Landlady wants £350 from me and GF - with PICTURES

liz545

The law's a bit confusing on this one, it seems, but when I renewed my (pre-04/07) AST because a new one was created, the LL protected the deposit. While it may be that the OP isn't creating an obligation to protect the deposit, there's nothing to stop him requesting that it's protected, and hope that the LL does so.

redrabbit29

The estate agents/landlady have been absolutely brilliant. It's disappointed me as I thought we were all on the same wavelength. For the past 3 years it's been good, all problems were fixed very quickly, and I believed I was doing the right thing by reporting everything I found wrong.

I will start drafting a letter tomorrow, and will send it in a couple of days.

My main worry is come June (when we renew the contract), they'll just knock the rent up. I don't want to move, and I'm happy here, but just feel like the boat has been rocked!

paintpot

Hi there

I think your landlady/LA are being totally unreasonable. Damp issues do need to be addressed but should, generally, be at the cost of the LL. Even if you had reported it earlier, I doubt any damage, remedy or cost would be substantially if any different at all.

Damp is a repairing issue of the LL and can fall under S11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act, unless the landord can prove that the issue is caused by the neglect of the tenant and/or caused by condensation due to the lifestyle of the tenant for example.

http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?LegType=All+Primary&PageNumber=43&NavFrom=2&parentActiveTextDocId=2177215&activetextdocid=2177232

They would need to prove the damp was caused by you, or that you caused the conditon of the property to degenerate measureably through not reporting it for example for them to seek costs from you. It would have to have been a sudden and major damp problem for that to be the case if they have undertaken inspections as regularly as you suggest.

So write your letter, keep it factual and send it registered post.

The landlord can attempt to hike the rent if they want to cut their nose off to spite their face. If I had a long term tenant, I'd be trying to hang on to them, particularly in this current climate.

And by the way, whilst I don't think they have a cat in hells chance of getting any money out of you for the damp from what you say, you would be entitled to see the "report" I would have thought to justify any payment. And if it's costing £700 quid, it must be some major problem! I think they should enlighten you to exactly what they want you to pay half towards.

Let us know how you get on!

Good luck

*Louise*

Flipping chancers!

Make sure you keep copies of everything, and as just mentioned above, ask for a copy of the report. Imagine them expecting you jst to cought up £350 just on their say so. I would have thought the report would have been sent to you in the first place. What with them thinking you are a 'damp expert' and all....:rolleyes:

Hope they don't try holding off your deposit - let us know how it goes

motch

this is not your fault. They are probably hard up struggling to pay their mortgage and trying to milk you a bit. What area are you in? look on rightmove for other places and get a rough idea of local rents just in case you need to move. there's more places to rent (and cheaper on average) in most places now than 6 - 12 months ago. I'd play hard ball with anyone giving me grief when it's clearly not my fault, but thats just my way of doing things.

I would personally think about in the near future saying its giving you or your Gf some health issues with their bedrooms being damp - some discount perhaps.

redrabbit29

Thanks guys. I'm going to start drafting a letter now, and will post it here before I do for your opinions.

I will keep it factual for know, e.g. about me not knowing it was damp, about me reporting other issues in good faith, and about me feeling entirely aggrieved at being asked to pay for something i have no control and no knowledge of.

Thanks everyone, really good to have your support as this has really annoyed me! Doesn't take much.

redrabbit29

Just for your information guys, this is the letter I received:

===============================

Dear me and gf,

You may recall that we have now had a couple of quotes for the internal redecoration in the main bedroom which both contractors feel have been caused through lack of ventilation resulting in the mould and staining to the walls and ceiling. This is usually the likely cause of such a problem.

Your landlady has now received both quotes for the work. <Some Repair Guy> is the chosen contractor for this work, however the landlady feels that as the problem was not reported to this office, other than when we carried out an inspection, part of the cost of the redecoration should be borne by you. The Landlady has requested that you should contribute the sum of £350 towards the redecoration the remainder of the cost will be borne by the landlady.

We would be grateful if you could give us your comments regarding this as soon as possible, natureally we do not wish the problem become any worse over the course of this winter, we would therefore appreciate your early response.

In the meantime we assure you of our best intentions

================================================

They seem to be blaming me for the "Lack of ventilation", when I was told by both the contractor and one of the estate agents I was doing the right thing by opening the window regularly.

Antispam

Damp can not be attributed to you unless you were really negotiant ie letting the place flood for long periods etc. Damp would of course get worse over time

The lack of ventilation is more to do with condensation than damp

redrabbit29

This is my first draft in response to the estate agents letter:

=========================================

Dear <Estate Agent Person>,

In response to your recent letter dated 11th November 2008:

As you know several inspections have been conducted at our property over the course of our 3rd tenancy contract. On two specific occasions one of your colleagues has sighted the marks on the ceiling, which I now know, were caused as a result of damp.

I was re-assured by your colleague and also <repair man> that I was following precisely the correct protocol by allowing full ventilation by regularly opening the windows, and keeping the air vent open at all times. I have also explained on these inspections that I regularly clean the staining away so it is not noticeable however it does soon re-appear.

Throughout my time at <Some Road>, I have phoned <Estate Agent> several times with several maintenance issues – which were promptly and professionally dealt with. I did this in good faith as I realise general upkeep of the property is a responsibility of the tenant.

As I read through your most recent letter, I felt most aggrieved at feeling that I should have somehow known there was an issue with dampness, and immediately known to contact you regarding this.

Taking into account my conversations with your colleagues, and <Repair man>, and also the fact that I have on several occasions fulfilled my responsibility to notify you of maintainence issues, I feel it is entirely unfair and unreasonable to expect <Girlfriend> or me to contribute towards these repair costs.

Dampness is not an obvious problem which I believe we should be aware off, but other issues we have encountered were – such as a broken bathroom tap, a broken kitchen tap, a faulty TV aerial, a leaking toilet – all of which were reported.

Yours Sincerely,








Me and Girlfriend


==================================================




That is the first draft. I t hink it sounds OK, and I kind of get the impression that the estate agent sympathises with us, as we've always got on well with each other.


However, she does work for the landlady I guess, so just doing her job.


Any comments?

poppysarah

And £350 is full dec costs surely not part!