moth damage in a rented house

jaimai_2

We have been living in this house for 6 years,the carpets are cream and we all take our shoes off and shampoo the carpets as well. The letting agents say the house is kept immaculate. The landlord does nothing on the upkeep. We were flooded two years ago under the house and right through the garage ruining all our stored items in there. Since then we have had mould comming up on all outside walls, and we had a infestation of moths that have chewed the carpet under the beds. The estate agent seemed to think it was just one of those things and we were not to blame. We wanted a cat and asked permission, the landlord wanted us to sign a form to say any damage to walls and carpets would have to be paid for. I spoke to the agency and said I did not want the moth damage to be misconstrued as cat damage, but he still wants it signed. Who is liable for moth damage, we dont want to move and he keeps our deposit of £800. We have had to claim already in the flood for lost items. On that day we could not even get a reply from him via the agents to have the garage cleansed/fumigated. We ended up giving our insurers money to clean it, as that should have come under his building insurance.He has not done any repairs, the lintel is collapsing across the lounge and the fence is rotten due to the flooding. We are looking to move in the next 6 months but want to cover ourselves. We have looked after this house like its our own never had anything but praise on inspections and feel used,abused and dont want to be taken to the cleaners. Any help would be appreciated.

arbroath_lass

Can you not wait until you've moved before you get a cat? Seems a bit cruel unsettling the cat twice in six months.

jaimai_2

Its my sons cat, he is in the police force and has to move into a flat and its not really suitable.

jaimai_2

Also to add to the above its not about the cat only, its these carpets with moth damage whatcan I do.

Yorkie1

Can you take photos of the existing moth damage, get the letting agent or an independent witness to agree them / prove that the damage pre-dates the cat, and then deal with any disputes about damage arguably caused by cat at the end of the tenancy? Is your deposit protected (can't remember the start date for the protection schemes)?

One comment I would make is that it is often much much harder to find new lettings with a cat than without, so you should be prepared for that difficulty if and when you do decide to move.

jaimai_2

We were hoping to buy at the end of this year ,but we are so annoyed that everything is one sided regarding this house that I would rather move short term to another rental. My mother in law could look after the cat but they are a little infirm, but he would be fed and looked after surely thats prefferable to rehoming. So if a new rental could not take a cat we have somewhere,and we do visit most days. What I needto know is whether we are responsibe for moth damage and need to claim on our insurance, or do we wait andget scr**wed by the landlord and loose our money,when we move out.

BitterAndTwisted

I can't see how a landlord, even a very poor one like yours, could be held responsible for a moth infestation, especially six years into a tenancy.

tbs624

Moth infestation tends to be attributable to a lack of cleaning. OP says the "carpet has been chewed under the bed". Presumably the bed does not get pulled out very often , and the area underneath is not being vaccumed on a regular basis.I agree with B& T - LL can look to T to contribute to carpet replacement, allowing for fair wear and tear.

OP - if you are having trouble getting your LL to see to repairs then contact your local Council 's private sector Tenancy Relations Officer. Collapsing lintels require urgent attention.

bris

How to you differentiate between moth damage and cat damage. I could see how the LL would be sceptical.