How long should rental carpet last?

Five to eight years in most lets, less in a heavily trafficked HMO. Replacement is usually better value than a third deep clean.

Who pays for worn carpet at the end of a tenancy?

Fair wear and tear is the landlord's cost. Only damage beyond normal use can be charged, and the age of the carpet must be taken into account.

Void property clearance

Carpet and flooring renewal

What lasts, what to replace, and what the deeds say about noise

The short answer

Rental carpet typically lasts five to eight years depending on traffic, and cleaning stops being worthwhile once backing or seams have gone. Hard-wearing options such as luxury vinyl tile last longer and clean up between tenancies, but in a tenement the title deeds often require carpet in living areas for sound insulation, which limits the choice on upper floors.

What the work involves

Assessing each room's flooring, uplifting and disposing of the old covering, checking the subfloor, then fitting the replacement with appropriate underlay or acoustic layer.

Rules and responsibilities in Scotland

Tenement title deeds frequently include a floor covering obligation for noise. Building standards apply to acoustic performance in conversions. Fair wear and tear rules mean an aged carpet cannot be charged in full to a departing tenant.

What commonly goes wrong

Fitting hard flooring throughout an upper tenement flat in breach of the deeds, and laying new covering over a subfloor with an unresolved damp problem.

What it usually costs

Indicative ranges only, to help you judge a quote. They are not an estimate for your property — only the business doing the work can give you that.

Uplift and disposal of the old covering is a separate line and is often forgotten in a budget.
Mid-range contract carpet costs more per square metre than the cheapest but lasts through an extra tenancy.
Acoustic underlay adds cost but resolves the most common tenement complaint.

What to do, in order

1Check the title deeds before switching from carpet to hard flooring in a flat.
2Assess whether the subfloor is dry and sound before ordering.
3Measure and price uplift and disposal in the same quote.
4Choose contract-grade materials for a rental rather than domestic-grade.
5Keep the invoice and specification for the inventory and any future deposit claim.

Local detail for the Lothians

Many Edinburgh tenement deeds require carpeting in living areas, and neighbour noise complaints often follow hard flooring installed without checking.
Original pine floorboards in New Town and Marchmont flats can be sanded rather than covered, though sound transmission has to be considered.
Ground-floor flats with suspended timber floors need the void checked for ventilation before recovering.

When you need a professional

A flooring contractor for supply and fit; a solicitor can confirm what the title deeds require if the position is unclear.

Common questions

How long should rental carpet last?: Five to eight years in most lets, less in a heavily trafficked HMO. Replacement is usually better value than a third deep clean.
Who pays for worn carpet at the end of a tenancy?: Fair wear and tear is the landlord's cost. Only damage beyond normal use can be charged, and the age of the carpet must be taken into account.

Lothian Property is a property information and professional-introduction service operated by Maybury Scotland Limited. Lothian Property is not an estate agency. Where requested, we may connect homeowners with independent estate agents and other property professionals. How we work.

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Last reviewed 4 September 2026.