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In dispute with landlord, wanted some feedback on email

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shoollhe
shoollhe Posts: 8 Forumite
in House buying, renting & selling
He is charging me for cleaning communal areas of student accomodation despite property being spotless when I moved out, I spent 8 hours on day I left and many hours before that cleaning what I could apart from the other tenants rooms which were locked and it had new carpet, kitchen and bathroom last year so not much needed done to be honest but I still went as far as cleaning the shower glass, cleaning the extractor fans despite them being dirty when I moved in, and hoovering up every last crumb of dirt then scrubbing inside of cupboards.

Landlord claims it costs £160 to clean a 4 bedroom property as there was dust everywhere in property (thats all he mentioned, communal cleaning on the official scheme and dusting and cleaning skirting in email)

Secondly I asked him about deposit before end of tenancy and trying to arrange for him to meet and hand back keys (that way I knew at the time if there was any dispute and could of cleaned up)and this was his response which I believed meant he was going to give me back deposit anyway and he said he was unable to meet up and his agent would pick up keys at further occasion.

""

[FONT=&quot]You can just leave the keys in your room on the desk that will be fine. I will look out for the money.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Just let me know when you’re moving out, make sure your room is clean, and deposit gets returned after end of lease .
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]""[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]What does people think of that, I think its not clear it will give back deposit but also could do so.
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Thanks[/FONT]
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Comments

  • Guest101
    Guest101 Posts: 15,764 Forumite
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    shoollhe wrote: »
    He is charging me for cleaning communal areas of student accomodation despite property being spotless when I moved out, I spent 8 hours on day I left and many hours before that cleaning what I could apart from the other tenants rooms which were locked and it had new carpet, kitchen and bathroom last year so not much needed done to be honest but I still went as far as cleaning the shower glass, cleaning the extractor fans despite them being dirty when I moved in, and hoovering up every last crumb of dirt then scrubbing inside of cupboards. - what kind of contract did you have? joint tenants? When did you move out compared to the end of the tenancy?

    Landlord claims it costs £160 to clean a 4 bedroom property as there was dust everywhere in property (thats all he mentioned, communal cleaning on the official scheme and dusting and cleaning skirting in email) - Is the deposit protected?

    Secondly I asked him about deposit before end of tenancy and trying to arrange for him to meet and hand back keys (that way I knew at the time if there was any dispute and could of cleaned up)and this was his response which I believed meant he was going to give me back deposit anyway and he said he was unable to meet up and his agent would pick up keys at further occasion. - irrelevant.

    ""

    [FONT=&quot]You can just leave the keys in your room on the desk that will be fine. I will look out for the money.[/FONT]

    [FONT=&quot]Just let me know when you’re moving out, make sure your room is clean, and deposit gets returned after end of lease .
    [/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]
    [/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]""[/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]
    [/FONT]
    [FONT=&quot]What does people think of that, I think its not clear it will give back deposit but also could do so.
    [/FONT]

    [FONT=&quot]Thanks[/FONT]
    It doesn't matter at all what it says.
  • walwyn1978
    walwyn1978 Posts: 837 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
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    Did you get a copy of inventory/property condition report when you moved in/out, and what did that say about the areas he's proposing to charge you for?

    Also, is that £160 each or in total between however many of you there were?
  • shoollhe
    shoollhe Posts: 8 Forumite
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    Guest101 wrote: »
    It doesn't matter at all what it says.

    Single tenancy, we shared communal facilities and had identical contracts but same date, rent and seperate deposits.

    And yes deposit protected, in England

    And I dispute the relevancy, I put that there in case people asked why I didn't have landlord or agent there at check out to handle dispute at time.

    And for the quote, it was to see if people thought from his wording he was implying deposit will be returned or not, rather than any legal power of it.
  • Guest101
    Guest101 Posts: 15,764 Forumite
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    shoollhe wrote: »
    Single tenancy, we shared communal facilities and had identical contracts but same date, rent and seperate deposits.

    And yes deposit protected, in England

    And I dispute the relevancy, I put that there in case people asked why I didn't have landlord or agent there at check out to handle dispute at time. - It's still not relevant. They have 6 years to claim for any damages.

    And for the quote, it was to see if people thought from his wording he was implying deposit will be returned or not, rather than any legal power of it.
    Indeed, but I cant comment on that. I don't know him/her.


    Simply enter a single claim with the protection scheme and see what they say.
  • shoollhe
    shoollhe Posts: 8 Forumite
    Options
    walwyn1978 wrote: »
    Did you get a copy of inventory/property condition report when you moved in/out, and what did that say about the areas he's proposing to charge you for?

    Also, is that £160 each or in total between however many of you there were?

    Total, and to be honest I can't remember about check in except mentioning a chair and desk and bed in bedroom, can't remember about kitchen or living room but can't remember in the sense I don't remember being handed anything rather than remember being handing something and not reading it.

    Check out had nothing, but the landlords entire claim seems to be for communal area cleaning according to the deposit scheme, not bedroom cleaning or anything.
  • shoollhe
    shoollhe Posts: 8 Forumite
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    Guest101 wrote: »
    Indeed, but I cant comment on that. I don't know him/her.


    Simply enter a single claim with the protection scheme and see what they say.

    Well, I still meant in the sense in case people asked why I didn't bring up any issues at check out because there was no check out (with me present) due to landlord not wanting to do one with me/other tenants, so I say that was relevant.

    I did think about single claim it was just I didn't know about proving it and wanted some other opinions first, I have photos of cleanliness, and that email though I didn't think it would be useful more than just personal opinion.

    I was worried with it being a shared property despite seperate deposits and contracts landlord can still claim cleaning.
  • walwyn1978
    walwyn1978 Posts: 837 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
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    Guest101 nails it - enter claim with protection scheme, the onus is on the LL to prove his case, send an email or better still a recorded delivery letter back saying you don't accept and you will claim using the protection scheme, wait for either him to fold and return your deposit if he is trying it on or for the scheme to investigate and hopefully find fot you. Don't spend lots of time arguing with him about it.
  • Guest101
    Guest101 Posts: 15,764 Forumite
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    shoollhe wrote: »
    Well, I still meant in the sense in case people asked why I didn't bring up any issues at check out because there was no check out (with me present) due to landlord not wanting to do one with me/other tenants, so I say that was relevant.

    I did think about single claim it was just I didn't know about proving it and wanted some other opinions first, I have photos of cleanliness, and that email though I didn't think it would be useful more than just personal opinion.

    I was worried with it being a shared property despite seperate deposits and contracts landlord can still claim cleaning.
    The LL can claim for a Boeing 747 if he or she wants to, it's about the likely outcome.


    It's down to the LL to prove the deductions, not you.
  • shoollhe
    shoollhe Posts: 8 Forumite
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    Guest101 wrote: »
    The LL can claim for a Boeing 747 if he or she wants to, it's about the likely outcome.


    It's down to the LL to prove the deductions, not you.

    Sure, but how likely would it be? Im worried he will show pictures of the bedrooms in a mess to justify it despite it being single deposits and per room, or find specs of dust and say that was proof it wasn't spotless, had it in past with landlords before the scheme came in so worried it may happen again.

    So part of the question is if the other tenants left their rooms a tip or at least untidy/needing a hoover he would have a chance to take money from my deposit for it despite being seperate and counting it as communal charges.
  • aerie
    aerie Posts: 15 Forumite
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    As someone else said, you can dispute the cost and see what the deposit scheme decide.

    Given the experiences I and others I knew had renting at university, I would advise ensuring a detailed inventory is taken on moving in, and take dated photos both moving in and out in case of a dispute like this.
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