Broken door lock - maintenance issue but being deducted from deposit?

EagerLearner

Hello all,
Hope you have had a wonderful Christmas and New Year :beer:

Quick question for you all - we have just moved out of rented acommodation that we were at for 3 years. We took good care of the place, had it professionally cleaned and carpets also cleaned on exit, always paid on time etc.

There is an issue the landlady was meant to repair in Summer, a broken door handle, to the outside patio. The title of this thread is incorrect as the lock is fine and internal handle also fine. Just the handle outside is no longer working, we feel maybe due to weather or age, as we used it no differently to the inside handle.

We asked her around August to take a look and she always said she'd get to it at some point.

Now it is December and we have left, she is saying it will cost £100 to repair.

We have said this is a maintenance issue, as we did not break it, and she had promised to look at it whilst we were still tenants,

Can anyone advise their thoughts on this? Also was wondering that given we were there 3 years surely she has benefiitted from capital gains tax allowance for something like fixing a lock.

Many thanks!

EL

EagerLearner

Hi all, just a little bump on this as we expect to have to deal with her today about it, any help would be really appreciated...

jamesb1239

EagerLearner wrote: »

Hello all,
Hope you have had a wonderful Christmas and New Year :beer:

Quick question for you all - we have just moved out of rented acommodation that we were at for 3 years. We took good care of the place, had it professionally cleaned and carpets also cleaned on exit, always paid on time etc.

There is an issue the landlady was meant to repair in Summer, a broken door handle, to the outside patio. The title of this thread is incorrect as the lock is fine and internal handle also fine. Just the handle outside is no longer working, we feel maybe due to weather or age, as we used it no differently to the inside handle.

We asked her around August to take a look and she always said she'd get to it at some point.

Now it is December and we have left, she is saying it will cost £100 to repair.

We have said this is a maintenance issue, as we did not break it, and she had promised to look at it whilst we were still tenants,

Can anyone advise their thoughts on this? Also was wondering that given we were there 3 years surely she has benefiitted from capital gains tax allowance for something like fixing a lock.

Many thanks!

EL

If it was normal wear and tear then the LandLady is responsible, unfortunately as the inside on hasnt failed yet she could claim that it was neglect. Are you in England or Scotland? as if you are in England your deposit has to be protected and you must agree deductions before anybody gets any money.

ifonlyitwaseasier

i'd have thought that she couldn't deduct it as she was informed several months ago of the problem, no idea on the tax i'm afraid

gl

EagerLearner

Hi guys thanks for the replies. We are in England and deposit is protected.
I can't find a text or e-mail now, so must have told her on phone.
For us it's something that caused inconvenience as we could never go outside and close the door, otherwise you couldn't get back in!

Astec

Spookily, I've got a very similar problem!

Moving out of property on Sunday, our front door lock failed in June, still opens and locks, but the spring on the inner bit seems to be loose. Mentioned it to the Landlord at the time, but he's never changed it. Lock must be at least 10 years old (we've been there over 3 years).

Personally I see it as wear, plus the part is worth about a tenner, but the LL has become very difficult since we told him we're moving...

prudryden

If you have the time and inclination, you can always challenge it and put forward your case. £100 one way or another probably won't change your or her's economic well being, but it could be interesting to see the outcome.

EagerLearner

Hi all thanks for the answers. I guess double glazing might mean it is more costly.
Astec that's spooky - hope yours is just a regular door!
I guess I am more annoyed that she promised us she would do it and never made it a priority, but now is trying to get us to pay instead, and suddenly it's a big priority.

If we'd left an iron on the carpet, broken a window frame etc that would be one thing, but a handle that was clearly at the end of it's life just seems like she could repair under usual maintenance?
I seem to recall that landlords get 20% capital gains allowance for property maintenance, is that right?
Our rent was £650 a month, and she only ever had to replace a shower in 3 years, so lots of GCT allowance there...

prudryden

You are almost right. Maintenance, which this is, is deductable from the taxable income not capital gains. I would challenge her on it (not the tax write off, but the deposit deduction) out of principle.

EagerLearner

Hi P - ah, so what does that mean for us? In the 3 years she has only had to replace an old shower, nothing else has gone wrong.

RobertoMoir

EagerLearner wrote: »

Now it is December and we have left, she is saying it will cost £100 to repair.

I'd ask to see the quote she's basing that on - most repair jobs like that where you hire someone in cost numbers like "£20.16" or "£94.78" or "£100.32". A flat £100 sounds like a nice round number she's made up to me.