Landlord/letting agent refusing to use dispute resolution service

dhope

Hi,

Bit of background.

I've been renting a house for 1 year with 3 friends. We moved out 2 months ago. Monthly rent was £2000, deposit was £3000.
Upon moving out the LA returned £1600 of the deposit and claimed the remaining for

Cleaning £400
Carpet Cleaning £500
Banister Damage £150
Rubbish Removal £250
Floor damage £100

The house was cleaned when we left. Carpets were probably 20 years old and certainly had nothing beyond wear and tear. Floor damage was also there, only wear and tear. Rubbish removal, there was a desk and some videos that weren't on the inventory but were there when we arrived so we didn't throw them away when we left - there was no new inventory done when we moved in, nor one that we were present for when we left. It wasn't the case that the house was a tip and they have to clear out proper rubbish, it's just things that were there before we arrived.
Banister damage, fair enough, 3 banisters were wobbly when we arrived and have come loose when we left. Certainly not worth £50 a banister but we can live with that.

They also have previous from charging the previous tenants £250 for cleaning carpets and then not cleaning the carpets.
A ceiling fell in during the tenancy which would have caused significant dust/dirt that would increase any normal wear and tear, plus any workmen traipsing in and out of the house walking the dirt around. None of this is taken into account.

The house is old. Bare floors, old carpets, very old furniture, grubby walls and ceilings etc. We're considerate tenants and don't feel we're taking the !!!!.

So we disputed £1250 of the £1400 that was unreturned deposit. The letting agent has given the disputed amount to the deposit holding company but said they don't want to use them to resolve the dispute.

So... next steps?
Should we send a letter to the LA giving them 14 days notice of our intention to go to small claims or have they pretty much brought things to that point anyway by refusing to use the dispute resolution service.
Should we sue the agent or the landlord. If the landlord then we don't have their home address so do we address it to the vacated property or the agent?

Any other ideas on best way to proceed, what it might cost us or if there are any time limits on things. On the plus side the disputed deposit is being held by the holding company and not the agent.

Thanks in advance.

RAS

Sorry

Confused.

Did you have a proer signed invantory at the start of the tenancy?

clutton_2

""there was no new inventory done when we moved in, nor one that we were present for when we left.""

send both LL and LA a LEtter Before Action giving them 7 days to agree the return of the deposit with the agreed deductions otherwise
Small Claims Court action will follow immediatey with no further correspondence.

Sue them.... i would put both names on the Claim and use the agents address