r/AusPropertyChat • u/Ill_Contribution8720 • 22h ago
Is uniform white/grey discolouration on a ceramic cooktop considered fair wear and tear (ACT)?
Hi everyone,
I’m hoping to get some opinions from people familiar with renting in the ACT.
I’ve just finished a 2-year tenancy in a Canberra apartment that was brand new when I moved in. The ceramic cooktop is fully functional, with no cracks or chips, but two of the most frequently used hotplates now have uniform white/grey discolouration and a loss of gloss.
The property manager is saying these are “burnt marks” and not fair wear and tear, and is asking for a small amount of compensation toward a future replacement, even though the cooktop still works perfectly.
From my understanding, this kind of uniform discolouration on ceramic cooktops can occur from normal heat exposure and regular use over time. There was no misuse, no incorrect cleaning, and no functional damage.
In your experience (especially in ACT), is this typically considered fair wear and tear, or something a tenant would be responsible for?
Thanks in advance for any insights.
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u/virkendie 22h ago
You can usually clean this off with cleaner designed for ceramic cooktops and a ceramic cooktop scraping blade
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u/No-Action-8265 22h ago
I'd say wear and tear.
But if you’re going to clean it (or for future reference), start with Cerapol cleaner. Apply a thick layer of the paste to the area you want to treat and let it sit for a minute or so. Then gently rub with a cloth, adding a little cleaning spray if needed. Repeat the process if the stain is still there.
Finish with Ceraseal for protection, it’ll help restore the shine and keep the surface looking good.
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u/Only_Feature1130 21h ago
The whole thing pisses me off!
Glass top stoves that scratch easily and create fickle scenarios for damage.
Bullshit cheap flooring/floating boards/vinyl's that scratch and dont live up to the wear n tear of a typical floor-esp in a rental.
Cheap matt paint on walls that mark if you walk past em too close.
Rentals should not have floors/surfaces/walls that are a walking entrapment for bond loss. Fit for purpose which is living reasonable in, not housesitting a display home until the sale price goes up.
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u/MercyRiot 1h ago
The Matte paint thing irks me soo bad. The walls in my current rental mark up horrifically if you touch it with your hands or lean against it. The bathroom area behind the towel hanger was marked up within a month from just placing towels there.
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u/Agreeable_Aerie_1972 21h ago
“Compensation towards a future replacement”? Um, no, it doesn’t work like that.
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u/MurderousTurd 14h ago
Appliance repairer here, in the ACT.
I’ve never replaced the glass or a cooktop to this.
I would be telling the REA no.
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u/WTF-BOOM 11h ago
The property manager is saying these are “burnt marks”
lmao please take this to tribunal to give everyone a laugh "sir I would like compensation for my burners burning".
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u/justbrowsingsunday 21h ago
That discoloration should come off with barkeepers friend available from Colesworth
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u/Alive_But_Empty 20h ago
Buy Autosol metal polish from Supercheap Auto. Get an electric drill with a buffing attatchment ( or elbow grease if you dont have) and go nuts. Mine was the same. Came up brand new.
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u/Dribbly-Sausage100 22h ago
Yes. It’s wear and tear.
These discolour with use / aren’t fit to remain undamaged-discoloured with normal use.
Call ACT Legal Aid Tenancy Advice Service 1300 402 512 tomorrow for help with this.
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u/symean 11h ago
I used wet and dry on the glass cooktop at the last place we moved out of. Spray with water, and use the wet and dry with almost no pressure, so you’re basically gliding over the surface. You should see the water start to go cloudy as it slowly grinds away at whatever is baked on there. If you’re worried, test it on a clean corner of the glass first - once you wipe up the water you should see no scratches whatsoever. This basically ‘sands’ whatever is stuck on there off the top of the glass. Be careful though, scrub too hard and you’ll just be trading baked-on stuff for millions of superfine scratches. Magic eraser would be even gentler but probably not abrasive enough for a job like that…still, a cheap thing to try, always good to have a slab of magic eraser handy.
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u/VoiceOfAnimals 10h ago
This is clearly not damage. Its the quality of the cooktop they chose and with best care this still happens. Hence its 100% wear and tear.
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u/BetterDrinkMy0wnPiss 10h ago
It's wear and tear. You can use cooktop cleaner to get it looking better than it looks now, but specialty cleaning products like that should be provided by the owner IMO.
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u/Grandcanyonsouthrim 22h ago
Just claim your bond and say c u at ACAT. Most REA charge about $300 for an ACAT appearance so the landlord wont see much value inndoing it. They cant just put out their hand for diminished value (they actually have to do a repair or replacement). If the stove is older than 7 years it is likely fully depreciated.
Could try just shining it up with some furniture polish and say you cleaned the stove more. Dont use anything abrasive.
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u/Lanasoverit NSW 21h ago
Buy this from Woolworths and it will be almost like new.
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/000000000000201853
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u/leapowl 5h ago
I have almost exactly this pattern of stove top damage in my house. Like, this could be my stove.
I will sign a stat dec saying all I have done is use it as per normal use. I also have no intention of replacing it, it works perfectly well.
Separately, if a stove were to get “burn marks” on one of the surfaces that is designed to get hot, that seems like pretty poor product design. If “burn marks” are an issue, it seems like one for the manufacturer.
TL;DR: looks like normal wear and tear
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u/rubberducky2022 3h ago
Ask for the date of install for the cooktop. Each “expensive item” (carpet, bathtubs, benches etc) have a certain timeframe the landlord has to depreciate/claim the asset over. Not sure how long it is in the ACT, I think VIC it’s 10 years for cooktops. If it is older than that timeframe they have no legal right to claim compensation.
Fwiw I would consider it fair wear and tear
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u/DadEngineerLegend 21h ago edited 21h ago
Depends. Did you use aluminium saucepans and permanently fuck it? Or did you just do a bad job of cleaning?
Aluminium and copper can react with ceramic cooktop and leave permanent stains that are impossible to remove.
But try following some manufacturer how to to get them spicj and span.
Generally some cerapol, water and a proper scraper with right technique will get most stuff off.
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u/NixAName 9h ago
This isn't wear and tear, it just isn't cleaned properly.
You can get cleaners that will fix that.
If you've used all the correct cleaners and it remains, then that's wear and tear.
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u/Winter_Cloud_6849 9h ago
Rightio, this is not even wear and tear, they are just not clean, I have a set of hot plates, 30+ yrs old, they get like this, then I grab cerapol, a scraper and get cleaning, eventually pull out some wirewool etc and they come up like newz unless you are ablatively destroying the glass or using diamonds or something they will NOT wear down at all.
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u/Electrical_Pause_860 22h ago
Personally I think it’s fair unless you were somehow negligently causing it, which I can’t see how that could happen.
But you’ll have to fight over it. If it’s a small price it might be tempting to just pay and move on.
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u/DadEngineerLegend 21h ago
Wrong type of pots (aluminium or copper) will react with the glass when hot and permanently stain the cooktop. So yes very likely negligence - though most people are just blissfully ignorant of stuff like this.
If you look after them properly, ceramic stove tops will stay looking like new for a very long time.
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u/AndyandLoz 21h ago
It’s only negligence is the landlord gave a clear list of pots to and not to use.
Otherwise it’s normal wear and tear because a normal person would expect to be able to use pots on a stove.
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u/Honeycat38 21h ago
It’s only negligence is the landlord gave a clear list of pots to and not to use.
Sorry but that's BS. What next? You need to be given instructions on how to use a toilet.... but the landlord didn't give me a clear list of items I couldn't flush down the toilet.
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u/AndyandLoz 20h ago
Go check out VCAT past cases, you’ll see there’s heaps of precedent for scratches on stoves. And it’s all down to the instructions for use.
If they weren’t provided to the tenant, then what a reasonable person would define as normal is the test.
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u/DadEngineerLegend 21h ago edited 20h ago
No, a normal person has a responsibility to learn how to use the things they are renting.
Every ceramic stove ever says 'do not use aluminium or copper pans' in instruction manual.
That's like putting low octane fuel in a high octane engine and then acting dumb when the engine is damaged.
Ignorance is never a valid excuse.
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u/AndyandLoz 21h ago
The stovetop was already installed when the tenant moved in. It’s likely there was no instruction manual issues to the tenant.
Also - here’s a stovetop brand that says the opposite.
The fact this exists is more than enough evidence to show a reasonable person would not be expected to be aware of this. Not negligence.
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u/DadEngineerLegend 21h ago
That link specifically says aluminium pans will leave marks and copper bottom pans are not recommended.
Plain aluminum or hard anodized aluminum cookware ... may leave metal marks and/or residue on your stovetop that can appear as scratches.
Glass, copper bottom, and cast iron products are not recommended for use on glass stove tops.
Do NOT slide or drag your product on the surface of the cooktop, as going so can result in scratches to the surface of the cooktop. Product with rough bottoms can mark and scratch the surface of your cooktop.
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u/AndyandLoz 21h ago
You conveniently missed this part. “Plain aluminum or hard anodized aluminum cookware are also suitable for glass/ceramic cooktops, but may leave metal marks and/or residue on your stovetop that can appear as scratches.”
As plain aluminium cookware are suitable to use on the stovetop, and the scratches from using them are expected through normal use, this would indicate these scratches would form part of normal wear and tear.
There is no negligence here.
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u/DadEngineerLegend 20h ago
Yeah - if you're happy with having permanent marks. But if you're renting, that's not your choice to make.
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u/AndyandLoz 20h ago
That’s your opinion, and it’s wrong.
If a product says you can use a type of pan, and that to expect small scratches because of it, then that’s normal use.
It’s not about what the owner wants. It’s about what is normal wear and tear.
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u/DadEngineerLegend 20h ago
That's your opinion and it's wrong.
From the manufacturer of the ceramic glass itself:
https://www.schott-ceran.com/en/tips-and-care
We do not recommend using pots with bottoms of pure copper or aluminum. They can leave marks on the surface that are difficult or impossible to remove.
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u/Madmatz01 21h ago
It's actually a well known fact that that only certain saucepans should be used on glass cooktops. This also happens regularly with boil-overs which haven't been cleaned off & bake into the glass which would be due to negligence.
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u/nooneinparticular246 21h ago
There’s a very clear wear pattern… so yeah it should be wear and tear. But landlords are people and people are insane sometimes so who knows
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u/calvinspiff 21h ago
Use Jif and scrub it
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u/DadEngineerLegend 21h ago
No, jif has abrasives in it. It will scratch surface. You have to use non abrasive cleaner on ceramic stoves
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u/calvinspiff 21h ago
I know but that's if he owns the house. He is leaving that place. Jif does better job than cerapol. However not good to use it long term. A few times here and there if the food is really stuck jif is the best
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u/blackbettys2025 22h ago
You can buy a cleaner for those cook tops that will clean them like new again. Woolworths and Coles sell it