Blooming landlord is doing my nut in. Problem with my bond

sarah1980

Hi, can I just add my 2p's worth from a landlord's perspective?

Firstly, they should have provided you with a Gas and Electrical safety certificate when you moved in. All the appliances in the property should have a sticker with the date they were tested on it.

Secondly, next time you move in anywhere make sure you are present when the LA does the inventory and that you sign it and get a copy.

As for the re-decoration I would always expect to redocorate after the end of each tenancy (more than 1 year). I wouldn't use the money from the tenant's deposit for this. However there is a clause in our contracts which says that at the end of the tenancy the property must be professionally cleaned and this will be deducted from the deposit if the tenant doesn't arrange it themselves. It costs us around £50-£75 for a 2-bed flat.

We had a problem with our last tenant who spent hours cleaning the flat from top to bottom only to be charged this fee (but to be honest, it wasn't all that clean - oven not cleaned, skirting boards thick with dust etc.).

The last point I want to make is that we never giveback the full deposit until we receive written confirmation from the council and utility companies that all final bills have been paid. This usually takes more than 18 days and believe me, it caused a huge argument with our last tenant but it really is necessary because if she had run up a large phone bill (for example) the property would be blacklisted until it was paid off and any new tenant wouldn't be able to have a phoneline installed.

I'm afraid the LL won't take into consideration how many kids you have - all they care about is that their property is returned in the condition it was let, so if there are stains I would take money off. They should have put in darker carpets though - first rule of decorating a BTL property!!!

HTH

NUFCnutter

That is useful, but to be fair there was nothing in the letting agreement to explain anything like that. The carpet had a stain on it when I moved in. I can understand how some landlords feel that they have to shell out loads to sort a place out for the next tennant, but it needs to be in the contract if they want it done as a professional would. They cannot expect a carpet to being in exactly the same condition it was in when it was first let, as that is impossible unless no-one ever touched it. Without an inventory though they have no proof that the carpet was any worse (or better) than it was when I moved in.

sarah1980

Yup, I agree. It sounds like th LA didn't do their job properly. Double check your agreement though (if you have it).

We had a similar thing where our tenant left an old bed (yes a bed!) in a room as they didn't want it, claimed it had been there when they moved in (presumably left by the previous tenant) and we hadn't visited the property between tenancies so couldn't be sure (as the previous tenant was nightmare and did a runner after 3 months).

The bed wasn't on the inventory but when we looked at photos from when the property was marketed the bed was in the photos! So we had to get rid of it ourselves.

Seeing as they never did an inventory you seem to have a pretty good case, even if you were being dishonest you'd still have a pretty good case as they cannot prove what it was like before.

I'd say your letter might get you somewhere, CC the LA as well so they know what's going on. Whatever you do, TRY NOT TO GET EMOTIONAL as my last tenant rang me up crying and then threatenning and swearing and it didn't help matters at all!

NUFCnutter

Thanks Sarah. I won't get upset about it. But I just feel like its the next in a long line of things that have peed me off recently. My new LL seems very nice, and I am will phone her when I am calm. I am just hacked off that I am trying so hard to get myself sorted and spanners keep being thrown into the works,:rotfl:

barnaby-bear

sarah1980 wrote: »

Hi, can I just add my 2p's worth from a landlord's perspective?

Firstly, they should have provided you with a Gas and Electrical safety certificate when you moved in. All the appliances in the property should have a sticker with the date they were tested on it.

Secondly, next time you move in anywhere make sure you are present when the LA does the inventory and that you sign it and get a copy.

As for the re-decoration I would always expect to redocorate after the end of each tenancy (more than 1 year). I wouldn't use the money from the tenant's deposit for this. However there is a clause in our contracts which says that at the end of the tenancy the property must be professionally cleaned and this will be deducted from the deposit if the tenant doesn't arrange it themselves. It costs us around £50-£75 for a 2-bed flat.


HTH

oooh google OFT guidelines - that's practically word for word a sample unfair contract term....

barnaby-bear

sarah1980 wrote: »

The last point I want to make is that we never giveback the full deposit until we receive written confirmation from the council and utility companies that all final bills have been paid. This usually takes more than 18 days and believe me, it caused a huge argument with our last tenant but it really is necessary because if she had run up a large phone bill (for example) the property would be blacklisted until it was paid off and any new tenant wouldn't be able to have a phoneline installed.

Oh my god :eek: Amature LL alert.... properties CAN'T be blacklisted - credit ratings are associated with people and have been for many many years.... the utility contract is between the tenant and the company you have no legal right to withold a deposit on those grounds....

barnaby-bear

sarah1980 wrote: »

- all they care about is that their property is returned in the condition it was let,

Wrong again - not the condition it was let - they have to allow for fair wear and tear (they even get a tax discount for this)

olly300

barnaby-bear wrote: »

oooh google OFT guidelines - that's practically word for word a sample unfair contract term....

Yep if you got taken to court and had a tenant in the know they could make your life hellish as there is no legal definition of a professional cleaner.

The best thing to do is to change the contract to state that you want the tenant to clean the property to the standard they received it in, and then list any special things they need to do like dry clean the curtains, wash the carpets, etc. and ask for written proof they did this (the receipts).

Then when you get your next tenants, you have written proof of what was cleaned before they got in so you can ask for the same to be done again, and then if they don't do this you can then charge them.

olly300

barnaby-bear wrote: »

Oh my god :eek: Amature LL alert.... properties CAN'T be blacklisted - credit ratings are associated with people and have been for many many years.... the utility contract is between the tenant and the company you have no legal right to withold a deposit on those grounds....

Strangely even though council tax and utility bills should be in the tenants names and credit blacklisting is not related to addresses, standard tenancy agreements still state this.

I think it's because it is very easy for tenants to change the name on the utility bills back to the landlord even though they are still living in the property. Or to get the utilities cut off.

olly300

Sarah1980 I think you need to join a professional landlords association, or search and read more threads on here.

There are things you can legally get the tenant to do but you need to get your contracts worded correctly to avoid trouble. Also there are things, while they may be legally the tenants responsibility, you are better of doing yourself.