Irresponsible Tenant

boxer3

Hi.... Im wondering if anyone can offer advice on the following:

My partner and I have a city centre apartment which we rent out. The previous tenant gave us notice that he wished to end his tenancy complying with the terms of the short hold tenancy agreement he had signed. We now have a new tenant in situe.

However approximately 2 months before he moved out he (and I use his words here) invited 2 complete strangers into the flat late at night. They subsequently attacked him... smashed him over the head with a vodka bottle and left the flat taking nothing more than a bottle of aftershave.

Thankfully he is OK and has now fully recovered. However during the attack the coffee table was smashed and the sideboard damaged so that it will never look as perfect as it was.

He was also obviously smoking in the flat (against the terms of his tenancy agreement) and cigarette burns have been left all over the kitchen amtico flooring.

We did try to reason with him at the handover and told him we were perfectly within our rights to withold his £575 deposit. He contested this and made us an offer of just £120 to pay for the damage (new coffee table, new sideboard and new kitchen flooring)

We feel he has been extremely irresponsible and unreasonable and have now requested he pays for all the damage in full (invoice sent). As far as Im aware we are totally within our rights to do this but he has said he is happy to see us in the small claims court over the matter.

Obviously there are more specific details to this matter but this thread would go on for ever if I explained everything. What is certain is that we have always been good and attentive landlords and he did not leave the flat in the condition it was when he moved in (subject to normal wear and tear)

His deposit is with the Tenency Deposit Scheme as it should be and they will reach a decision as to whether he should have any of it back. We have extensive photographic evidence of the damage he caused.

Regarding our request for him to pay the invoice for the cost of damage over and above the amount of his deposit.....
I have read some website info on small claims court legalities and the following seems to apply to this matter

This seems very relevant:-

and that breach was the defendant’s fault rather than unforeseeable or outside his reasonable control

1 inviting complete strangers into the flat

2 smoking when it was forbidden by the lease

...both it would seem to me within his reasonable control!


Im wondering if anyone with legal experience can advise to the likely outcome of a small claims court hearing on this.

Many thanks!

Jowo_2

Do you hold a signed inventory/schedule of condition? Without this, you'll be lucky to win your claim at court since you will not be able to prove that the tenant was responsible for any subsequent change in condition? An inventory is a key document to prevent disputes of this nature.

Are you aware of betterment? A landlord is not permitted to charge new costs for old items and must take into account the age and condition of the items when calculating a deduction. How did you come up with the total deduction, what is it composed of?

sequence

The tenant can invite anyone they want into their home you know, even complete strangers.

How old was the coffee table and how much did it cost originally ? The same for the kitchen .

Have you had the work done ?

boxer3

Hi

Yes of course we have a signed inventory of condition. The tenancy was arranged by Accord lettings so all the correct paperwork was provided and signed by the tenant.

Regarding betterment... so it is your opinion that we cannot claim for a like for like coffee table, sideboard or kitchen flooring?.... which were all in immaculate condition (stated on the inventory he signed)

Can I ask where your knowledge/expertise on this matter comes from?

Many thanks again

Jowo_2

http://www.arla.co.uk/infosheets/list.aspx?id=7

The above links are fairly helpful guidance.

Many landlords of properties that are furnished claim a 10% allowance for wear and tear so some expenses get offset that way through taxation.

How did you arrive at that figure of all of their deposit, plus the extra sum you intend to take them to court for? What is the breakdown of charges?

sequence

It depends how old the items were.

Badger_Lady

Jowo's right of course - you can replace like for like. So you need to find a coffee table the same age and condition as yours, not a brand new one. Based on this, £120 sounds possibly light but £575 sounds very heavy.

Could it be that you're actually entitled to keep a figure somewhere in between? The only way to work that out is to detail the real value of those items, by working out devaluation or market value.

boxer3

No we have not had any work done. The coffee table was 12 months old... Naos (£1000) to replace The sideboard was 12 months old (£300) to replace and the amtico flooring would cost £800 to replace. Yes we can claim on our insurance for these items but I have been told it is down to our discretion as to whether we want to do this or claim it directly from the tenant. He has after all broken many of the terms of his Shorthold Tenancy Agreement which he signed.

ILW

Breaking the terms of his AST and charges for breakages are two totally separate issues.

Badger_Lady

Blimey - I stand corrected! I've never had a £1000 coffee table in my life! :eek: :rotfl:

ILW

Don't think I would put one in a flat I was renting out.