Grr. Landlord withholding chunk of deposit unfairly

prudryden

Was it a professional independent inventory? And did you have your own inventory clerk present at the closing inventory/condition report. Remember, you are the plantive in any court claim, you have to provide the proof first that the inventory was incorrect. Only when you do that does the defendant have to prove their case.

dreamalittle

I'm not planning to attempt to prove the inventory incorrect, but that the costs he is claiming are excessive and not supported by the inventory. The initial inventory did miss a lot of things, particularly the filthy state of the kitchen, but I realise that we should have disputed this at the time.

prudryden

What are your plans to prove that the costs were excessive and not supported by the inventory. Were you or your appointed representatives present? If you were not offered the chance to be there, you may have something to start on. You may have to get some quotes from Professional Cleaning Companies. Some may give standard quotes without seeing the property first.

MrsTinks

cleaning is a grey area if you don't have any evidence. I would request specifics about what exactly requires further cleaning according to his cleaning company... He could just be following the advice of the inventory people and cleaning company... all trying to justify the charges he would have paid for them or will be. Inventory - anything missing offer to replace. You can do this a darned lot cheaper than they will - anything broken, well it can't be that serious if the total bill is only a few hundred (I used to be a lettings negotiator in a previous life) and I would want a FULL break down of materials cost and labour charges. Cleaning - again a full break down of what justifies the charges mentioned. Which area, costs and labour charges and what is to be carried out at that cost.
Not only that but I would recommend requesting for a company that you have appointed to go in and give a quote for comparison.
The only hitch might be if you had pets... then the property should be properly cleaned (at least any carpets and furniture) by a professional cleaner (and this should be stated in your rental agreement).

Good luck