Work carried out using part of our deposit money

tryingtocutback

Thank you to those that helped

jjlandlord

tryingtocutback wrote: »

We are agreeable to some of this but wondered what the process was in terms of ensuring the work is done and they don't just pocket the money from our deposit.

The deductions are to compensate the landlord for the damages you caused.
There is no obligation for the landlord to carry out any work/repair with the money.

tryingtocutback

Thank you to those that helped

DVardysShadow

It is no concern of yours whether the work is done. Supposing [and not for 1 minute thinking] that you had put a big iron burn in the middle of the lounge carpet, the Landlord is entitled to replacement of the lounge carpet at its current value. So suppose

• it costs £250 at the same quality
• it is reasonable to expect it to last 5 years
• it is in fact 3 years old

you can expect to pay £100. The Landlord is not entitled to replace old with new at your expense.

Now if the Landlord is to replace the carpet, he has to fork out his own £150, which he might not want to immediately if he was expecting to replace it in 2 years time. It is his choice as to whether to rent the property out with the carpet burn in place and take the hit on achievable rental or to replace.

What matters is whether or not a deduction is justified by the difference between entry and exit inventories, allowing for fair wear and tear and whether the amount claimed is justified, given the age of items.

BitterAndTwisted

It doesn't matter whether the cleaning is actually done or not, the issue is whether the charge for it is justified. It's justified if the landlord can prove that the property was less clean on check-out than it was when the tenancy started. Does the landlord have any such proof? What are the other outstanding items?

tryingtocutback

Thank you to those that helped

jjlandlord

tryingtocutback wrote: »

Who mentioned damage? There is no damage - they want some extra cleaning done (so they say).

It does not matter. What I meant is that if the property is not returned in the same condition (minus fair wear and tear) as you got it you are liable for compensation to make it up.

The landlord is free to do what he pleases with that money.

tryingtocutback wrote: »

Its cleaner than when we moved in.

Then just dispute their proposal.
Is the deposit protected in a scheme? Do you have inventories/schedule of conditions?

poppysarah

tryingtocutback wrote: »

Its cleaner than when we moved in.

We think they are working a scam - they took the deposit from the last people too and didnt do any work with it.

Thanks.

Can you prove it was cleaner?
Dispute it.

evoke

There are some outstanding items like cleaning etc. We are agreeable to some of this...

Jeez.

Just pay up and move on.

tryingtocutback

Thank you to those that helped