Ridiculous Deposit charges-Help!!!

anyarella

Upon requesting the return of the deposit, my landlord presented me with ridiculous charges for administrative costs in chasing up utility companies at £100 per company, totalling £300 (electric/water/council tax).
There is no clause in the tenancy agreement, which obligates me as a tenant to provide the landlord with final bill statements. I moved abroad when I moved out and paid the final bills over the phone, so I didn't have a paper trail and I didn't have time to chase them up for her convenience. All bills were paid in full, in due time and I have rang up each company asking if there was any correspondence between themselves and my landlord to substantiate the landlord's claim. The answer was 'no' in each case, and as far as I know it is not standard practice for utility companies, if the bill is unpaid, to chase up the landlord, rather than the account holder. Thus the landlord cannot impose such charges? Am I right in thinking all of the above?

The next issues concerns dispute over the sofa and the fact that it has a slightly dented armrest. The landlord claimed that I have damaged the sofa and wished to replace it with a brand new leather sofa, initially pricing the top cost at £300. She refuted my argument that the sofa was in that condition when i moved in, as I did not have pictorial evidence to support it. The invertory which I signed just stated 'two seater black sofa-cleaned'. There was no mention of the condition. She also refuted my argument of fair wear and tear. (The whole apartment block has this particular sofa and everyone has the same problem with the armrests, the foam inside just melts away). Of course this didn't matter to the landlord e-mailed me saying is charging £449 for a new sofa.Managed to do some detective work and the apparently damaged beyond use sofa is still in the apartment,in the same condition, being used by the new tenant. Isn't what the landlord doing falls under 'betterment' or do I misunderstand something?Also if the landlord uses deposit money for a new sofa, the old sofa belongs to me right?

I am a conscientious tenant, the place was left sparkling (in much better shape than received and I have pictorial evidence of this), with absolutely no damage, and therefore I am obviously not prepared to pay for any of the charges.

My deposit is protected by a scheme; I believe it's an insurance-based one. I will now start the claim process and wanted to ask for any advice on the constructing the claim and what my chances are in getting my deposit back in full.

And finally, I moved out of the property 3 weeks before the end my tenancy (the full moths rent was paid). The landlord was fine about and aware of that fact. A new tenant moved in 2.5 weeks before the end of my tenancy. In correspondence it was agreed that the landlord were to reimburse me the rent for that time, as in essence she was getting double. She has now conveniently forgot about this. Where do I stand?

RAS

Which country (England, WaLES ETC) WERE YOU IN?

The landlord can only charge rent to one person, so she owes you for the other weeks.

G_M

RAS wrote: »

Which country (England, WaLES ETC) WERE YOU IN?

The landlord can only charge rent to one person, so she owes you for the other weeks.

My deposit is protected by a scheme;

So clearly Eng/Wales. Follow the dispute/ arbitration process. The admin charges for utility stuff will be awarded in your favour.

You're right about 'betterment'. Assuming you damaged the sofa (which is open to debate since the original condition is not described), and assuming a new one costs £300, then how old was it? Assume a 10 year life-span. If the sofa was 5 years old you could only be charged £150.

Do you have written proof of
a) the agreement the LL would reimburse rent?
b) the date your tenancy ended (eg Fixed Term on your tenancy or your Notice letter if Periodic)
c) the date th new tenant moved in?

LL cannot charge double rent so should refund you if you have evidence.

anyarella

UK, the tenancy agreement was under UK law.

anyarella

G_M wrote: »

Do you have written proof of
a) the agreement the LL would reimburse rent?
b) the date your tenancy ended (eg Fixed Term on your tenancy or your Notice letter if Periodic)
c) the date th new tenant moved in?

LL cannot charge double rent so should refund you if you have evidence.

a) Yes, I have written confirmation in an e-mail.
b)I moved out 3 weeks before the end of tenancy,LL was notified in advance, it wasn't a problem since the rent was paid in full. LL was notified of the exact date I moved out.
c)I know the exact date the new tenant moved in, can gain written confirmation, maybe even a copy of their tenancy contract.

RE sofa, even if in worse case scenario LL can prove that I damaged the sofa,and it's considered damaged beyond repair and use, would it matter that LL is letting the new tenant use that sofa, is LL obliged to use sum deducted from my deposit due to damaged sofa for actually doing just that-buying a new sofa? LL can't take the money and go on holiday with it right?

RAS

E-mail is not written proof. Better than nothing but do you have written proof of any of this?

anyarella

RAS wrote: »

E-mail is not written proof. Better than nothing but do you have written proof of any of this?

I would have to disagree, I believe e-mail correspondence is admissible form of evidence. Why do you assert that e-mail is not written evidence?

RAS

The courts like written communications because

e-mail can be altered
You can prive receipt of letters, but generally not of e-mails.

DVardysShadow

anyarella wrote: »

UK, the tenancy agreement was under UK law.

But where in the UK? Scottish and NI law are different for tenancies and many many issues. Welsh law also differs from English but to a lesser extent, generally not including tenancies. So it is important to know the answer to apply the correct laws.

anyarella

RAS wrote: »

The courts like written communications because

e-mail can be altered
You can prive receipt of letters, but generally not of e-mails.

Unfortunately I only have e-mail correspondence, still better than just verbal agreement. Next time will put any terms discussed in an e-mail in writing and get LL to sing it. There seemed no reason with this LL as she was perfectly pleasant, saying I was the most conscientious tenant she had and as soon as I left the country she flipped.

anyarella

DVardysShadow wrote: »

But where in the UK? Scottish and NI law are different for tenancies and many many issues. Welsh law also differs from English but to a lesser extent, generally not including tenancies. So it is important to know the answer to apply the correct laws.

English law, I assume the Housing Act applies then?