Experience/Knowledge of the Deposit Protection Dispute Process Please!

mixte

We think we are about to go down this road. We have just left a shared property that's been let continuously or 11 years. It's the first time everyone has moved out at the same time at the end of tenancy, and not found new housemates to move. The landlord went through an agent to get new tenants.

We've only been there 2 years, 1 year and 6 months respectively. There was no check in inventory taken and any point when we each moved in. People have come and gone over the years, finding new tenants and always got their deposit back. However, as we all moved out and the house was clear he choose to use this opportunity to do a check out.

The deposit is with the DPS and teh landlord is currently suggesting that he would like to take £45 each from us to repair a scratched floor (it was like that when we moved in and it's really not fair as he knows it's possible it was done at any point before we moved in), but if we don't agree this then he might also charge us for the cost of a gardener to "return the garden to the condition it was when it was first let" and removing some rubbish such as a christmas tree from teh garden which was there when we moved in, and some cardboard boxes we left outside for the recycling. I think we can easily challenge on the floor damage as there is no proof of the condition when we moved in, but if the tenancy agreement states we should keep the garden maintained, could he charge us for this? The lawn was freshly mown and whilst the beds/patio were not perfect and a bit weedy, but i think we can argue that we maintained it as we kept in as tidy as when we moved in, if not slightly tidier even!

Sorry if this has already been discussed on the forum. I could not find any threads relating to peoples experience of the actual dispute process which is why I've posted.

Are we right in thinking that without an inventory it will be an open and shut case in our favour?

anselld

mixte wrote: »

Are we right in thinking that without an inventory it will be an open and shut case in our favour?

Yes. Assuming you have confirmed deposit is indeed with DPS the LL hasnt got a leg to stand on without a signed checkin inventory.

skint-student-nurse

we found out today that deposit disputes tend to go in the tenants favour unless there is sufficient evidence to give a reason for witholding or not returning the deposit. In your case,lack of checking inventory would work in your favour. HTH

mixte

Thanks, this is what I've read too about the majority of disputes going in the tenants favour and the inventory, but we weren't sure if the rubbish/garden thing might have been more difficult to prove, and whether that would go in our favour too or not. We also werent' sure how long it would take to get our money back if we went down this road or not. I some ways were are just tempted to say OK we'll forfeit the £45 because it's possibly going to be a hassle getting the money back, and may need this money back sooner rather than later. I'll post back on here with an update on the process if it does indeed come to that.