Tenant wants Rent deposit via DPS? Advice??

buckman

We have rented our house through a rental agency to a tenant who gave notice.

We have since been to look around the property before she moved out and realised that they tenant has re-decorated a room! (this is a new build)

The clause in the contract says no redecoration so they have broken this rule with the Letting Agents on our behalf and also the plants in the garden have gone!, the curtains are ruined, there are stains on the sofa!

The redecorated room, had only been half finished! and was done by a child (it was used as a childs bedroom) so is very badly done! and to top it off they didnt take down the curtains so paint is now on the curtains and are ruined!

We met the tenants who said they would put this right as they didnt want to lose their deposit, so would be rectified by the next tenant moving in..

I went to check the work after the tenant had left and NOTHING had been done! they obviously thought "forget it!" and left!!!

ONTOP of this they are taking us to the DPS to claim back their deposit!!!!!

So they are lying ontop of not doing the work!

Now whats the best way and the procedure for this?

Can i submit invoices for the work to be made good, plus invoices for curtains, and photographic evidence of damage??

How can i defend myself with the DPS and whats the procedure to putting my story forward?

Thanks

Gorgeous_George

Get three quotes for the work to be done and let the arbitration service at the TDS do their work.

You will need to prove it wasn't like this when they moved in and was when they moved out.

Advise your former tenants that you will seek to recover all costs - through the Courts if necessary. Their deposit may not be enough.

Good luck and stay focussed.

GG

N79

Submit copy of signed inventory from the start of the tenancy and some sort of evidence of condition now along with your costs. Detail every deduction you wish to make with evidence. Get three estimates for any work you are going to do. TDS should award deposit to you.

Remember if the deposit is not enough then you can take the Ts to court for any outstanding costs.

silvercar

Follow the DPS procedure, it is designed exactly for this kind of dispute.

Submit invoices along with photos, cross reference with wither photos or the signed inventory you did when tenants moved in. If you don't have much evidence from the start of the contract but it was the first occupiers in a new build then submit whatever site brochures you have.

The scheme will make a ruling and you can resolve the issue painlessly.

theartfullodger

Wonder what the Tenant's version of the story would be....

Do you have...
a) Cast iron clauses in the tenancy regarding tenant not doing what you assert they have?
b) Agreed, witnessed & dated inventory & 'photos before the tenancy started with everything disputed on it & clearly as you state it was?
c) A good understanding of DPS, how it works and what your responsibilities and procedures are??
d) Written confirmation (from T) that tenants said they agreed they should fix things and that they would?

If you have all 4 then perhaps you might be able to hold onto some of the money - with DPS agreement.

I'd suggest doing what is prepare property for new tenancy (eg re-painting, new curtains), professionally, and get written receipts (obviously) and prepare your case with DPS. Remember most adjudications are decided in favour of T so clearly that tells you something about the LLs who get to adjuducation.

Cheers!

Lodger

buckman

Thanks Guys.. it always seems stacked against the Landlords, any legal thing like this....

buckman

Does this have to be a hard copy form from the DPS with hard copy printed photos or online? Im sure our rental management said this will be hard copy form? And i suppose we include all our evidence/invoices with this?

silvercar

People with experience of these disputes have posted on landlordzone.co.uk/forums. May be worth having a look there.

princeofpounds

buckman wrote: »

Thanks Guys.. it always seems stacked against the Landlords, any legal thing like this....

Not at all.

Prior to 07 the landlord could just make any arbitrary deductions they liked and there was no hope of the tenants getting their money back without a full-on court case. This left it the duty of the tenant to prove the balance of probabilities, which was plainly ridiculous when the deposit money in no way belongs to the landlord until damages are made and evidenced.

And if the landlord went bust or disappeared (very common as dissolving a small company takes little work) then the landlord/agent/thief (for they were often one and the same) would be gonr and then the court route would not even be open.

The dps legislation is there for a good reason because abuses by landlords, whilst certainly not universal, were very common. It actually redressed a hugely unfair situation in favour of the landlord.

The tenancy laws in this country are actually one of the most landlord friendly in developed countries. The system is actually quite fair, although the courts are a cumbersome method of enforcement the rules themselves are not too bad. In this instance, the dps is doing exactly what is was designed to do.

Having said that, I wish you luck. Given what you have said, you deserve compensation. I hope you have been professional enough in your record keeping.

Lavendyr

OP, did you do an inventory when they moved in?

clutton_2

under no circumstances use the DPS arbitration service - as they will pretty well automatically award in favour of the tenant - if you refuse to use their ADR service (arbitration) - the only way forward is for the tenant to take you to court personally to get their deposit back. If they tenant thinks they may lose - they probably wont bother with going to court, and eventually the deposit will be awarded to you.

you stand a much fairer chance of being able to present proper evidence to a court and to be allowed to argue your case properly in front of a judge in the small claims court than you can with DPS. They use anonymous arbitrators whose decision is final and there is no appeal whatsoever. They themselves say that LLS must provide incontrovertible evidence to prove ANY deductions. DPS is not a fair system.

More and more anti-landlord decisions are coming out of DPS in Bristol and so more and more landlords are not using them, or are using MYDEPOSITS, not taking a deposit at all, or refusing to use internal arbitration.

it was hard enough in court to convince a judge of the ethics and legality of granting deposit monies to landlords - it is now 10 times more difficult with the DPS