages property belonging to another, intending or being reckless as to damage, “shall be guilty of an offence.” Northern Ireland uses the same approach and expressly says “plant” includes any shrub or tree. Scotland uses vandalism rather than criminal damage: a person who “without reasonable excuse, wilfully or recklessly destroys or damages any property belonging to another” commits that offence. Separately, if a tree is protected by a Tree Preservation Order in England and Wales, unauthorised cutting down, uprooting or wilful destruction is its own planning offence with an unlimited fine.

Can you charge a tenant for a contractor call-out when nothing was broken?

In England, you usually cannot charge a tenant for a contractor call-out where nothing was broken unless you can prove a tenancy breach, because a required payment is prohibited unless it is a permitted payment. The Tenant Fees Act explanatory note says: “Any other payment a landlord or letting agent requires in connection with a tenancy to themselves or a third party which is not described in this Schedule is prohibited.” A damages payment for breach is permitted, but the mere fact that a tradesperson charged a call-out does not prove tenant liability. So if a mains-wired smoke alarm sounds continuously while the tenant is moving out and the contractor finds only dust, the charge is not automatically recoverable; you would need evidence that the tenant caused the problem by breach, misuse or obstruction rather than reporting an apparent safety issue. Wales is different because a default payment can cover “a breach by the contract-holder of a term of the contract.” Scotland and Northern Ireland do not have the same England-style default-fee structure, so the tenancy terms and repair duties matter more.

Last reviewed September 2026.

Sources

• Warren v Keen [1954] 1 QB 15 — “In addition, he must, of course, not damage the house, wilfully or negligently; and he must see that his family and guests do not damage it; and if they do, he must repair it.” Source
• Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 s.96 — “The landlord is not obliged by section 92(1) or (2) to carry out works or repairs if the disrepair, or the failure of a service installation to be in working order, is wholly or mainly attributable to lack of care by the contract-holder or a permitted occupier of the dwelling.” Source
• Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 art.8 — “(b)shall make good any damage to those premises wilfully or negligently done or caused to the premises by the tenant, by any tenant of his or by any other person lawfully living in or lawfully visiting the premises;” Source
• Scottish Government private residential tenancy model agreement notes — “The tenant must pay for the cost of any damage caused by the tenant (or by any visitors) to the property or fixtures and fittings, for example kitchen cupboards, fitted wardrobes and fitted kitchen appliances.” Source
• TDS Joint Scheme Guide to Deposits, Disputes and Damages — “If it was damaged beyond repair and the landlord was claiming the full cost of replacing the carpet, this would lead to betterment.” Source
• TDS product lifespans guidance — “Typically, low-quality carpeting is expected to last between two to four years, while medium-quality carpeting may endure for five to eight years, and high-quality carpeting can have a lifespan of eight to fifteen years.” Source
• Shelter England deposit deductions guidance — “It might be reasonable for the landlord to use £125 of the deposit towards the new carpet.” Source
• Shelter England deposit deductions guidance — “If the landlord buys a brand new carpet for £250, they should only keep the £50 cleaning cost from the tenant's deposit.” Source
• GOV.UK private renting repairs guidance — “If you damage another tenant’s flat, for example if water leaks into another flat from an overflowing bath, you’re responsible for paying for the repairs.” Source
• Scottish Government private residential tenancy statutory terms supporting notes — “For example, a person is negligent if he leaves a skylight window open all day when rain is forecast and this results in the carpet and furnishings in the room below being damaged by the rain.” Source
• Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.11 — “(b)to rebuild or reinstate the premises in the case of destruction or damage by fire, or by tempest, flood or other inevitable accident, or” Source
• Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 s.95 — “Relevant causes are fire, storm, flood or other inevitable accident.” Source
• Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 s.16 — “(c)the house to be rebuilt or reinstated in the event of destruction or damage by fire or by storm, flood or other inevitable accident, or” Source
• Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 art.10 — “(c)to rebuild or re-instate the dwelling-house in the case of destruction or damage by fire, or by tempest, flood or other inevitable accident.” Source
• Prezzo Ltd v High Point Estates Ltd [2019] EWHC 43 (QB) — “The intention of the parties, sensibly construed, must therefore have been that in the event of damage by fire, whether due to accident or negligence, the landlord's loss was to be recouped from the insurance moneys and that in that event they were to have no further claim against the tenant for damages in negligence.” Source
• Criminal Damage Act 1971 s.1 — “A person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property belonging to another intending to destroy or damage any such property or being reckless as to whether any such property would be destroyed or damaged shall be guilty of an offence.” Source
• Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 s.52 — “Subject to subsection (2) below, any person who, without reasonable excuse, wilfully or recklessly destroys or damages any property belonging to another shall be guilty of the offence of vandalism.” Source
• Criminal Damage (Northern Ireland) Order 1977 art.3 — “A person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property belonging to another intending to destroy or damage any such property or being reckless as to whether any such property would be destroyed or damaged shall be guilty of an offence.” Source
• NRLA malicious damage guidance — “Although malicious damage is available as an add-on, the cover level is generally between £5k-£10k which is unlikely to cover the cost of repairs should a tenant cause severe damage to your property.” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 Sch.1 — “A payment of damages for breach of a tenancy agreement or an agreement between a letting agent and a relevant person is a permitted payment.” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 statutory guidance for enforcement authorities — “This act does not affect the landlord’s entitlement to recover damages through the tenancy deposit or through the courts.” Source
• TDS Custodial AskTDS tree dispute guidance — “If the landlord can show they have suffered a loss and the condition of the property has changed from the beginning of the tenancy to the end which is a direct result of the tenants actions, as long as the tenancy deposit clauses show that the tenancy deposit can be used to compensate the landlord, it’s possible that a deduction can be applied.” Source
• Town and Country Planning Act 1990 s.210 — “A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable on summary conviction, or on conviction on indictment, to a fine.” Source
• Criminal Damage Act 1971 s.10 — “For the purposes of this subsection ‘mushroom’ includes any fungus and ‘plant’ includes any shrub or tree.” Source
• Criminal Damage (Northern Ireland) Order 1977 art.12 — “and for the purposes of this paragraph ‘mushroom’ includes any fungus and ‘plant’ includes any shrub or tree.” Source
• Tenant Fees Act 2019 explanatory notes — “Any other payment a landlord or letting agent requires in connection with a tenancy to themselves or a third party which is not described in this Schedule is prohibited.” Source
• Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019 Sch.1 — “(b)a breach by the contract-holder of a term of the contract.” Source