Tenants Leaving Agreement Early

clutton_2

did they sign an inventory when they moved in ?

Horace

hameshawani is a troll just ignore all of its postings - it has been reported and hopefully will be removed.

leespot

Thanks neverdespairgirl, much appreciated!

clutton - no, they didn't sign an inventory when the moved in. Although if needs be I can have the condition of the house confirmed by the decorators / kitchen & bathroom fitters - they only finished work a week before they moved in.

leespot

Hi all,

Hope you all had a nice Christmas & New Year. Back to business for me!

I haven't sent the letter yet, as I was waiting to see if any other problems came up - and I'm glad I did.

In addition to the problems noted in my letter, they have also damaged the toilet (whole flush mechanism & pulled siston from wall). The cooker also does not work (electric ignition for gas cooker, although small problem cooker only 8 months old too) Furthermore, they took the overflow pipe off the kitchen sink leading to a small flood when the kitchen was being cleaned!!

My new tenant is happy in the house though, and I have a deposit from this one!

The new tenant offered to complete the work that I needed doing in exchange for a lower rental payment for the first three months. This was quicker and cheaper than my hiring a decorator / cleaners to put the place right. My quesiton is, rather than claim money for the decorator / cleaner, can I claim the amount (£285) plus the repairs to the toilet, sink and cooker (just over £100) that I have had to reduce the rent by? This is cheaper than the cost of the cleaners etc. so in some respects the previous tenants would be getting a smaller bill.

Thanks again!

leespot

Here is a copy of the letter I am planning to send:

***********************************************************
I visited the house on 20th December, and it is apparent that the condition is not as you found it when your agreement began in March 2008. The house was dirty and you have caused damage during your tenancy.

According to the tenancy agreement you signed, you are obliged to leave the house in the same condition as it was in when you began your tenancy agreement. You have not met this condition and therefore I need to have some work done to put the house in the same condition as it was in March 2008. My main concerns are:

• Most rooms smell of cigarettes and the paintwork is yellow
• Paintwork has been chipped on the banister and some door frames (during furniture removal?)
• Front and rear gardens have dog excrement that has not been removed
• The upstairs toilet is not working – this should have been reported as per your tenancy agreement
• The cooker ignition is not working – this should have been reported as per your tenancy agreement.
• The overflow pipe has been taken off the sink in the kitchen
• The sink in the utility room has a damaged plug mechanism
• You have left holes in the utility room wall where you have removed your garden light.
• The indoor TV arial located in the loft space is missing.

The total cost of the work to return the property to the condition in which it was in is £xxx.xx

Should you not wish to pay the amount please be advised that a claim will be made against you via the local small claims court. As gesture of goodwill I am prepared to accept four monthly instalments of £xxx.xx

Please reply in writing to indicate when you will make payment for the issues listed above.
*******************************************************

Palm_Centro

wow leespot you are too nice chap!

leespot

Palm_Centro wrote: »

wow leespot you are too nice chap!

Hi Palm Centro, hopefully you mean that in a good way?

I just thought that by giving them the option to pay over a longer time, it would look more favoured upon if / when it got to small claims court.

clutton_2

if you dont have an inventory that the tenant signed you will be on a very sticky wicket in court - i'd just move on if it were me - i know its annoying, but, life is too short - getting this money back will cost you a lot more in terms of court costs and your time - and you may not win and the judge may award the tenant their costs

leespot

I don't have the inventory, but I do have the invoices from the plumber / decorators etc to confirm the work was done when I say it was. They are also prepared to back me up if need be. I'm not sure how much of an inventory there would have been on a newly decorated / refurbished empty house, where all the fittings were brand new - how can that be a sticky wicket?

gorgeouslatinrose

Hi, did you get anywhere after sending the letter? Have they agreed to pay you for damages to the property?