They argue that it's fair wear and tear. They were there for 13 years, and the agent should have told us what was going on. He didn't. He led us to believe all was well.

The problem with wear and tear is it's all very subjective. They've wiped £8k off the value of the house due to the kitchen alone, but the kitchen, although like new when they moved in, is actually about 20 years old, and people tend to say these things don't last longer than 20 years anyway.

I don't agree, obviously. Our kitchen is older than that and remains perfect. But then they say we should know that tenants don't look after anything.

That is true. In our experience anyway.

We got their £450 deposit, of which £66 went to the oven cleaner. So basically, they covered the cost of some DIY materials, but the kitchen is trashed, and devalued the house by £8k.

Then yesterday, I found they had even cracked the bath! But that's another story in my drafts.

Bottom line, the law tends to side with the tenants. The bathroom is only 7 years old and should not be broken, but my husband doesn't want to try dragging them through the courts, for fear that we'll lose and end up paying their costs.