Ridiculous Deduction From My Rent Deposit

et_tu_brute

Hello all!

This is my first post! I have been lurking and enjoying the vibe though!

To my tale of woe, I have highlighted bits of it, especially the parts that I think make it vary from other cases. I did read the forums before I posted. But I don't think anyone has been ripped off quite this badly:

I am pretty furious and out of pocket.

I just vacated an apartment/warehouse unit in the City of London. While the majority of the complex was business/commercial, some were mixed use or outright residential. Mine was residential but I only stayed there part time, maybe two nights a week at most. I have no family or pets.

I have just received the deposit or what is left of the deposit. I paid a deposit of £2040.00, being six weeks rent. The balance I received today is £946.

The breakdown is as follows:

£95 for cleaning (I cleaned the apartment personally even though it was handed to me dirty when I moved in 22 months prior).

£881 for decoration/painting. (It was not freshly decorated prior to my occupation. Even allowing for wear and tear, there was no need to have painted, certainly not at my expense).

£117.50 Administration charges.

That is a total of £1,094.00!!!

Invoices have been provided for the work allegedly done but are riddled with errors. E.g poorly erased details pertaining to another apartment that I know was also allegedly painted after vacation, copy and paste errors meaning that a former tenant’s name appears on the final invoice.

There was no inspection before I moved in, and no inventory check. There was no inspection when I moved out either. I asked when I’d get the deposit back and was told it would be posted to my forwarding address. Now, almost two months later (moved out on May 16, 2006), I get the balance of the deposit today.

What are my rights? Does anyone know? Can I contest the manner in which I have been forced to pay for what the landlord should pay for (i.e. maintenance). If they felt that my misuse had necessitated repainting the whole apartment, should I not have been informed?

I am not sure whom the claim should be against. The landlord is a faceless company. All interaction was done directly through a management company and the cheque issued to me has actually come from the management company, and not from the landlord company.

Should I deposit the cheque sent me for the balance, or hold off until the outcome? I am worried that the landlord might do something vindictive like withhold the lot or deduct more. I really do need every penny I can get now.

Thanks for reading!

musey

et_tu_brute wrote:

Invoices have been provided for the work allegedly done but are riddled with errors. E.g poorly erased details pertaining to another apartment that I know was also allegedly painted after vacation, copy and paste errors meaning that a former tenant’s name appears on the final invoice.

There was no inspection before I moved in, and no inventory check. There was no inspection when I moved out either.

This is the most important part of the post, without an inventory check (signed) done at the start of the tenancy the Landlord does not have a leg to stand on. I would advise taking it all the way.

My advice would be as follows; go to moneyclaim online and create the paperwork to issue county court summons, do not issue it yet print off the paperwork and save the details, send the printed details with a letter stating unless the the remaining bond is repaid giving a reasonable reasonable amount of time (perhaps 7 or 14 days) for them to pay you will submit the summons. If a cheque is received , fine cash it and move on. If it is not paid, on the day after your time limit go back to moneyclaim and submit the claim and then sit back and wait for a court date. Attend court and make your case, ie. no signed inventory at the start of the tenacy ergo how can the landlord prove and of the works they have completed were necessary because of your behaviour during tenancy.

Your claim should be against whoever is named on your tenancy agreement as Landlord.

Good luck

Astaroth

You need to write to the landlord contesting the amount received and state that the cheque will be banked on a without prejudice basis whilst awaiting the remainder of the balance.

itsakidsworld

If you have a tenancy agreement, read the complete context to make sure you are covered and that no "special" clauses have been put in. If they have, check the legal stand of them by posting on here.

If the flat was a non-smoking flat and you smoked then it could be difficult for you but if you did not then you are in a very strong position.

Cleaning is an area which can always be contested so that may be a forfeit for you. The admin fee is a rip off but could again be in the contract so read small print.

Painting is simple. If you have vacated the property and left the decor in the same condition as you found it, ie.. you have not re-painted anything or stuck stickers over paper and the such, then they have not got a leg to stand on. General wear and tear of decor is all part of renting and they are not allowed to charge you.

If after you have read these points, you feel you are correct which I hope you are, then write a strongly worded letter explaing that after taking legal advice you are contesting the amount deducted. Unless a reply is received within fourteen workig days ( or check legal time scale) you will be instructing your solicitor to reclaim the full amount. State that you will also be claiming to recover costs for legal work, costs for your own time including stress and interest at Bank of England base rate plus 5%.

Make sure everything is sent by recorded delivery and keep records and dates.

My motto is "lazy people lose" so do your homework, put in the time and if you are correct, you will win.

Good luck

musey

Astaroth wrote:

You need to write to the landlord contesting the amount received and state that the cheque will be banked on a without prejudice basis whilst awaiting the remainder of the balance.

Very good point, I forgot it, thats what I get for posting so early.

musey

itsakidsworld wrote:

Cleaning is an area which can always be contested so that may be a forfeit for you. The admin fee is a rip off but could again be in the contract so read small print.

Painting is simple. If you have vacated the property and left the decor in the same condition as you found it, ie.. you have not re-painted anything or stuck stickers over paper and the such, then they have not got a leg to stand on. General wear and tear of decor is all part of renting and they are not allowed to charge you.

Good luck

If the landlord is unable to evidence the condition of the property prior to the Op's tenancy by way of signed invenory/check in paperwork they can't deduct money for these things as they cannot prove the Op has caused the issues.

et_tu_brute

itsakidsworld wrote:

If you have a tenancy agreement, read the complete context to make sure you are covered and that no "special" clauses have been put in. If they have, check the legal stand of them by posting on here.

If the flat was a non-smoking flat and you smoked then it could be difficult for you but if you did not then you are in a very strong position.

Good luck

No, I'm not a smoker and never allowed anyone to smoke in there. I seldom cooked in there either as the whole unit had only one window and this was in the bedroom. So ventilating cooking smells was almost impossible.

I'm going to dig out the tenancy agreement and see if there are special clauses. But regardless, without an inventory, surely that concludes the matter? Everything was so relaxed when I took over - the former tenant moved out on a Saturday and I took over the tenancy on the same day, taking the key from him directly.

Thanks for your inputs!

ETB

Dead_Eye_Jones

dude, you have a moral duty to take this all the way. Having had bad experiences with landlords I have a real pet hate, total utter hate, for the !!!!!! that some landlords take out of u tennants. If your side of the story is true, then it sounds to me like you will be looking at getting all of that money back.

Be strong and confident, contact your local CAB - they will supply standard official sounding letters and the necessary details to launch a claim in the small claim courts.

The burden of proof lies with the landlord, if he/she cannot proove that you were responsible for damage then you will win the case, courts generally come down on the side of the tennant so be confident you are in the stronger position here - it will be worth your time and effort (and tbh its actually quite straight forward).

In my experience, my claims never went to court, the landlord refunded after brief contact. This is prob why I have such low opinion of them, essentially they just try it on with everyone, if you kick up a fuss they know they will lose, so they dont fight you. It really really sucks doesnt it?

You are responsible for damage to the property, unless you damaged the paint etc they cannot demand you pay for decorating. It is up to them to prove that it was YOU that did it. Also it is my understanding that cleaning is more of a good will thing, unless its so bad that its ruined their property they cant complain if there is a spec of dust.

Having said that I challenged my last landlord to deduct £10 to hire a cleaner to remove the one spot of dust found on thw washing machin, this was despite my landlord moving out and leaving the place in a disgusting state - we had to clean grime off the walls, food stains out the fridge, etc. The git actually took my money, I couldnt believe anyone (thats you Tim if ya readin!) would be able to stoop that low, ah well - it makes a good story.

Just glad I own my own place now , never wanted to buy, but renting was too much hassle.

Good luck!

lynzpower

Yep ,another scum landlord giving landlords a bad name. I had one similar.

Take this to court.

Your LL should be able to present three QUOTES ( not estimates) to the court, to prove he took the cheapest.

My ex landlady ( aka witch from hell) tried to do us for all kinds ( blown lightbulb, dead plant in a pot) she didnt have a leg to stand on. In the end she coughed the majority, and we left the rest, by being naive & scared of court. I wouldnt do it now though, being older & wiser.

et_tu_brute

I cannot at this point actually find the tenancy agreement. I know I stashed it somewhere "safe" and it is not thrown away. Is it possible that there could be something in it that excuses them from doing inventory checks?

Can I still proceed with my first letter to the landlord without it?

ETB

musey

I would think so, it costs nothing to start the county court process the costs are incurred when you 'submit' the paperwork. What proof have you got that you paid a deposit?