Return of Tenant's Deposit

jangor_2

My first tenants have just left. I allowed them five extra days rent free to move out and clean the property. On the whole it is not too bad. Signs of wear and tear but I expected that. Just a couple of queries however. There is a stain on the lounge carpet which I have, as yet, been unable to remove with household cleaners. Should I make a charge towards the cost of cleaning just this one carpet? The garden was obviously worked on at the last minute and I have found garden waste piled up in the corner of the garden and green sacks containing garden waste. The garden borders are full of weeds and grass. As I do not have time to deal with this would it be fair to give the tenants the opportunity of clearing the waste or making a small charge? I also have to replace several light bulbs as the tenants said they did not know what type of bulbs the light fitting held. The only other problem I had was that I nearly fell down a large hole in the utility area. The floorboards had given way. As this rather grubby area had not been touched since I purchased the property I am in no way blaming the tenants but do wish they had informed me when the damage occurred as I have new tenants moving in shortly and need to have the damage repaired asap. I am very concerned that I do the right thing by the Tenants..

Comments gratefully received.

Fire_Fox

Why did you give them an extra five days? How much of the condition of the property before the tenants took occupation is recorded in an inventory or in photographs? Was the tenants deposit protected in a scheme? Did you offer to do a checkout with the tenants present?

jangor_2

I knew they were having problems waiting for their purchase to be completed and as I didn't need to be in the house it just seems the kind thing to do. Yes the condition of the house was all recorded and photographed. Yes their deposit is held in a protected scheme. Yes one of the tenants was present on the day of checkout although remained in the property after I left and retained the keys. It was not a good day for me and although I noticed the stain, as we were chatting I forgot to mention it but emailed immediately on my return to my house. Did not think to look at the hidden side of the garden yesterday so today was the first day I had an opportunity to look. I am just unsure if I should expect to pay for the carpet to be cleaned if I cannot remove the stain and for the rubbish to be removed and the garden tidied.

alunharford

Unless it's a very old tenancy, you don't get the opportunity to 'make a small charge'. You take the matter up with the tenancy deposit scheme the deposit was protected with providing them with evidence of the costs you incurred, that the damage was not done before the tenants moved in, and that the damage was not done after the tenant moved out.

bumpoowee

Was the flat extensively cleaned before they moved in? were there no weeds in the garden on the day they moved in? From what you've said the property is in reasonable condition and just needs one or two things doing. I'm willing to bet the property is in the same or better condition to when the tenants moved in.

jangor_2

Sorry I did not mean that I would be actually charging the tenant, I was unsure if I could query this before the deposit is returned. I have tried very hard to be fair all through the tenancy, allowing the tenant to stay on (their tenancy officially ended on the 25th July) but they asked if they could delay their dpearture and I charged them just a proportion of the months rent until the 15th July but then allowed them to sort themselves out until a check was carried out yesterday free of any further charge. However the tenant retained the keys and remained in the house after I left yesterday, leaving the keys in the house for me today. I do have an inventory and photographs for the condition of the property at the start of the tenancy. Obviously the garden waste is the rubbish they have just cleared from the garden, placing some of it in green sacks. I am prepared to replace all the bulbs and do all the odd repairs etc. but just queried the carpet and the garden waste.

Fire_Fox

If you didn't mean you would be charging the tenant then who would you be charging?

bumpoowee

You probably could charge for the carpet and garden. You would need to employ somebody else to do the work as I don't believe you can charge for your own labour. Also you would need to make sure the quote is reasonable (ie get 3 quotes and use the cheapest). To be honest though it sounds a bit petty given theres very little wrong and the tenants have obviously made an effort to tidy up.

jangor_2

bumpoowee

Actually the house was spotless when they moved in, I had recently had two new carpets laid, one of which has the stain. The garden was weeded and mowed as I am quite a reasonable gardener. (I do not however expect it to remain in quite the same condition as I left it.) I had spent two months painting every room before I moved out! Everything was in full working order. I also rent myself and despite my decorating the property I was in previously due to mould and old age, I was still questioned closely by the agent about every tiny mark and had to return to weed the garden despite the fact that I had done so before I left. Why would you make such an unwarranted comment when I am just asking whether it is fair to query the stain on the carpet and being left lots of garden waste in the garden with hard to find flower beds.

jangor_2

I simply meant could I query the costs of carpet cleaning (if necessary) and the cost of removing the considerable garden waste, green bags and finding the flower borders before the deposit is returned. I have no desire to make a 'big deal' out of this just asking whether I should pay up myself or expect to advice the deposit protection scheme that I had some issues re the cost of carpet cleaning and rubbish removal. Not having done this previously, I am unsure of the process.

bumpoowee

Ok well if you can honestly say it was spotless and the garden pristine and there was no junk left around for the tenant to tidy up then fair enough. As I said you can probably charge but need to make sure you get the job done for a reasonable price in case it is disputed.

My comments are made from personal experience, if tenants could charge the landlords for the tidying/cleaning they have to do when moving in to a property then I'd be driving round in a Bentley.