Can a provate landlord keep a tenants deposit due to substandard council workmanship?

Jesthar

Hi y'all, got a question on behalf of a friend.

She and her husband have just moved into a housing association flat due to health reasons (she has MS). Their previous house was privately rented, landlord seems to have been a decent chap and my friends have made good the various bits of damage caused by pets etc. to his satisfaction.

The problem is this: in the year before my friend moved out, the local council fitted some much needed mobility aids (grab rails, stair rails etc.) to the property, with the agreement of the landlord as long as any damage was made good. Now they have moved, the council has removed the fittings, but the work has not been done to the satisfaction of the landlord, and he now wants to keep £150+ of my friends initial deposit by way of recompense.

As this work was done by the council with his agreement, not my friend, it seems unfair that my friend should have to pay for the council's shortcomings - so is the landlord legally entitled to do this, or should he be talking to the council?

Thanks!

~Jes

Wee_Willy_Harris

Please clarify. Were the adaptations carried out for your friend?

Fire_Fox

If the landlord agreed on the proviso the damage was made good then your friend needed to ensure the damage was made good. The landlord only has a contract with the tenant, the tenant has an arrangement (?verbal contract) with the council regarding the work.

ilikewatch

The problem here probably lies in that a landlord would require a property to be returned in good condition, as originally let, with "normal" wear and tear.
However, damage caused by fitting, and subsequently removing this type of equipment is not "normal" wear and tear, yet I can't imagine that the council would have initially undertaken to restore the property to its exact former condition before the mobility aids were installed.
I would imagine that what is really important here is who contracted with the council for the fitting of the mobility aids - if your friend arranged it, then it was up to her to ensure that the property would be restored to a suitable condition when they were removed, and therefore up to her to compensate the landlord/chase the council to make the job good.
If the landlord contracted with the council for the fitting of the equipment, then it would be his responsibility to ensure that the council witheld their end of the contract for the removal of the equipment.

Edit: I have been in a similair position to the landlord, when a tenant asked for permission to install some mobility aids, and promised that any damage would be made good, but didn't tell me that the work involved the council drilling more than a dozen holes in the tiles in a brand new luxury bathroom, - suffice to say that even after retaining the tenants entire deposit I was still left hundreds of pounds out of pocket...

Wee_Willy_Harris

The problem is that the OP states.... "in the year before my friend moved, the local council fitted some much needed mobility aids (grab rails, stair rails etc.) to the property"... Which implies that the fitment of these aids had nothing to do with the OPs friend and that they were already in place before the tenancy was agreed. I think advice is impossible to offer until/unless the OP clarifies this important point.

ilikewatch

Wee_Willy_Harris wrote: »

The problem is that the OP states.... "in the year before my friend moved, the local council fitted some much needed mobility aids (grab rails, stair rails etc.) to the property"... Which implies that the fitment of these aids had nothing to do with the OPs friend and that they were already in place before the tenancy was agreed. I think advice is impossible to offer until/unless the OP clarifies this important point.

Pending clarification by the OP, but I read this as meaning "in the year before my friend moved out (of the property)"

Wee_Willy_Harris

ilikewatch wrote: »

Pending clarification by the OP, but I read this as meaning "in the year before my friend moved out (of the property)"

Ah... Hadn't looked at it that way. I may well be too thick to have a real keyboard this morning!!!!

Jesthar

ilikewatch wrote: »

Pending clarification by the OP, but I read this as meaning "in the year before my friend moved out (of the property)"

Yup, that's right - have amended the OP to claify that, thanks.

Thanks for the replies so far. Just had a chat to my friend, further details as follows:

Yes, the adaptions were carried out for my friend. She was referred to the Council's Occupational Therapy department by her NHS MS nurse. Occ Therapy did a house assessment and e-mailed the landlord detailing what they'd like to do (put grab rails in at various points). He e-mailed back agreeing to that with the proviso the council made good any damage when they were removed.

So far, the amounts he wants to charge are as follows:

£20 for the Kitchen door rails, as the council only half filled the holes with silicone sealant rather than wall filler.

£50 for one bathroom rail, for replacing three broken tiles and touching up the paintwork.

£100 for replacing two plastic front door side panels because the council attached rails to them, not the brickwork.

He's decided to keep the wooden stair rail and the bath rail that were also installed, so they have not been removed.

For the record, my friend isn't out to dodge paying if they are liable, just wants to be sure they are and that the charges are fair, as it's a fair amount of money for them.

~Jes

ilikewatch

Hi Jes,

From what you've said it certainly sounds as if your friends landlord has the right to retain what seems like a very reasonable sum considering the repair work needed. However I would also consider that your friend has a good case to request payment of a similair amount from the council - if I was in your friends position I would send a polite letter to the council, explaining the situation and enclosing photographs of the damage and a breakdown of the landlords charges and ask if they could be compensated for the damage.

Wee_Willy_Harris

Isn't this a case for........ The Tenancy Deposit Dispute Resolution ???

ilikewatch

Wee_Willy_Harris wrote: »

Isn't this a case for........ The Tenancy Deposit Dispute Resolution ???

I doubt it, - as far as I can see, the landlord has every right to retain some of the deposit, and the tenant has every right to request some compensation from the LA.