Fair wear and tear refers to the gradual deterioration of things that are used regularly in a property when people live in it.

A tenant is not responsible for normal fair wear and tear to the property or any chattels provided by the landlord when they use them normally. The tenant is responsible for any intentional or careless damage.

An example of this would be where a stove element wears out from normal cooking. This is fair wear and tear. However, if the stove was being used to heat the kitchen and stopped working properly, this would not be considered normal use.

Examples of what is usually considered fair wear and tear are:

• flooring getting worn
• taps and washers in the kitchen, bathroom or laundry wearing out or leaking

 Examples of what is not normally considered fair wear and tear are:

• burn marks or drink stains on the carpet
• drawing on wallpaper

You can find out more on damages and repairs at https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/maintenance-and-inspections/repairs-and-damages/

In December the team at T And T Property Management jumped on board with Healthy Families Invercargill to support the KiwiHarvest Food Drive to help distribute food to vulnerable families in Southland over the Christmas period.

KiwiHarvest collects good, nutritious food before it goes to waste and distributes to frontline agencies, helping to feed our most vulnerable. Locally the demand for KiwiHarvest’s donations has been very high. They are now 18 recipient organisations benefiting from KiwiHarvest’s food distribution on a weekly basis, with even more organisations receiving donations from time to time and others on the waiting list.

We had many many items donated by our tenants, suppliers and locals that had seen our posts online. We were so thrilled to be a part of the Food Drive and were very grateful to each and everyone of those that donated to such a great cause. Knowing that many of our vulnerable families would be fed over Christmas and received a Christmas they deserved filled our hearts.

You can check out the amazing work KiwiHarvest do by visiting their website.www.kiwiharvest.org.nz