Landlord & deposit / rent

BeardedWonder

Very pleased to come to the end of a 12 month tenancy with a landlord who's professionalism left a lot to be desired.

Our contract states we didn't pay a deposit. He's "old school", doesn't like all this DPS scheme so asked for first and last month rent when signing up. We were warned i guess..

As per agreement we have not paid last months rent. He has queried why this has been witheld and I explained the above.

Now he gets very agitated saying that the original payment was a deposit and he needs it for any potential damages etc. Again i re-iterate that we haven't paid a deposit.

He gets quite threatening at this point saying he'll make us pay if anythings wrong. Now, flat is clean & tidy. Only issue is bathroom poorly ventilated and damp built up on ceiling despite our best efforts.

I'm worried he's going to try and pin something on us.
Can we be held liable for any "damages" having not paid a deposit?

G_M

Did you get anything in writing? A receipt? Did it say rent? Deposit?

He cannot have it both ways:

either this was payment of two months rent in advance, in which case you do not pay the last two months

or it was a deposit, in which case he is breaking the law by not protecting it.

I would call his bluff - just ask him if the deposit is protected. If/when he says 'no' you say 'so it is not a deposit, it is rent'.

Clearly he is unprofessional and unpredictable. Change the locks, just for you own peace of mind in these last weeks. £5 for a new barrel + 10 minutes with a screwdriver. See here how. KEEP the old barrel and replace it when you leave.

BeardedWonder

Just venting now but other issues we've had to deal with from him

• turned up several times without phoning ahead to give notice. Including one memorable night when my mum died and my gf was at home...
• "claimed that he was not covered by his own contract:

§ In the instance of changing to a rolling contract after 12 months AND
§ In the instance of not accepting a deposit, instead taking two months rent in advance (one for the first month, one for the final month of renting)


When is showed him his contract he says "oh, i don't like this" eh?! It's yours!

• Never cleaned communal area as per terms
• Tried to get us to pay for a broken TV aerial on the basis that previous tenants paid for it by having sky. Nice try!
• tried to get us to pay for his shower which broke 3 times
• Tried to pin me down to another 12 moth contract after living there for 4 months. When i told him it would revert to a rolling contract he said i was "selfish, only thinking about myself"

When we moved in the following was broken: tv aerial, all window locks, burglar alarm, doorbell, blinds.

Phew! Rant over!

BeardedWonder

G_M wrote: »

Did you get anything in writing? A receipt? Did it say rent? Deposit?

He cannot have it both ways:

either this was payment of two months rent in advance, in which case you do not pay the last two months

or it was a deposit, in which case he is breaking the law by not protecting it.

I would call his bluff - just ask him if the deposit is protected. If/when he says 'no' you say 'so it is not a deposit, it is rent'.

Clearly he is unprofessional and unpredictable. Change the locks, just for you own peace of mind in these last weeks. £5 for a new barrel + 10 minutes with a screwdriver. See here how. KEEP the old barrel and replace it when you leave.

Contract clearly says "deposit paid: N/A"

Trust that's ok?

jjlandlord

BeardedWonder wrote: »

Can we be held liable for any "damages" having not paid a deposit?

Of course you can!
A deposit is just there as a security to help the LL recover compensation for any damage, etc.
If there is no deposit LL would have to ask you to pay compensation and to go to court should you not.

BeardedWonder

The flathas been well kept. There's not even wear and tear really and only issues is through his negligence with a slight damp issue. This was reported to him and he's done nowt. My gf had to chuck a load of clothes which got damp from a cupboard.

Given that it relates to the exterior of the can't charge us for that though surely?

G_M

BeardedWonder wrote: »

Contract clearly says "deposit paid: N/A"

Trust that's ok?

So have you got a receipt for the double rent? What if he claims you never paid it? If so, what does the receipt say?

Yes, you are still liable for damage - just means he'd have to ask you to pay and take you to court instead of deducting from deposit.

Did you sign an inventory when you moved in? Did it record the broken " tv aerial, all window locks, burglar alarm, doorbell, blinds"?

Damp? Caused by....? Could be your lifestyle eg not ventilating and hanging washing to dry inside?

Communal area? Shared with who? He doesn't live in the same property does he?

BeardedWonder

G_M wrote: »

So have you got a receipt for the double rent? What if he claims you never paid it? If so, what does the receipt say?

Yes, you are still liable for damage - just means he'd have to ask you to pay and take you to court instead of deducting from deposit.

Did you sign an inventory when you moved in? Did it record the broken " tv aerial, all window locks, burglar alarm, doorbell, blinds"?

Damp? Caused by....? Could be your lifestyle eg not ventilating and hanging washing to dry inside?

Communal area? Shared with who? He doesn't live in the same property does he?

I wish you could see the flat!
Contract confirms double rent.

No inventory signed. Nothing to record all the broken items, we were led to believe everything was in good order which it turns out it wasn't.

Damp caused in bathroom by poor ventilation Landlord acknowledged this and agreed to carry out work to fix. He didn't. One wall off flat is the exterior which is were some other damp originated. Home-owning neighbour put this down to large exterior wall.

Shared entrance and stairwell. Generally many but aforementioned neighbour does clean, even though he has mithered landlord to do so.

Really, the place is spotless. We've done everything we can to keep this place nice, shame LL didn't have the same enthusiasm.

We take our shoes off when we come in. LL happy to trapse mud though on the beige carpets!

We've rented for 12 years and never had any issues. We're worried about being swindled by an aggressive landlord who pays little interet in the law or contracts hes signed.

G_M

BeardedWonder wrote: »

I wish you could see the flat!
Contract confirms double rent. What is the precise wording?

No inventory signed.then the LL cannot prove you have broken anything, or left it dirtier than you found it. Nothing to record all the broken items, we were led to believe everything was in good order which it turns out it wasn't.

Damp caused in bathroom by poor ventilation ??? you mean there is no window and no extractor fan? Landlord acknowledged this and agreed to carry out work to fix. He didn't. One wall off flat is the exterior which is were some other damp originated. Home-owning neighbour put this down to large exterior wall.

Shared entrance and stairwell. Generally many but aforementioned neighbour does clean, even though he has mithered landlord to do so.

Really, the place is spotless. We've done everything we can to keep this place nice, shame LL didn't have the same enthusiasm.

We take our shoes off when we come in. LL happy to trapse mud though on the beige carpets!

We've rented for 12 years and never had any issues. We're worried about being swindled by an aggressive landlord who pays little interet in the law or contracts hes signed.

When you leave, take photos of every room. Close up photos of kitchen surfaces, oven, cooker, fridge etc.
Invite a friend round who can act as witness is necessary.

But without an inventory the LL has no real case.

And if the wording about double rent is clear, then not much he can do about that either.