Problems getting full bond back

nikkif_3

I have recently moved out from my student accomodation. When leaving the house we left it all clean and tidy. Our landlord has informed us that he will be keeping back some of the bond for the following:

(Other housemate)G/F bedroom extensive stain marks from blue tack £60
Bathroom black mouldy silicone replacement £25
Tumble dryer lower strip missing £25
Weeding back garden and forecourt £20
Forecourt cigarette stain marks on the bay £45 (I do not even smoke! However housemates do)

(Other housemate)F/F middle bedroom unclean, broken blind and extensive
blue tack stains £80
(My room) F/F rear bedroom marks on walls £20.
Total Deductions £275, shared equally will be £68.75 each.

The contract was a joint contract, however I did not have access to the other rooms as they were locked!

Does the landlord have to account for wear and tear? As the marks on the walls in my room were only slight marks which was just from wear and tear, also my room was only touched up with paint after I moved in, not fully painted. Also should the silocone in the bathroom count as wear and tear? I never saw a piece from the tumble dryer, so do not know about this. Also the marks on the bay window were there before I moved in, I did not say anything when I moved in as I didn't feel the need to. Also with the weeds in the garden, the landlord has a sheet under the pebbles, surely if he did a proper job of this there should be no reason for the weeds to be present. We also moved out 1 month before the landlord checked the house so weeds would have grown in that time.

Please could someone just advise me if this is all fair or not, and I feel like we are being slightly robbed.

Thanks.

Microstar_2

'Wear and tear' is always a tricky one. I have let to students in the past (undergrads) and they do tend to be 'hard' on a house, but I wouldn't deduct for slight wear or marking, that goes with the territory. Tears, rips, bad stains (e.g. wine stains) etc are deductible IMHO.

The 'mould' one is a bit odd, never seen that one before. Weeds?? No, I think not.

nikkif_3

Thanks microstar!

So you think its wrong us being charged for weeds?

The marks in my room were slight, and the room was not in perfect condition when I moved in.

tbs624

A few questions for you Nikki:

Did your tenancy begin after 6 April 2007, and if so has your LL scheme-registered your deposit and given you the “prescribed information”? ( both should have been done within 14 days of you paying the deposit under recent legislation)

(You can check yourself by given the property address to each of the 3 schemes: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TenancyDeposit/DG_066391)

Was there an inventory signed by both parties at the start of the tenancy?

Did you take any photos at the start of the tenancy?

What sort of ventilation/heating was there in the bathroom?

Was the garden area free of weeds when you moved in and what does the tenancy agreement say about maintaining the garden area?

Does the tenancy agreement contain any request not to use blu-tac?

What are the views of your fellow tenants on the proposed deductions?

(If your contract is a joint & several liability one , its' obviously preferable if you can agree a course of action together)

Is your LL registered with the Uni -if so he may have had to signup to a Code of Conduct, so it may be worth talking to the Uni accoms office.

The Private Sector Rentals Team at the local Council can also help you with this and liaise with the LL where necessary.

You need to keep any dealings on the deposit issue in writing (send rec delivery & keep a copy)
If you can post back with some answers, you should get plenty of replies on how to proceed

Premier_2

Seems reasonable to me on the whole. You had a joint tenancy and the LL won't be interested in squabbles over who did what - you are held jointly & severally liable for all delapidations.

In regards to the 2 items questioned by previous posters:

Bathroom silicone sealent - this might be considered wear & tear, but the evidence of balck mould suggests that the it could also be needing repair due to lack of care (cleaning). Without seeing the details, difficult to judge

Garden - if you were responsible for maintaining the garden and you didn't, the LL has a right to deduct the cost of returning the garden to it's condition as let. The LL won't be looking a 100% weed-free garden with bowling green condition lawn, but if you've let it become overgrown, you'll be charged. At £20, that only represents 1-2hours labour - which it would take to pass a strimmer over it and collect the debris.

nikkif_3

tbs624 wrote: »

A few questions for you Nikki:

Did your tenancy begin after 6 April 2007, and if so has your LL scheme-registered your deposit and given you the “prescribed information”? ( both should have been done within 14 days of you paying the deposit under recent legislation)

(You can check yourself by given the property address to each of the 3 schemes: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TenancyDeposit/DG_066391)

I know nothing about this, so I am assuming the LL did not schene register it. The tenancy began July 2007.

tbs624 wrote: »

Was there an inventory signed by both parties at the start of the tenancy?

The inventory was signed by everyone, but only gave details of what was in the rooms, the garden was no mentioned, nor was the paintwork inside or outside.

tbs624 wrote: »

Did you take any photos at the start of the tenancy?

I didn't take any photographs as didn't think their would be a need to.

tbs624 wrote: »

What sort of ventilation/heating was there in the bathroom?

The bathroom had a fan that came on with the light, and a small towel heater, then 2 small windows, which could not be left open due to security reasons.

tbs624 wrote: »

Was the garden area free of weeds when you moved in and what does the tenancy agreement say about maintaining the garden area?

I cannot remember what the garden was like, but I know two of my housemates lived there before, and the have a rabbit, so the rabbit kept the garden free from weeds, when we moved out 1 month before the end of contract the garden was free from weeds, however in that month a few weeds had grown, nothing excessive.

tbs624 wrote: »

Does the tenancy agreement contain any request not to use blu-tac?

When my two housemates moved in a year before the landlord told them they were not to nail anything into the walls, but they could use as much blu-tak they wanted. There was no blu-tak marks on my wall as I pinned everything to a notice board.

tbs624 wrote: »

What are the views of your fellow tenants on the proposed deductions?

(If your contract is a joint & several liability one , its' obviously preferable if you can agree a course of action together)

Two of the housemates are not happy, and we cannot get hold of the third housemate (who's bedroom involves the most cost!)

tbs624 wrote: »

Is your LL registered with the Uni -if so he may have had to signup to a Code of Conduct, so it may be worth talking to the Uni accoms office.

The landlord is not registered with the uni.


Thanks for your help.

nikkif_3

Thanks for your response Premier.

Premier wrote: »

Bathroom silicone sealent - this might be considered wear & tear, but the evidence of balck mould suggests that the it could also be needing repair due to lack of care (cleaning). Without seeing the details, difficult to judge

The whole house, including the bathroom had a thorough clean weekly, and was cleaned briefly most days (yes, tidy students!)

Premier wrote: »

Garden - if you were responsible for maintaining the garden and you didn't, the LL has a right to deduct the cost of returning the garden to it's condition as let. The LL won't be looking a 100% weed-free garden with bowling green condition lawn, but if you've let it become overgrown, you'll be charged. At £20, that only represents 1-2hours labour - which it would take to pass a strimmer over it and collect the debris.

The garden was not left to become overgrown, my housemates had a rabbit who took care of most of the weeds, the odd one was also pulled out, we moved out a month before the tenancy was over, and the weeds had grown in that time.

meester

nikkif wrote: »

I know nothing about this, so I am assuming the LL did not schene register it. The tenancy began July 2007.

He should have done. The penalty for not doing so is 3 * the amount of the deposit. Take him to court.

The inventory was signed by everyone, but only gave details of what was in the rooms, the garden was no mentioned, nor was the paintwork inside or outside.

So it just listed what was in the house without describing the condition?

It's worthless.

Just to give you an idea, here's the inventory for the Entrance Hall to my house:

1. Ceiling: Painted white smooth plaster. Large settlement crack. Large moderate rub marks.
Black 3-armed light fitting with opaque glass uplighter shades. T&W. Clean Condition.
Smoke Detector. N.T.

2. Decor: Painted cream emlusion to 1 wall. Painted cream textured wallpaper to remainder. Painted white wooden skirting. Some minor rub marks.

3. Flooring: Green fitted carpet. Shaded & flattened to walkways. Numerous spot marks visible. Very shaded near reception room. Pale stain removal marks near Kitchen area.

4. Back wall: Light shading U.L. otherwise clean.
Doorbell receiver NT
2 Telecom junction boxes.
BT Telephone point.


5. LHS Wall. Several chips ML LHS Nail hole UL centre. Cluster of chip marks UL near Reception Room door. Some light shading LL

3-way light switch
Painted white wooden shelf. Discoloured and minor rub marks
White single radiator with both valve caps present. Heavily painted
Single power point

6. Facing Wall. Clean condition

7. RHS Wall. Numerous chip marks to understairs recess angle. Shaded and discoloured ML to LL. Light rub marks ML
Black 3-armed hook
2 sections of plastic pipe fitted. Aged condition
Bevel edged oval mirror. Minor silvering
Wooden plinth with 4 brass hooks.
Single power point



Now that's an inventory, just for the entrance hall. Without the condition when you moved in the LL can't do anything.

I didn't take any photographs as didn't think their would be a need to.

Correct, landlord's job, screw him.

Sue him for your deposit as well.

SquatNow

I suspect pointing out to the landlord that he should have registered your deposit and is now liable for full deposit plus 3x deposit fine will make your full refund cheques appear almost instantly.

nikkif_3

The tenancy began July 2007, however I signed the contract in December 2006, does this make a difference?

tbs624

Some further suggestions for you and your housemates.

The main thing is that if the LL did not register your deposit and/or give you the “prescribed info” then you have more room for negotiation as he has failed to comply with the law.

Check with each of the 3 schemes personally whether a tenancy at that address was registered with them - here for contacts: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TenancyDeposit/DG_066391

I notice that you said 2 of your housemates lived there the previous year - was this current tenancy a new one, with a new AST in place?

Were they given their deposit back for the previous year or was it held over for the current year? When did you pay your own deposit?

Has the LL written to you all confirming these proposed deductions?

If he has, I would say that your next step is to write saying that you dispute some/all of the deductions and say why. For example blu tac does have a tendency to leave greasy marks and many LLs will specifically request that you use a white non-marking alternative - if the LL told you all to use blu-tac instead of nails, or rather than insisting on the use of a provided noticeboard, then IMO he can’t really complain if it leaves marks behind.

IMO keeping silicon sealant in good repair is down to a LL - mould generally doesn’t come off silicone, even with bleach and this will always be an issue in a shared bathroom with limited ventilation and low heating. If the rest of the bathroom was left clean I don’t think he should look to all of you to pay for it to be replaced.

Your comment about the weeds is a valid one - does it say anything in the Tenancy Agreement about the garden area and keeping it tidy/weeded? If so, say how you complied and that its likely that the weeds proliferated across the void period.

A LL has to show that he is acting reasonably with any deductions and would need to be able to show what the condition of the property was at the start of the tenancy and to make an allowance for fair wear and tear - he will struggle without an adequate inventory or other proof.

It is also in your interest for you as the tenants to be seen to act reasonably by giving him a chance to sort the matter. Depending on his response you may need to proceed to the Small Claims Court so keep it all in writing.

Maybe you could draft a variation on this letter - send rec delivery or hand deliver & keep a copy:

Dear LL
Tenancy of (property address) from until
I/we moved out the above property on (date) , having paid all rent & utility bills due up to date, and having left the property in the same condition as it was at the start of the tenancy, fair wear and tear excepted.

Despite phoning/emailing/visiting your offices on (give dates/times/ & name of person dealt with) xxxx weeks have now passed and I/we have still not received the return of my/our deposit. However, I/we have received verbal suggestions/ a letter from (name) that varying amounts were to be deducted. These have included:

1.
2.
3. etc

I/we disagree with these proposed deductions because: x, y and z/ We agree that a or b is justified and agree to a deuction of £x

I/we now formally request that you return the full sum/balance of £x to me/us within the next 7 days.

I/we also wish the following to be noted:under the Housing Act 2004, as for any tenancy beginning after 6 April 2007, my/our deposit should have been scheme-registered within 14 days of you receiving it.

Would you please confirm whether you registered our deposit, and if you did, please let us know why we did not receive the necessary notification from you.

I/we would prefer us to be able to deal amicably with these issues and I look forward to hearing from you by (date - 7 days from when LA/LL will receive letter)

Yours etc

Even though the LL was not registered with the Uni, you should still be able to get some help from them with chasing this all up and you could also try the Tenancy Relations Officer at the council (private sector rentals team)

Do keep us posted with your LLs reponse, as it all helps others who may find themsleves in a similar situation.

You may also like to do a search of this board for other tenancy deposit threads - there are quite a few of them