Deposit Dispute with LL

Jowo_2

Landlords don't pop on a pair of marigolds if the cleaning doesn't come up the scratch or send round the first cash in hand minimum wage cleaner they've found whose stuck a postcard up at the local newsagent. Nor are they obliged to let the tenants with the poor cleaning skills pop back at their leisure to do another poor cleaning job. Nor do they have to let tenants choose the company to do the work as they'd prefer to stick with companies they have good experiences with or who have been recommended by other professionals. Nor is there any legislation that compels them not to engage the services of relatives who run companies.

Nonetheless, contact the 3 schemes to check whether the deposit has been lodged. If it has been, go through their abitration/dispute process. If its not, send a recorded deliver letter (keep a copy) to say that you dispute the deduction and that you want the the full refund within a week and if he does not, you will take him to court to get x3 the sum of the deposit. Keep the letter short and sweet rather than 'I have a dream...' - the HM Court website and Shelter will have templates you can use.

And if its not refunded on x date, then kick off the smalls claims action - someone on this forum will be able to tell you the exact form to use when claiming the penalty for non-protection of the deposit. Again, Shelter or CAB will have info on the legal process.

If you want to sue for failing to protect the deposit anyway, go ahead, but appreciate that many judges will find for the landlord if they protect it in advance of the court case (poor wording of the legislation apparently). On the other hand, judges often find in favour of tenants where there is no signed inventory/schedule of condition at the outset of the tenancy.

Good luck. Next time, keep good written records when communicating with a landlord to protect yourself in the event of disputes. Shelter provide good advice on how to do this.

Broke_Student

Thanks for the clear response and instructions Jowo.

I still have mixed thoughts on whether the cleaning was required as
a) The property was filthy the day we moved in as there were tenants already there (his cockup, I have photos).
b) The first set of cleaners were only bought in due to this mixup. They did not do a particularly good job either (i don't have photos, he probably has an invoice).
c) I think he may have overbooked extra services at our expense because it's so easy to do so/he was being lazy and didn't tell them the bathroom+kitchen were good anyway.

I will confer with the other tenants before proceeding.