Please help re flat deposit

hjb123

I would continue on with the court action - if you dont believe it warrants the deposit being kept keep on with it! She will have to proove that all that work took place and that the amounts are right and that its your fault?!

clutton_2

she will need to produce receipts for all these things in court. the onus is on her to prove you left this "mess"

call her bluff. ignore the list. (hasn't she changed some of the figures from her first list ? ) tell her you are taking her to court. dont enter into any more dialogue with the woman.

just out of interest how long is the inventory - who signed it her or the agent ?

good luck.

EagerLearner

Hi all,

UPDATE: 18:30 15/08/06

Further to the above I have come home and we received a letter from the letting agent including the above breakdown list and also copies of 'paperwork' from the landlady to support 'costs' shown above - many are on plain paper with handwritten notes of costs and no company names or anything, just someones' signature.

We agree to some wear and tear - but their 'decorating' cost even mentions 'work to the ceiling'!! The radiator was stained by mistake, as were the blinds, and we did our best to remove the stains. The carpet, she always intended to replace, and she intended to modernise the entire flat.

Further to that, the letting agent are charging us around £57.58 for 'extension', 2 months after we left the property! It does not state what kind of extension, or dates. We think this is because the landlord extended our stay by 1 month - but why did the LA not charge us before or around the time we extended for the extra month? Can they do this so far down the line?

We allowed for building works to the bathroom to take place during the last month, which lasted 2 and a half weeks and was very inconvenient - but we wanted to keep the peace.

They now claim we owe the landlady a cheque for £76.12 and the LA a cheque for £57.58 - even though they are keeping our full £625 deposit!

I could understand if we had trashed the place but we did not, we were so damn careful.

The check-in inventory was signed by us and the agent (not even a person, just says 'Parks' - the name of the LA), not signed by the landlady. We filled it in and made it very comprehensive and then sent a copy back to letting agents. No-one else was there when we did the check-in inventory.

Are we supposed to respond to the LA & the landlady? Are we able to contest the LA fee? This is not something they'd mentioned before and has only just come out of the woodwork.

We really want to take her to court next - but I presume we have to write back to LA and state we are disputing the costs - do we have to say why we are disputing them and what our suggested deductions would be (we've worked out that £80 would cover what we feel is fair). So many items are listed on our original inventory, too.

Please help as to what we should do next - we want to follow the correct process.

clutton_2

These receipts of hers don't sound acceptable to me as evidence for a court hearing.

ignore the letting agents request for a fee - at least for the time being.

tongue in cheek bit coming up

as part of your courts claim for costs, £57.78 could well be claimed for inconvenience and cleaning materials for the cleaning of the flat necessitated by bathroom building works for 2 and a half weeks during the tenancy, which disturbed your "quiet enjoyment".

i think all this uncertainty is making you very very stressed.

If i were you, i would just go to the court and summons her for the deposit back - at least you will feel that you are moving forward in this, rather than going round and round in the "she said we said" circle. She has to argue the case in court as to why she has not returned it.

You have an inventory, that is your main evidence - that and your affidavits that you and x cleaned the flat on such and such a date and that it was in x condition etc.

If she cannot prove that she did a closing inventory at the end of the Tenancy - how is she to prove to a judge that you did the damage ?

This thread in itself could be evidence of your situation.

go for it, once you do, at least you will feel that you are getting somewhere.

lots of luck

Mrs_Arkwright

I don't have any advice as I've never been in this situation, but I've just read the whole thread through and hope you eventually get it sorted.

We are about to sell up, and may have to rent as we'll have trouble getting a mortgage, and this has put me right off! But I'm sure you've just had the bad luck to pick a rotten apple in the barrel of landlords, and they're obviously not all like that! All the same, I'm having second thoughts :eek:

Good luck

clutton_2

Mrs Arkwright - ask your prospective landlord/lady if s/he can give any of his tenants as referees for him/her !! i always offer this to my prospective tenans when interviewing them.

Mrs_pbradley936

I am in total agreement with clutton. Issue the court summons and let them take care of it that is what they are for after all. I think the agents are a disgrace and I think you have wasted enough time and energy on the situation. You are not a professional and will not be expected to know the ins and outs of the law pertaining to this subject but your landlady and the agents are professionals and have legal obligations. The worst that can happen is that Court allows them some of what they claim and you do not get all of your money back it is that or walk away from your money.

Mrs_pbradley936

When you file your claim make sure that you ask for all of your deposit back because wear and tear is part and parcel of letting out a flat you are paying rent to inflict wear and tear. If they want the place pristine and unlived in they cannot charge rent! Also make sure you keep your points short and consise do not ramble on but include a sentence or two about being charged for items which are clearly maintenance related and not your responsibility.

Mutton_Geoff

EagerLearner, you must stay focussed on what you want. It's time to stop being so co-operative with the landlady. Just press on with your court claim and once it's all done and you have her address, fill in this Tax Evasion Report Form. It costs nothing and judging by her behaviour you can bet her accounting procedures and tax declarations will be some way from the truth.

EagerLearner

Thanks all - we are slightly less stressed now - and apologies for not answering individually - we will send the 'third' letter - notice of court summons, this Thursday then.

Do we state in the final letter that we dispute the costs presented and also that the invoices/receipts are not from registered companies?

Do we also state that we want the full £625 back and if not received within 7 days we will be claiming £625 + legal costs + additional expenses incurred in court?

As an additional note - the agency checked out the flat (check-out inventory) with the landladys daughter.

Basically, if anyone has an example final letter, based on what you know to date, I'd be very grateful as we can't even think straight to write a letter, let alone file the court summons - but - we will get there, it's just stressful!