DPS dispute - Help please!!!

alvinlwh

Thanks for all comments so far. A little update.

Got a phone call from LL. She is claiming for £175 out of £795. They are for:
1. Cleaning of oven
2. Cleaning of curtains
3. Shampoo of carpets

I am going to dispute items 1 and 2.

Item 1 because when I moved in, the person (third party) conducting the check in inventory had noted general that the cooking area is not clean, including the stove and hood. She had told me because of that, I do not need to clean up when I leave. Well I did, but not to "brand new" standard.

Item 2 because the mold on the curtains are caused by dampness in the property, as pointed out earlier in my thread. Also condensation are noted when I moved in, in summer! Imgaine how bad it was in winter. According to section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 - "The structure includes outside walls and windows, frames, ceilings, roof and foundations. It can be argued that it also includes external doors and windows, including the glass. If the landlord disputes that this is the case, specialist advice may be needed. It does not include internal wall plaster or decorations as such, but if these are affected by disrepair to something for which the landlord is responsible under this section, for example, disrepair to an external wall leading to penetrating damp, the tenant may be able to use section 11."

For Item 3, I had recently learnt that I should shampoo the carpets and provide a recepit of doing it, which of course I did not. However, on the checking in inventory, it had already been noted that the carpets are "spot soils & generally in use".

Debt_Free_Chick

Before you dispute, it might be worth checking out the price you would have paid to have the carpets cleaned. I wouldn't have thought you'd have much change out of £200 for a modest house e.g. sitting room, hall, stairs, landing and 2 bedrooms.

To be honest, I don't think the charge is unreasonable - and might simply be what you would have paid out for the carpets, anyway. And you'd avoid the hassle & delay

Fire_Fox

alvinlwh wrote: »

Fire Fox, as a building surveyor, I always advice people with mold problems to heat and ventilate. So heat is needed as it lowers the RH in the air. As for drying the windows and using various cleaners, well, there is no need to do that if the windows are working correctly and the radiators are heating the place enough.

I hope you don't mind me keep clarifying as I like to learn! I understand that heating a place sufficiently, and at a fairly constant level, should keep condensation to a minimum. I have been in two neighbouring flats and they have significant mould problems whereas mine is just a tiny area on two windows.

As I do not heat my flat sufficiently as I simply could not afford the bills, I have put this down to my to the regular airing and wiping the windows. Even during periods that we use plenty of heating (e.g. during the snow) we had no less condensation in the mornings, which I attribute to the heat loss effect of the metal frames.

alvinlwh

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I hope you don't mind me keep clarifying as I like to learn!
As I do not heat my flat sufficiently as I simply could not afford the bills, I have put this down to my to the regular airing and wiping the windows. Even during periods that we use plenty of heating (e.g. during the snow) we had no less condensation in the mornings, which I attribute to the heat loss effect of the metal frames.

Fair enough. Heating reduce the RH (relative huminity) in the air, and will reduce the issues of condensation. Opening your windows will also helps to remove the RH too. However, it could reduce the temperature in the property to unacceptable levels. Put it this way, I spend weekends away from the property, and do open windows when I am away. In winter, the temperature in the property gets to 5C. Outside is just 3C. Can you live in a property like that? I did try wiping up the windows like you did, BUT what do you do with the damp cloth? Like you, my property is a flat. I do not have access to a garden. So the cloth will stay in the flat, along with the moisture from the wipped up condensation. And the whole thing just go around the flat again.

For metal frame windows, I am not sure what type yours are. But they are not all that bad. The older types are (usually) very bad sealing, thus providing background ventilation even when shut, thus removing RH from the property when it is empty. I believe yours are these types as they are poor insulators too. There are condensation because, you and your family, gives out loads of moisture, even in your sleep. There are too much moisture and when they hits the cold surface of the windows, they turns into condensation. Are your windows single or double glazed? If they are single glazed, it makes matter much worse. The newer types complys with Part L of the Building Regulations and perform as well as uPVC windows.

Like you, I do not heat my flat much to save on bills. But I had tried leaving them on for 24 hours and they still do not manage to heat the place up to 18C, now those are seriously underpowered radiators.

I can't seem to post links here but if you google "rics mold" you will come up with a PDF file with lots of infomation on mold and if that is too technical, google "doh mold" for a simple document on how to control mold.

alvinlwh

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

To be honest, I don't think the charge is unreasonable - and might simply be what you would have paid out for the carpets, anyway. And you'd avoid the hassle & delay

Yes it is not unreasonable for a property you described. But it is a small one bedroom studio flat. No hall or stairs or landing. I will pay for the shampooing of the carpets I guess, BUT everyone, online and offline, are telling me to get the cost in writing first. i.e. receipts.

Fire_Fox

alvinlwh wrote: »

Fair enough. Heating reduce the RH (relative huminity) in the air, and will reduce the issues of condensation. Opening your windows will also helps to remove the RH too. However, it could reduce the temperature in the property to unacceptable levels. Put it this way, I spend weekends away from the property, and do open windows when I am away. In winter, the temperature in the property gets to 5C. Outside is just 3C. Can you live in a property like that? I did try wiping up the windows like you did, BUT what do you do with the damp cloth? Like you, my property is a flat. I do not have access to a garden. So the cloth will stay in the flat, along with the moisture from the wipped up condensation. And the whole thing just go around the flat again.

For metal frame windows, I am not sure what type yours are. But they are not all that bad. The older types are (usually) very bad sealing, thus providing background ventilation even when shut, thus removing RH from the property when it is empty. I believe yours are these types as they are poor insulators too. There are condensation because, you and your family, gives out loads of moisture, even in your sleep. There are too much moisture and when they hits the cold surface of the windows, they turns into condensation. Are your windows single or double glazed? If they are single glazed, it makes matter much worse. The newer types complys with Part L of the Building Regulations and perform as well as uPVC windows.

Like you, I do not heat my flat much to save on bills. But I had tried leaving them on for 24 hours and they still do not manage to heat the place up to 18C, now those are seriously underpowered radiators.

I can't seem to post links here but if you google "rics mold" you will come up with a PDF file with lots of infomation on mold and if that is too technical, google "doh mold" for a simple document on how to control mold.

Thanks that's really informative and interesting! :rotfl: at the wet cloths, that occurred to me too, so we now go through kitchen paper like a dose of salts in winter!! In my flat the water in the air comes from breathing, air drying laundry and the shower (no window in bathroom). The temperature never seemed to fall below about 12C even when the windows had been open all day and it had snowed.

The windows are double glazed, and seem to be air tight: there are no ventilation slots or extractors vented externally - both vented into ceiling void I think which makes them pretty useless. There is a very large expanse of glass in the living area - equivalent to at least three sash windows - the metal frames feel very cold and get very wet.

Best of luck with raising the dispute with the deposit service, keep posting!