Problem with landlord - advice needed please

ConfusedFTB_4

Hi,

I'm hoping someone can let me know where my husband and I stand with the below.
I've been in my current rental property or over 6 years now (with a friend, then on my own and now with my husband) and we're due to move out on Saturday. The landlord has never been the easiest man to deal with, he's basically a bully, won't listen to anything you say, says everything wrong with the property is your fault and seems to hate women also. There are various little problems with the property, the floor tiles in the kitchen are cracked because they've been laid badly on an uneven surface (confirmed by a workman who once came to fix one of them) so after being stood on for 6 years they've just given in. The main problem however is damp, the house is like a sponge in winter, the outside facing walls are always wet through and this has caused damage to the interior, the wallpaper has discoloured and is coming off the walls in a number of areas (I won't mention the shoddy plasterwork it's revealed). The damp has also caused mould and this has effected our health as well as ruining some pictures and clothes that I've had to throw away. I've informed the landlord about the damp on numerous occassions since 2008 (naively I did all this over the phone as I didn't think he was such a ****), this year he sent a surveyor out who confirmed that the outside woodwork was rotting, the lintels were sagging and the mortar was coming out from between the bricks.

So, the landlord came round yesterday for his pre-moving out visit. His secretary told me this would be an opportunity for us all to walk around together and decide what needed to be done before we moved out. They turned up an hour early with a builder in tow, stood outside taking pictures, them came inside, and went straight upstairs to take pictures of 'the damage you've caused'. I raised the issue of the damp and he said there was no damp, I asked about the surveyor that came round and he had no recollection of it and said all the damage has been caused by us. He then went on to say if we didn't return the house to him in exactly the same condition as it had been when we moved in he'll be keeping my deposit and will bill us for any other work that needs doing and will also charge us extra rent. I mentioned the deposit protection scheme and his response was that he had his lawyers ready.

I really don't know what we can do, I was prepared to clean the property thoroughly, patch and paint any holes and clean the carpets etc but he's expecting us to rectify damage we haven't caused. I'm resigned to not getting the deposit back but I really can't afford to pay him anymore.

Does anyone know where we stand legally on this? The man scares me quite a lot and I can't deal with him as I just end up in tears but I want something solid to counter-act his bullying with.

Sorry for such a long post and thank you if you've managed to read to the end.

anselld

Is the deposit protected in a scheme?
Is there an inventory from start of tenancy?

Upstairs mould is more often than not due to poor insulation, heating and ventilation. It would first be for the LL to prove the state at start (using inventory) and you could challenge the state of repair (not helped by lack of reports in writing). Could go either way in court / arbitration.

Having said that, the LL in not entitled to new-for-old. So even if you are found liable for the mould damage the compensation must take account of the expected life of the decor. It is arguable that after 6 years any paint/ wallpaper decor has already exceeded it's useful life and is overdue for replacement as routine maintenance.

Assuming the deposit is in a scheme try to deal with it through their dispute process.

ruggedtoast

Make sure you take photos of the condition of the house when you move out. It would be difficult for him to prove you are liable for damage caused by damp, unless he is contesting that you never reported it. Apparently now he says there is no damp though?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but these things are best put in writing. It sounds like a grotty place to spend six years.

dancingfairy

As above really. What you should do is return it to the condition it was in when you took it over - you are not liable for problems with mortar etc etc.
Do you know who the surveyor was that came out? I wonder if you can get hold of them and get a copy of the results of his insepction?
Can you take pictures of any problems with the mortar and lintels? is this something that you could see from photos?
I don't know whethe you can get hold of a damp meter somewhere and take a photo of the reading outside?
Whether your depsoit is protected is vital - if it is you will undoubtedly need to lodge a dispute with them when you move out.
I'd check where it's held and start finding out what procedures you will need to follow.
If it's not registered (which it might not depending on when the last tenancy was agreed) - not sure how long the deposit thing has been in operation then you will have to resort to small claims action to get your money back. It's fairly cheapr (40 pounds ish?) and easy to do online and then it's up to the landlord to defend his position.
Just get as much evidence as you can to back up your position - oh and make sure all photos are time stamped etc.
Best of Luck
df

theartfullodger

Was the tenancy renewed at any time since you started?? Deposit protection laws worked from 6th April 2007 and if there was a signed tenancy after that date that changes how to problem should be handled..


Aslo, who are the named tenants on the tenancy??

He sounds most unpleasant: We don't want people like him in our country..

Artful (Landlord)

ConfusedFTB_4

Thank you to everyone who has replied. I'm kicking myself for not putting everything in writing...hindsight really is a wonderful thing. Our deposit should be protected, we have signed a new contract every year the most recent being in Feb 2011....I've previously been given details of which scheme it was under but didn't receive anything this year and I've checked the previous scheme and it has no record of us. I've asked the landlord for a copy of our recent tenancy agreement and details of which scheme our deposit is held under. Once this comes through I'm hoping we'll have a better idea of what we can do.

ConfusedFTB_4

Sorry, forgot to add, the tenancy is in both mine and my husband's name.

clutton_2

without a signed inventory when you moved in, the LL cannot easily prove the condition of the property on your move in. If he cannot do that, then he cannot prove the condition on your departure.