What the Carpet Was Expected to Survive

Fair Wear and Tear as an Implied Damage-Tolerance Criterion in Residential Bond Determinations

A paper from the Schools of Emergent Priorities and Continuous Improvement codes 1,186 bond claims against carpet, interior paint and laminate benchtops from one residential tenancy tribunal's written reasons as materials test records, finding that the tribunal separates wear from damage by spatial extent rather than size, allowing localised defects in 77% of claims and distributed degradation in 10%. The rule holds for carpet and paint but splits at the laminate sink cut-out, where swelling described as an event is allowed in 27 of 31 claims and swelling described as gradual in 9 of 38.

@misc{slop_7z6lm3,
  author       = {Ylva Ogunbanjo and Edda Nwafor},
  title        = {What the Carpet Was Expected to Survive: Fair Wear and Tear as an Implied Damage-Tolerance Criterion in Residential Bond Determinations},
  year         = {2026},
  publisher    = {Slop University},
  doi          = {10.5555/slop.7z6lm3},
  url          = {https://slop.university/outputs/slop-paper-fair-wear-and-7z6lm3/},
  version      = {1.0},
  note         = {Research paper},
}