Tenants deposit deduction for repairs

robskillz

Myself and my 2 housemates have just moved out of a shared house and the Landlord is after keeping £260 of our deposit for the following repairs:

• Half a day of cleaning
• Supply [the paint] and paint 5 walls

I'm not really sure if this is a fair price or not. What do you think? We're not disputing the validity of the damage claim, just the quoted price. One of the rooms has major blu-tack spots all over the paintwork which apparently can be a pain to remove as the oil soaks through into the new paint if you just paint over it.

Rob

PS this is a re-post from the wrong section.

N79

Sounds OK to me - especially for the southof England. The place must have nneded cleaning throughout to take half a day. You are entitled to see estimates before agreeing the deductions should you want to.

pinkshoes

It was your responsibility to clean it before you left, so if you didn't do this, then the charges sound fair to me.

A professional cleaner would be about £14 an hour, and would probably have done 5 man hours (if they had to thoroughly clean kitchen, oven, bathroom etc...), so that would be £70, then £12 for paint, another £14 x 4 for the painting, perhaps more... it all adds up, but do ask to see the receipts.

princeofpounds

Sounds fair for the work involved, so if the work was needed then it's probably ok.

robskillz

Thanks all. Yes, we did clean before we left but the inspection picked up on a few bits we missed or weren't thorough enough with - dusty radiators, dirty skirting, oven shelf, etc.

It's been done with one quoted estimate. It's fair enough that he's entitled to charge us but it hurts that he's going to be knocking the whole place about and building a huge extension with new kitchen and bathroom before letting it out again! Which makes the cleaning/repairs redundant - he's not going to get them done. :-(

Tassotti

I agree with the cleaning issue...Was it spotless when you moved in?

However, the painting of walls is a bit of a grey area. It's maintainance and not repairs...Maybe you should contest this?

Ade

Jowo_2

Tassotti wrote: »

However, the painting of walls is a bit of a grey area. It's maintainance and not repairs...Maybe you should contest this?

Ade

Landlords cannot seek betterment (new costs for old) so should take into account the original condition/age when attributing costs. They should also allow fair wear and tear which is deterioration under natural usage.

Damage through blu tac is not wear and tear. Tenants are responsible for costs associated with negligence and accidents.

tbs624

Tassotti wrote: »

However, the painting of walls is a bit of a grey area. It's maintainance and not repairs...Maybe you should contest this?

Ade

Tassotti - more like a bit of a greasy area Note that the OP says that some of the walls have been heavily marked by their blu tack. That stuff is an absolute nightmare - you generally have to cover it with a stain blocker like BIN primer before re-emulsioning. If the walls weren't marked with oily residue when the T moved in then the LL has every right to expect the costs of sorting it out to be borne by the T, with an allowance made for how soon the walls would ordinarily have been due to be repainted.

Edit: cross posting with Jowo, obviously on same lines

Jowo_2

Generally, a tenant has a couple of ways to challenge deductions, either through the tenancy deposit scheme arbitration (dispute) service if the deposit was lodged there, or through the small claims court.

If the landlord did not undertake an inventory/schedule of condition at the start of the tenancy, it generally strengthens the tenants case as there is little proof that they were responsible for any changes to it.

If the landlord failed to protect the deposit in TDS when they should have lodged it into a scheme, the tenant can claim x3 the sum of the deposit as a penalty. Generally, if a landlord has paid back all the deposit or lodges it into TDS ahead of the court case date, the tenant loses the case (but there have been the odd exception) because the wording of the law is so poor.

The Shelter website is an excellent source of information on how to challenge deposit deductions and unprotected deposits, including sample letters for tenants to send to landlords.

IlonaRN

robskillz wrote: »

Thanks all. Yes, we did clean before we left but the inspection picked up on a few bits we missed or weren't thorough enough with - dusty radiators, dirty skirting, oven shelf, etc.

It's been done with one quoted estimate. It's fair enough that he's entitled to charge us but it hurts that he's going to be knocking the whole place about and building a huge extension with new kitchen and bathroom before letting it out again! Which makes the cleaning/repairs redundant - he's not going to get them done. :-(

I would have thought it fair that you are shown the receipts for the work that you have paid to be carried out.

If the work is not going to be done, you shouldn't have to pay for it!

clutton_2

if the landlord is doing other works to the house its none of a departing tenants business. the blu-tac oil stains have to be removed and the walls repainted - the tenant admits they used the blu-tack - where is the problem

the amounts seem very fair to me - but i am a LL