Land Lord wants to keep most of Deposit! Help!

catswhiskers4

Hi,

My sister has just moved out of a property. The landlord wants £610 for:

£62 shower rail and toilet seat
£34 oven knobs
£145 cleaning
£155 front room carpet
£220 bathroom decoration/mould

The shower rail was loose/broken when they moved in and the Letting Agent was aware of this. The bathroom had a mould problem almost as soon as they moved in. The agent had to send contractors round to look at it and they said it was due to poor ventilation and the wrong type of paint being used in a bathroom. My sister hired a carpet cleaner and cleaned all of the carpets, but they weren't in good condition when she moved in. The oven knobs have melted slightly due to the cooker being a cheap nasty thing.

The agent, Reeds Rains has said they have no position on this! Surely they must have as they were aware of these issues already. They also insisted on three monthly inspections while my sister was there and she brought up issues with them every time.

To add to this, they moved deposit protection company without informing my sister and not providing her with any information.

What can she do? She can raise a dispute, but then she has to agree with what mydeposits.co.uk decide. Could she also raise a small claim for not being informed of the move?

I may have other info to add when I speak to her, but any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Fire_Fox

Was there a dual signed check in inventory including the condition of all the claimed items? Did your sister attend the check out? Mould is usually a ventilation issue, did your sister leave the window open every time she bathed or showered and/ or use the extractor fan?

keith969

She can take them to the small claims court for what she believes to be unjustified deductions. Give notice of intention to do this in writing first, as in my own experience just this was sufficient to get the withheld deposit returned.

far2812

They have to, by law, advise her who the deposit protection is with - just ring them and state this to them - I would then open a dispute via them.

tomtiddly

Don't forget the landlord can't charge you for their time! If they insist on £x for cleaning/decoration tell them to get quotes / receipts before you'll agree!

lynzpower

The most important thing is a signed inventory at the start, identifying poor carpet, broken shower etc.

Has she got one of these, did it ever happen.

catswhiskers4

They left her with the inventory when she moved in and she corrected it and sent it back. The carpet was definitely on it - it had stains that she couldn't get out when she moved in. I'm not sure about the shower rail, will need to check.

The mould wasn't just from not opening the window, it covered the entire
room.

They didn't invite her to any exit inspection.

RAS

Does your sister have a copy of the inventory?

Fire_Fox

catswhiskers4 wrote: »

They left her with the inventory when she moved in and she corrected it and sent it back. The carpet was definitely on it - it had stains that she couldn't get out when she moved in. I'm not sure about the shower rail, will need to check.

The mould wasn't just from not opening the window, it covered the entire
room.

They didn't invite her to any exit inspection.

Your sister should write to the letting agents by recorded delivery and request a copy of the dual signed inventory, either they will produce one unamended and unsigned, or they will produce the one with your sisters amendments or they will have lost it. It is the landlord's responsibility to prove the damage occurred during the tenancy, so if stains are noted on the inventory or there is no inventory your sister will win on arbitration. She should note in her letter that she will be going to arbitration and that she was not given the opportunity to attend the checkout.

Mould is almost always down to condensation, which is almost always down to failure to ventilate adequately. Water that penetrates brings salts which inhibit mould growth. Steam from bathing or showering DOES cover the whole room; mould can be easily removed with a dilute bleach solution or Dettox mould killer but it is unfortunately too late for that. IMO you may have to accept paying for this aspect of the damage as you say yourself in the OP that lack of ventilation played a role.

catswhiskers4

Thanks Fire Fox, that's a great idea.

With the mould, the fact the agent sent round contactors twice and they asked the landlord to do work shows that they think the landlord should have been paying for it. He wouldn't so now he thinks my sister should. I think he's at it, trying to get her to pay.

rdchick

We're currently in a similar position... We checked out of our flat on Monday 29th March 2010. We have yet to receive any of our deposit back. It's so frustrating!! We looked on the TDS website today to check the status of our deposit and it says it's gone!! What does this mean??!! Our Agents are awful and never get back to us, it's been 11 days since our last contact with them, they don't even acknowledge your correspondance! I don't know what to do any more, we need the money back to MOT the car