A Cleaner Way to Handle Wear & Tear Guidance
A Cleaner Way to Handle Wear & Tear Guidance
Release v0.1.75 · UI/UX Improvement
When building a deduction claim, working out whether damage is fair wear and tear or tenant-liable is one of the most important — and most debated — judgement calls in any tenancy checkout. We've always provided in-app guidance to help you make that call confidently. In this release, we've made that guidance much easier to use.
The problem we solved
The Add Deduction dialog previously expanded to include the full Wear & Tear guidance panel inline — three collapsible sections, including a Depreciation Calculator that lets you calculate an age-adjusted deduction amount on the spot. Useful, but the result was a very tall modal that required scrolling within a modal. On smaller screens, this was particularly awkward: you'd calculate an amount in the depreciation tool at the bottom, then scroll back up to enter it — even with the Apply to Amount shortcut, the flow felt clunky.
What we changed
The W&T guidance panel is now a slide-over drawer — a panel that slides in from the right side of the screen when you need it, and disappears when you don't. The main deduction form stays exactly where it is, compact and focused on the fields that matter:
- Description
- Category
- Amount
- Wear & Tear acknowledgement
Click "View W&T Guidance" and the drawer opens alongside the dialog. You can read the fair W&T criteria, check whether the damage is tenant-liable, or run the depreciation calculator — all without losing your place in the form. When you hit Apply to Amount, the value lands directly in the Amount field. Close the drawer, submit the deduction. Done.
Why this matters
Disputes over wear and tear are the single most common source of deposit disagreements. Having clear, accessible guidance at the exact moment you're making a deduction decision is critical — but only if that guidance doesn't get in the way of actually completing the task. The slide-over pattern keeps guidance available without making it mandatory. Users who know what they're doing won't even notice it's there. Users who need it will find it one click away, not buried inside a scrollable modal.
For full technical details, see the Wear & Tear Slide-Over Drawer feature page.