No itinery- deposit returned in full ?

DGJsaver

Hi

Just a quickie , if a rental agreement started , and was ended before the term expired , mutually , between letting agent and tenant , and there was never an itinery , is it within the law for the LA to not rturn the full deposit ?

Cheers

N79

What do you mean by itinery? It is not in my dictionary. (Itinerary is but I don't see how one of these would relate to a tenancy?)

Edit: Been thinking - sorry did you mean inventory?

DGJsaver

N79 wrote: »

What do you mean by itinery? It is not in my dictionary. (Itinerary is but I don't see how one of these would relate to a tenancy?)

Sorry , i meant inventory

iamana1ias

Assume they mean inventory

N79

The deposit is protection against performance of the contract. If there is damage beyond fair wear and tear in the example you give then yes, deductions could be made from the deposit. However, without an inventory the LL will have a problem proving that any issues they wish to use for deductions were not preexisting.

DGJsaver

N79 wrote: »

The deposit is protection against performance of the contract. If there is damage beyond fair wear and tear in the example you give then yes, deductions could be made from the deposit.

And what if the work in question is in dispute , ie the place was apparently spanking clean when they left , but the LA uses some of the deposit to employ professional cleaners ? and the same for the carpets..

Thanks for your help so far

Pepzofio

What sort of tenancy is it?

Where is it?

When did it start?

What is the rent?

Assuming that it is an AST in E&W, starting since April 2007 & with <£25k pa rent, then the deposit should have been registered with one of the deposit protection schemes, and the LL (or LA acting on their behalf) cannot unilaterally make deductions.

Each scheme has slightly different procedures, but as a rule of thumb, in the LL & Tnt cannot agree between them on what deductions (if any) to make from the deposit, then it goes to the relevant dispute service for an independent adjudicator to decide what is fair. Any undisputed amount would normally be returned to the tenant, e.g. if deposit is £1k and LL wants to deduct £200, tnt should receive £800 back immediately.

As to whether they can legitimately claim the deductions, that depends on what they are for. Lack of inventory does not necessarily mean they cannot make deductions, it just makes it a lot harder for them to prove the state of the property prior to tenancy. Other proof could be available however, such as receipts for brand new carpet, fridge-freezer etc dated just before the tenancy.

Pepzofio

DGJsaver wrote: »

And what if the work in question is in dispute , ie the place was apparently spanking clean when they left , but the LA uses some of the deposit to employ professional cleaners ? and the same for the carpets..

Thanks for your help so far

Was an inventory done at checkout? As with that and an invoice for a professional clean immediately before tenancy, they might be able to justify deductions.

Remember, people's definition of 'spanking clean' can vary considerably... (Not making any assumptions, just stating a fact!) Although I would say it sounds like LL/LA trying to pull a fast one - the number of times I've heard of ex-tenants copping a 'professional cleaning' charge - my brother once got charged for

(a) a hotel room that the LL 'had' to stay in because they could not pick the keys up on check out day and had to come the following day (this was at LL's request, not any of the tenants, one of whom had taken the day off to meet her!!:mad:) and
(b) either a new pair of trousers or dry cleaning (can't remember which) for LL, as "one of the professional cleaners had left bleach on a seat, which she had sat on whilst inspecting the property"..............!!!!!!????????

Needless to say this was pre-TDS days!