Problem with landlord.....

Orville

Hi.

I moved out of my flat on the 28th May. The flat is managed by a local estate agents. When i moved in i managed to get the deposit paid by the council under the rent deposit scheme.

Now when i moved out i knew there would be a "check out" inspection done by the estate agents on the condition of the property. This is done so the property is left in the same condition as it was when i first moved in. The inspection was done on the 29/05/11 and i was sent an invoice for £125 dated 07/06/11. Fair enough as i knew there would be a few things that needed attention, however some of the things i thought would need doing wern't listed on the inspection, so i put this down to them putting it under wear and tear etc...

I have now had a phone call today from the agent saying that since the inspection they done and signed off, the landlord has gone round and done his own inspection and wants extra work doing and as a result he isn't happy to release the rest of the funds back to the council until this is done The deposit was £500.

My argument is that i should not have to pay as he sould have inspected the property before the agents did and then raised his concerns on the day they did the checkout. Can he go round the property after the estate agents have done the checkout and invoiced me for works they have deemed need doing and say he wants stuff doing too. I thought that the whole point of him instructing the agents was to give them the power to handle the whole process.

Doozergirl

If you admit that there was work that needed doing that you are liable for then it's pretty fair that you pay it, is it not?

If the LL can prove the condition before and after you moving in/out then he's within his rights to deduct for damage.

Orville

Doozergirl wrote: »

If you admit that there was work that needed doing that you are liable for then it's pretty fair that you pay it, is it not?

If the LL can prove the condition before and after you moving in/out then he's within his rights to deduct for damage.

there is no damage, it mainly relates to scuff marks from a settee against a wall and a splash mark by the wall next to the sink. I could not clean these as the paint would have come straight off. The place was inspected by the agents and they at the time must have deemed this to be wear and tear as it wasn't on the invoice they sent over a week later...

InkZ

How long had you been there? The longer the better for wear and tear etc.

Orville

InkZ wrote: »

How long had you been there? The longer the better for wear and tear etc.

It was exactly a year, myself and my son.

i find it hard to believe that an estate agent can come round a property, do a check out inspection then invoice you for works needing to be done only to get another member of staff go round again weeks later and say more stuff needs doing. Surely something is wrong there.?.

BitterAndTwisted

Has the landlord given you an itemised list of the additional things he intends to charge for? Examine that list and dispute anything you believe is fair wear and tear rather than damage. To be honest, scuff-marks on walls sounds like damage to me and I think it would fair to charge you a REASONABLE amount for it. Not the total cost of any repainting, mind you.

jjlandlord

Orville wrote: »

do a check out inspection then invoice you for works needing to be done

They can't 'invoice' you. What they can do is propose deductions to your deposit.
If you agree all is fine, if you don't a dispute can be raised before the deposit protection scheme.

Orville

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Has the landlord given you an itemised list of the additional things he intends to charge for? Examine that list and dispute anything you believe is fair wear and tear rather than damage. To be honest, scuff-marks on walls sounds like damage to me and I think it would fair to charge you a REASONABLE amount for it. Not the total cost of any repainting, mind you.

No.

The landlord does not deal with it. He uses an estate agent. It is them who has handled it.

Orville

jjlandlord wrote: »

They can't 'invoice' you. What they can do is propose deductions to your deposit.
If you agree all is fine, if you don't a dispute can be raised before the deposit protection scheme.

Well what happened was they did the checkout inspection. The lady from the estate agents then phoned me up and said what needed doing which i was fine with. She said she would get quotes in and then send me an invoice for the works needing to be done. Around the 7/06/11 i received a letter from them containing the invoice for £125 which i was fine with. As far as i was concerned the money would be deducted from the deposit and the rest given back to the council. The council would then contact me at some point in the future requesting me to pay the £125 shortfall.

Today is when i get a call saying the landlord has since done his own inspection and wants more work done to which she agrees with. i don't see how this can be possibile as i have already had a final inspection and invoice done. It is what he pays the agents to do. in theory he could put scuff marks on all the walls and say i have done this and get the flat decorated for nothing....

BitterAndTwisted

Until you have seen an itemised list from the landlord of the additional deductions, you have no way of knowing whether they are reasonable or not. Ask for sight of this list.

What I would do is get onto the deposit-protection scheme's website and claim the whole of your deposit back. If the agent or the landlord they represent wish to make any deductions you dispute them and go through the arbitration process. Then, both parties (LL and agent) will have to provide documentary evidence to the arbitrators of any deductions they wish to make.

Orville

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Until you have seen an itemised list from the landlord of the additional deductions, you have no way of knowing whether they are reasonable or not. Ask for sight of this list.

What I would do is get onto the deposit-protection scheme's website and claim the whole of your deposit back. If the agent or the landlord they represent wish to make any deductions you dispute them and go through the arbitration process. Then, both parties (LL and agent) will have to provide documentary evidence to the arbitrators of any deductions they wish to make.

Can i do that, as the deposit is not mine, it was paid by the council....