Deposit Return Issues - Private Rental

vickyf38

Firstly I hope this is in the right place!

I live in Scotland. I moved into a private rental flat which according to the letting agent had been 'deep cleaned' what ever that precisely means!

However the flat was anything but clean. It was covered in not only cobwebs but dirty cobwebs on walls and on the cabling from lights to ceiling. Carpets had not been hoovered and no dusting had been done, there were even cobwebs between the windows and blinds. It was pretty clear that there had been no deep clean.

When moving a piece of furniture to hoover and dust we came across a very damp wall (hidden behind the piece of furniture) and the wallpaper was coming away from the wall. The adjacent wall that was in the kitchen was also damp damaged due to a leak that the landlord had seemingly missed when bringing in a de-humidifier to dry under the sink!

I contacted the letting agent that same day and advised them of all this. They were disappointed that I did not find the property 'clean'.

I took pictures of the property and the lack of cleanliness and sent them in with a formal letter complaining which they said they would 'take into account' at the end of my tenancy.

5 months after moving into the property a date was set for the repairs to take place. I would have no kitchen facilities including no washing machine and could either stay in the property or move out for the duration of works and get a rent abatement. The works were scheduled from 11-20 May, on 26th when I left the property they works were still taking place which I was never advised of. During the works the men removed plaster and took it back to the brickwork causing a serious amount of dust as they never covered anything or opened windows. The letting agent are charging me for the mess the workmen left despite the fact that I cleaned the property when I left due to the works taking place? I have also not received my rent abatement for either the initial duration of the works or the full duration.

Am I responsible for cleaning the property after the workmen have finished?

Do I still have the right to rent abatement for the duration of the works as I was unable to have any kitchen facilities and had no option but to find other temp accommodation?

The letting agent have returned my deposit to me minus £30 for cleaning the property (obviously due to the workmen) but I do not see that I am responsible for the mess workmen leave?

I know this is a bit long but any advice would be appreciated.