Aggressive lawyer landlord

macmonkey

whambamboo wrote:

the cleaning requirement is not really valid anyway - you are only required to return the house in the same condition as you received it, and allowing for fair wear and tear - they can't make you pay for professional cleaners if you cleaned it adequately yourself.

Unfotunately the house was new when I moved in.
I'm not contesting the cleaning, it's getting my deposit back, plus whether or not I should/could pursue a refund of the three weeks extra rent she's taken off me.
As an indication of her character the new tenant has been in a week and yet she's not informed me of this. I last spoke with her two weeks ago and insisted I pay the remaining month instead of just keeping my deposit and using that.

I also offered to pay for cleaning if she supplied me with the invoice, to no avail.

clutton_2

i believe it to be true that if you lose a ccj and payup within 7 days that the judgment does not appear on your record.

Tassotti

As you vacated the property before the fixed term was up, you are liable for the rent until relet, and reasonable letting costs.

Ask the LL for an invoice for these costs. Remember, it can cost 1 months rent plus VAT to relet a property if an agent is used, so I don't think there is much chance of receiving your deposit back.

Alan_M_2

Tassotti wrote:

As you vacated the property before the fixed term was up, you are liable for the rent until relet, and reasonable letting costs.

Ask the LL for an invoice for these costs. Remember, it can cost 1 months rent plus VAT to relet a property if an agent is used, so I don't think there is much chance of receiving your deposit back.

This is only relevant if you don't honour the contract and pay the rent, the OP paid even though the property was unoccupied so there are no reasonable letting costs to cover, the contract was being honoured.

macmonkey

Somerset wrote:

macmonkey

It sounds like you've behaved impeccably and been a model tenant.

I'm not expecting a Blue Peter badge off the landlord anytime soon tho!

Somerset wrote:

<snip loads of good stuff>

That sounds like excellent advice. Don't really want to call her though as she's made it clear she doesn't appreciate phone contact. I've written a letter:

"I am pleased that you have now managed to re-let the above property and understand that this concludes the termination of our contract with you.

I now anticipate the part refund of the November rent of £640 (being pro-rated from 7th November when your new tenants began their tenancy) as well as the refund of the £800 deposit less reasonable cleaning costs (as supported by copy invoices) as agreed.

I would be grateful if you could confirm these costs as soon as possible (please call me on xxxxxx) so we can attain closure on this matter.

Since my payments to you have been of a timely nature, I trust you will offer the same courtesy by ensuring that the cleared funds are in my account within 7 days of the date of this letter."

Does that sound reasonable?
Thanks to all who've posted so far btw. It's encouraging stuff.

prudryden

Hubert - should OP include the offering of cleaning in his letter. Would that not be tantamount to an admission of not cleaning the flat? In fact, he couldn't clean the flat because someone else was in it. I would be concerned that he could be charged for Professional Cleaners - which can be up to £250 for a two bedroom flat. What do you think?
Save the cleaning as a possible compromise tool??

Alan_M_2

I would simply ask for the return of the deposit, by offering to pay for cleaning you're opening your self up a little.

Don't offer anything you don't need to, as what you consider easonable and what She does maybe £500 different if you get my meaning.

macmonkey

prudryden wrote:

Hubert - should OP include the offering of cleaning in his letter. Would that not be tantamount to an admission of not cleaning the flat? In fact, he couldn't clean the flat because someone else was in it. I would be concerned that he could be charged for Professional Cleaners - which can be up to £250 for a two bedroom flat. What do you think?
Save the cleaning as a possible compromise tool??

I'd already agreed to the cleaning bill, although I personally didn't think it neccessary. And as long as the fee is reasonable and it doesn't swallow up half the deposit then I'll accept it.

liz545

clutton wrote:

i believe it to be true that if you lose a ccj and payup within 7 days that the judgment does not appear on your record.

At the conclusion of our hearing against our former LL on friday, the judge granted him 28 days to pay, before he would get the CCJ on his record. Maybe at the discretion of the judge?

TJ27

The fact that she's a solicitor is probably something which is in your favour.

I've served legal notices on several solicitors, requiring them to upgrade their houses. If they fail to do so we are able to prosecute them. If they are found guilty of a criminal offence, they are not able to practice any more. We've prosecuted solicitor landlords and not only have they been fined, they've had to upgrade their properties anyway, and they've forfeited their careers.

I'm not a legal expert and I don't know if your landlady has done anything criminal. But if she has, and you threaten to take her to court, I think you'll find that she'll be only too willing to comply with your requests.