Initial inspection/inventory and end of tenancy inspection

Piggywig75

Hi.
Following on from my earlier thread about problems with our landlord, I was curious to know how an initial inspection and end of tenancy inspection relate to the final disputes etc of the deposit?
When we signed contracts we were basically whizzed around the house, landlord pointing out various items that belonged to her such as lampshades/blinds and cupboards etc in the kitchen...
It was only when we settled in and noticed various things such as poor paint work, grime in the cooker, back French doors had a broken hinge and couldn't be secured properly and a some other faults with appliances which were later detailed and explained in letter to her.
The final inspection was extremely detailed and points were raised as to the trees had not been cut? a weed growing by the bin in the garden and some (in my view) insulting and sarcastic remarks about the cleanliness of a skirting board and patch of mold (which I bleached and reported sealant needed replacing some months before, to which I was told to do it myself?
The house was certainly not pristine when we moved in, but as the landlord was 8 months pregnant and a lone parent I sympathized and did some cleaning myself (my mum cleaned the cooker for us)
My long winded point (sorry lol) is, how can both inspections be treated as a final estimation of what work she would need to put in?? I've been told by someone who is in the letting business that initial and end should be carried out in the same way?

RAS

Piggywig75 wrote: »

sarcastic remarks about the cleanliness of a skirting board and patch of mold (which I bleached and reported sealant needed replacing some months before, to which I was told to do it myself?

Do you have any correspondence to back this up?

RAS

Did she reply to the letter?

Which country are you in? E&W or Scotland?

Which scheme is the deposit with?

sooz

I hope the figure has a typo, & it's not a £9000+ deposit!

What is the amount, & why do you feel it's wasted? Is this the whole deposit or the check out fee?

Which scheme is your deposit protected in?

Piggywig75

My deposits.

RAS

The law in Scotland is vastly different to the law in England and Wales. Which country - we cannot advise properly until you tell us.

Keep all the coreespondenece as this is evidence that things were not as per the inventory.

G_M

If your deposit is with My Deposits I assume you are in Eng/Wales - but please confirm.

Unless I missed it you do not say what happened after you "whizzed around the house, landlord pointing out various items that belonged to her such as lampshades/blinds and cupboards etc in the kitchen..."
Did you actually sign an inventory?

If yes, then this is the baseline against which any defects/losses etc will be assessed at check out.

In a dispute, obviously it is easier for the adjudicator if the inspections " initial and end should be carried out in the same way? ", but there is no requirement for this.

The adjudicator will make a decision as best he can on the evidence presented to him.

This could include the letter you sent, although if you signed an inventory that will cary more weight.

I fail to see where the wasted £9170 comes in. You've paid rent for 12 months and had somewhere to live for 12 months. Where's the waste? all that is at stake is the amount you may be charged for damage (either from the deposit or in addition to it), so throwing ing in a £9K figure is just absurd.

G_M

Piggywig75 wrote: »

I had such a pleasant experience with my previous landlord who returned my full deposit without a joint inspection and even compensated me for leaving the property a week early to move a new tenant in. I guess she was one in a million!

Why do you say that? Perhaps your current landlord is 'one in a million'?

G_M

The LL has a duty to maintain the property and repair (certain) items.

Enforcement of repairs is a matter best done by following the correct enforcement process during the tenancy. If attempts to do so have been undertaken (and by definition this can be proved by the associated paper trail), but have been unsuccesful, then the LL is unlikely to be able to make deductions from the deposit.

It comes down to a question of evidence. Can the LL prove the tenant caused the damage? Can the tenant prove the damage was already there, or was a repairing /maintenance failure by the LL?

may_fair

Piggywig75 wrote: »

Fridge, French doors onto the garden, spa bath, a fault with the cooker, dishwasher and tv aerial was broken and we couldn't use our freeview and had to have sky box. None of this was disclosed during our initial inspection and inventory

I trust that you now realize that it's essential to fully inspect a property before entering into a rental contract, and that you can't rely on the LL to voluntarily alert you to problems.

The LL has certain repairing obligations under s.11 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (which include doors and baths), but no statutory obligation to fix kitchen appliances or TV aerials, so if you want LL to be liable for such things you must ensure that this is specified in the tenancy contract.

See this link for how to deal with disrepair when the LL doesn't comply with his obligations:

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/repairs_in_private_lets