Please advise, landlady trying to con us out of deposit

charmy25

Hi I really need some advice so was wondering if any1 could help as im at the end of my tether.
We moved into a flat 4 years ago and paid a 340 pound deposit , the flat was discusting when we moved in, the carpet had cigerette burns in it and it was infested with fleas and it was filthy but being 1st time renters we diddnt question it and just cleaned it.
now we have just moved out, we replaced the carpet and painted the walls and left it in a better state than when we moved in.
After speaking to the landlady she said we will not get our deposit back as there is mould on the ceiling of the bedroom, the thing is we had her out twice in 1 year over the damp and mould problem when we were living there as it became a big problem because the place was so damp but they just fobbed us off with excuse after excuse, she also said that someone else was due to move into the flat tomorrow and they had paid to have a van rented to go and pick his stuff up and because the flat is not clean (it is) then the charge for the van would come out of our deposit.
she also said the cleaners would have to be sent there to clean up and i asked for the receipts from a cleaning company but she said their cleaners would be doing it and they would give my receipts.
can they really do this ???? im so upset that this has happened

sooz

Did you have an inventory when you moved in?
If so, was it detailed - did it say that stuff was dirty, & carpets had burns etc?
Did you sign it?
Did you write or email your LL about the damp & mould - do you have any proof you informed her about it?
You say you were at the flat for 4 years. Did you ever renew your agreement during this time, or did the original agreement become periodic?

You cannot be charged for someone else removals van.
Your ex LL cannot just send you a bill from 'her' cleaners. She needs to first provide you with quotes

charmy25

thanks for replying
no we diddnt have an inventory , was a bit naive about the whole renting thing.
We also contacted her by phone regarding the mould and she sent someone out to look at it but we were just fobbed off with excuses.
we did renew our contract a couple of times in the four years but she just diddnt bother with it most of the time

charmy25

oh and i did tell her that if cleaners are to be used then i want it to be done by a cleaning company but she said no and that she will send her own and send my the receipt, do u think it would be reasonable to take it to the small claims court ???

EagerLearner

Did you take pics?

She cannot automatically deduct costs for another tenant moving in re van costs.

Threaten to take her to court for the return of your deposit. It would only cost you around £85 to set it in motion. Use the official address on your contract.

You can put this in writing to her, advise she has to reply within 7 days.
If she doesn't send a 2nd warning with another 7 days.
The third letter should be advising that you are now proceeding with court action.
Send them all via Rceorded Delivery.
Next time she calls tell her to put things in writing to you only as you plan to take legal action.
Then do not speak to her on the phone anymore, keep everything in writing.
In court, the onus will be on her to prove you have damaged the flat.

drc

If she renewed your contract after April 2007 then she should have protected your deposit by placing it in a Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TenancyDeposit/DG_066373

sooz

Agree with EagerLearner completely...she's been there & done that

When did you last renew your AST - was it after April 07? If so, you might want to add in your letter that if your deposit is not refunded in full asap, you will be persuing her for 3 x the deposit. (as argued many times on here, you might not win, but the thought of it might encourage her to pay up faster)

charmy25

afraid i diddnt take pictures when we moved in but took some when we left .
thank you very much for your help you dont know how much it means just to have some advice.

EagerLearner

drc and sooz are correct indeed - the landlady needed to have you properly registered under the Tenant Deposit Scheme as of 2007. Ignorance of the Law will not help her - she can get penalised severely for not legally registering the deposit (hence the 3 x deposit claim).

So she would be better off paying you back the £340 rather than you claiming £1,020 in court plus your expenses and your time.
That should make the first letter you send her pretty hard hitting.
I was in your situation and we also took no pics when we went in or when we left, it was clean when we arrived and it was clean when we left, so we were very naiive.
Landlords like this make me seethe...

Captain_Mainwaring_2

drc wrote: »

If she renewed your contract after April 2007 then she should have protected your deposit by placing it in a Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TenancyDeposit/DG_066373

Rolling tenancy?

sooz

charmy25 wrote: »

we did renew our contract a couple of times in the four years but she just diddnt bother with it most of the time

Depends on the date that this was last done.