Security deposit doesn't cover damage caused by tenants

jambot

Hi,

Some tenants have recently vacated my property and left it in a terrible state - well beyond reasonable wear and tear. The property is managed thorugh an agency and the checkout inventory paints a horrible picture - urine soaked carpets (caused by a dog), damage and scratches to walls, entire place needs cleaning, carpets replacing, locks and sockets broken on walls, stains up walls etc.....the list goes on.

If repairing all this costs more than the deposit they paid, what is the best course of action I should take to claim it back? Is there one? I obviously have insurance for the property but unfortuantely this doesn't cover "damage caused by pets" or "damage caused by people who are allowed to be on the premises".

I cannot think of a good reason why I should pay for any of this and am willing to pursue any legal means necessary to make the tenants pay.

Thanks.

G_M

You have 3 options:
1) put it down to experience - part and parcel of being a landlord, repair the damage and move on
2) claim off your insurance - I'm sure you have proper landlords insurance which should cover malicious damage by tenants
3) sue the ex-tenants in a small claims court - assuming a) you know where they've gone and b) they have the money to pay you when you win.

Simple!

jambot

Thanks for that. Unfortunately damage caused by pets is not covered under my insurance or many other policies (apparently). Obviously I won't be allowing pets in future. Also I'm not actually sure that this would be classed as malicious damage or some kind of neglect. I shall wait and see what the quote for repair is and take it from there.

G_M

Did your AST have a 'no pets' clause? If so, the tenants maliciously brought in the pets which caused the damage.
Alternatelively do you have accidental damage on the policy?

Just because the insurance company denies liability initially does not mean you can't persue them to pay up.

jonewer

Did you make an inventory before they moved in?

dacouch

G_M wrote: »

Did your AST have a 'no pets' clause? If so, the tenants maliciously brought in the pets which caused the damage.
Alternatelively do you have accidental damage on the policy?

Just because the insurance company denies liability initially does not mean you can't persue them to pay up.

Damage caused by domestic pets eg chewing and scratching is excluded by 99% of policies, it's not a case of saying it was maliciously damaged or accidentally damaged as it is specificallu excluded.

Hopejack

I have a similar thing - the only thing you can do should you wish to pursue is take the ex tenant to court for the difference between the deposit and the overall damage costs. Just make sure you have a lot of evidence like photos etc to back it up as you can bet your ex tenants will try and worm out of it - I know mine have!

I'm no longer renting out my property but if I were, I would never rent out to anyone with pets ever again - believe me, it's just not worth it!

Hope you get sorted - it's just disgusting how some people live and what they allow their pets to do. Sadly though the extent of the damage often isn't uncovered until their furniture is moved and place is totally empty. These people are often good at hiding the damage whilst in situ!

jambot

Thanks to all for the comments. My property is fully managed by quite a large letting agency who did an inventory before and after the tenants left. It was them who alerted me to the problem and who are now going to inform the ex tenants that I will not release their deposit. So we have proof of the damage on paper. Infact one of the tenants said they'd "sort it out" on the phone to the agents but then didn't bother - hopefully they recorded that phone call!

I'll wait and see what the damage is before deciding on any legal action and definitely no more pets in future!

cameron1

Hiya

Unfortunately, in this case it would appear that you either have to put this down to experience OR take civil action against them. Unless of course it appears to be intentional damage in which case you could talk to the police about whether it amounts to criminal damage. If you intend to take action via civil remedies, makesue you photograph/film the property for evidence. If you think it might amount to a criminal act try and leave everything in situ for Police to see.

Usually the only way to cover damage caused by pets is on your Pet insurance policy. I had my dog when i rented and my pet policy provided cover in the event that he caused any damage. It was a condition of my tenancy agreement that i held valid pet insurance for that very purpose.

jangor_2

I am sorry that so much damage has been caused by pet owners and quite annoyed with the owners also as it is quite difficult to persuade LLs to rent to pet owners and these events will lessen the property available. I have two dogs and have been renting for nearly two years without any problems at all. My dogs and deflead, wormed, bathed. They are walked three times daily. The LLs carpets are covered with rugs. My dogs are well trained and clean and agents have told me that if they were not aware that I had dogs, they would certainly not suspect pets lived in the property. Please do not let awful, hopefully the minority of, pet owners put you off the many owners who are doubly careful when they rent with pets.

rozeepozee

Sorry you've had this experience. I'm sorry to say it's this reason that stops me letting to tenants with pets.

I'm curious to know how much you ask for as a bond. I take 1.5 months rent and my one bad experience with a tenant was covered by this amount. I know some landlords only ask for a month's deposit as a bond.