My bond is being held

LESLEY75 · 21 November 2009 at 8:47PM

Help

I have just vacated a rented property and I met the agent when handing it over. She mentioned that the cooker hob had not been polish and that a table (which was very wobbly) had been flat packed by myself.

The only thing she mentioned to me as maybe being a problem with m bond was the fact the hob had not been polish and that was all.

Since this meeting i have had a letter advising that the £700.00 bond was being held due to the table being flat packed, rubbish in the garden, carpets in need of cleaning.

The table being flat packed was not an issue when we met, the rubbish in the garden has gone and there was no mention of the carpets when we met.

When i moved in the property there was a fridge freezer, washer which the landlord had offered to clear should i wish them out the way, a pile of flat packed boxes (which was sopping wet through), and outbuilding ful of building rubble which i had to clear out to enable me to use the outbuilding and the garden was very overgrown like a meadow.

I got rid of the fridge freezer/washer at the tip to save bothering the land lord and also the boxes and building rubble. As for the garden, the neighbours has commented on the state of the garden as it was overgrown with all kinds of things but through hard work and seeding, treating etc i turned it to lawn with edge borders and pretty flowers and conifers. Much to the nieghbours approval.

Had i anticipated this I would have taken photos of what i had to clear before i moved in.

My bond is protected by the TDS however i am in need of the money as its xmas and plus i am now car less and in need of a cheap car.

What re my rights I am so at a loss with what i can do about this and how long it will take. I have been told the LL is a right scammer and that the neighbours have had many a fall out with him. Maybe its about time that they introduce LL checks as well as tenant checks.

Please Help. I know this is a long story and i may be missing some important information before people can advise but please feel free to ask me.

Soot2006 · 21 November 2009 at 8:51PM

Were there check in/check out inventories? Did you sign them?

Either way, you need to contest the deposit deduction/retention with the TDS and take it through their arbitration service.

LESLEY75 · 21 November 2009 at 8:52PM

I had a check in inventory which was provided a couple of weeks after i moved in which i signed but i never saw anything when i checked out

LESLEY75 · 21 November 2009 at 8:54PM

I did check the TDS website and enter my UID and it says on there that there is no dispute?????

I have emailed the agent bu the woman whom i need to speak is ever hardly int he office making it more frustrating for me.

I am not very good at dealing with these things as I don't know who to turn too.

BitterAndTwisted · 21 November 2009 at 10:21PM

If you've got photos of the garden before and after you could choose to invoice the landlord for 700 quid's-worth of landscaping and refuse removal services. I've heard that both can be extremely expensive if you don't undertake that kind of work yourself.

I believe that it is you who have to register the dispute with the deposit organisations, not the landlord.

Ask the letting agents for sight of the check-out inventory and the quotes/invoices for the work they say they had to undertake. The check-out inventory should have some reference to the state of the garden as well as the carpeting.

How long was your tenancy?

I'm sorry but I don't understand that reference to the "flat-packed" table at all. Could you clarify?

tbs624 · 22 November 2009 at 6:19AM

Lesley - you need to try initially to resolve it with the LL and then ,if you can't, you lodge a TDS2 Form . See here for guidance and get the form here.

As Bitter&Twisted says ask the LL/LA for copy invoices for all work they say was necessary: they can't just pluck a figure out of the air. Do it by letter and keep a copy. In your letter, you can state the items that you cleared at the start of your tenancy but it should really have been noted on the inventory by you.

Look back at your check-in inventory and note what it says about carpets etc. The standard rule is that you must leave the property in the same condition as when let save for fair wear and tear ( doesn't include dirt or damage).If the carpets were clean at the start then they should be clean when you leave.

A couple of your comments suggest that you may have to accept some small deductions - if a table was wobbly you should have noticed this to the LL in writing, not simply take it apart and leave for the LL to put back together again ( am assuming this what you mean by " flatpacked it"). You say that the rubbish in the garden "had gone" - if it had gone, had the LL arranged ( & paid) for it to be taken away?

Blacksheep1979 · 22 November 2009 at 2:24PM

A nice letter from the neighbours as to the state of the garden when you moved in/out may help you as it's an independent view.

My bond is being held

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