check out of rented property

shazza144

ok bit weird this one we moved into a house 5 years ago it was brand new and we were the first tenants,
No inventory was done on the property now we have since left the property and expected some money to be taken from our deposit which we expected but have beeen told that no money will be returned to us mainly because of silly thing,

1 the washer dryer packed up 2 weeks before we had to move out we had someone round to fix who said not ciable to fix cheaper to buy new one as drive shaft had gone.

scratchs on unit next to cooker
limescale in 1 toilet (we live in a very hardwater area and very hard to stop all lime scale.
window sill has marks on it
ceiling hasscuff marks where boxs have been moved
a cap from a radiotor missing from when it srpung a leak and was fixed
bath plinth cracked was like it when we moved in
bins were full i told them bins dont get emptied till a friday once a fortnight and would return and put them out .
want me to replace the lawn even though when we moved in it had no lawn was just a patch of mud
we had 1 day to move out and because of this quickly cleaned and touched up the house and according to them will need redecorating due to use not using same color paint yet we paint matched and had a painter decorate house and he told us we wont get same color as paint on walls before was the first paint walls had seen and was the breatherbal paint that builders put on walls to soak into the plaster.

was then told even though we painted we didnt have permission to do so even though we have a letter saying must leave property in same standar we moved in.

ive agreed carpets need replacing as we live on a buidling site still and ofcourse dirt and mud will still get into property.

some weird marks kind of like damp patchs had appeared on a few walls and they want to charge us for this as well im kind of clued up on fair wear and tear but some of these things seems very petty..

matthorp

I would dispute everything on that list. Have you been given a breakdown of the charges per item? If the carpets are just a bit dirty then they can be cleaned instead of replaced. If they are worn then after 5 years I would expect that to come under the category of fair wear & tear.

However, if there was no signed inventory then I'm not sure they have a leg to stand on (somebody else will know far more about this than me).

A property that is 5 years old is never going to look the same as the day it was new!

AFK_Matrix

Hi there,

I am no expert and others can say more or correct me if I am wrong!!

Is your deposit in a protection scheme? If it is phone up the protection scheme and request for it to be returned to you asap. If the LL wants money off of you then you can raise a dispute with the arbitration department of the protection scheme. They will then look at what the LL is claiming and make a decision if this is fair or not. By the sounds of it if there is no check in inventory then it will go your way as they have no way of proving that all of what they say wasn't like that at the start of the tenancy!!!

You will get your deposit back and can then move on.

Benji

Walls, after 5 years the landlord would normally be looking at total re-painting. Wear and tear is not your problem.

Likewise, 'new house' carpet is likely to be low quality. After 5 years it will be on it's last legs. Wear and tear is not your problem.

Scratches on the ceiling? Brilliant while emulsion on a 'non smoker' ceiling is easily touch-up-able. Whilst the landlord may have a small claim for that (and I mean small) I personally wouldn't charge you - after all, the decorators for the walls will have white emulsion in the van!

Damp patches - well if the landlords problem is the staining - then it is covered by the redecoration he is responsible for.

If there was no lawn when you moved in (and none subsequently fitted by landlord), you have no obligation to leave a lawn (in any state)

Tumble dryer - what does the lease say about it? Even if it is your responsibility, you would not expect to pay more than 50% of the cost of a new one (probably closer to 30% if we work on a 7 year lifespan).

I would either follow matthorp's advice (the deposit is protected - yes?) or for a quicker solution, offer an ex-gratia payment of no more than £100 to the landlord. I think £100 would be fair for bins, scratches, radiator & cleaning.

shazza144

i just called the letting agents to say ill be putting in a dispute and that i was recording the call he got very very snotty said somethings and put phone down on me not very profeesional just had them give me a quick break down of costs £2000 whole house recarpeted carpets were in house when moved in cream carpets and builders stated all houses on estate got those at no cost to the buyer and are cheap as possible,

£2000 for redecorating whole house due to us touching up area's we felt needed it and this is not putting house back to original standard explain it would never go back to orginal as the paint on walls is builders paint what they class as breatherbal paint and is not classed as decorating paint

N79

matthorp wrote: »

However, if there was no signed inventory then I'm not sure they have a leg to stand on (somebody else will know far more about this than me).

If OP was the first occupier then there may be some sort of builders hand over inventory which a court may accept as a statement of the properties condition at the start.

AFK_Matrix wrote: »

Hi there,
Is your deposit in a protection scheme?

Benji wrote: »

(the deposit is protected - yes?)

As this tenancy has been for 5 years, the deposit would only need to have been protected if a new tenancy was signed after 06 April 2007.

shazza144

the deposit is with the dps but hasnt long been with them as we have changed letting agents 3 times and this is the first one we found out that had put our deposit in the dps

BitterAndTwisted

Contest every single deduction once you have received notification from them in writing of their intention to retain your deposit. Tell them that you intend to start a claim in court for its return. And do it. The onus of proof lies with the landlord and he will have to persuade the judge of how fair their deductions are.

One could argue that in a rental property the expected life of any carpeting (especially cream ones) and paintwork is five years or less and therefore a landlord could expect to have to replace the carpets and redecorate as a matter of course. A washer/dryer which the landlord provided is their responsibility to replace unless they can prove that you willfully misused it. If there was no lawn laid when you moved in they cannot expect you to pay for a new one to be laid.

It sounds to me like they are making things up as they go along. Don't stand for it!

BitterAndTwisted

Did any of the agents acting for your landlord carry out an inventory or inspection since your tenancy started? If so, you need sight of it.

That your deposit has been protected with DPS is a positive thing as it could save you the time and trouble of going to court.

shazza144

no ne has ever done a inventory on the house only the check out one all i keep being told is that it was a new house and as such didnt need a inspection but things were damaged when we moved in and alot of the verbal things from our landlord were taken as this is what would be done eg replacing the carpets with child friendlier carpets and removing the carpets from the bathrooms as not suitable with children who are potty training. they have no since added a new one when we moved in i was on benefits and as such found it very difficult to pay a monthly electric bill so asked could i have it changed was verbally agreed we could have key meter installed which we did now its been said we need to pay to have it changed back as we were given no written authority to have one istalled this estate agents is the biggest joke ive ever had to deal with

BitterAndTwisted

shazza144 wrote: »

no-one has ever done an inventory on the house only the check out one all i keep being told is that it was a new house and as such didn't need a inspection.

It doesn't matter what anyone has said. What does matter is what documentary evidence they have. No-one in their right mind would expect a property to be in as pristine a condition after five years of occupancy.


but things were damaged when we moved in and a lot of the verbal things from our landlord were taken as this is what would be done eg replacing the carpets with child friendlier carpets and removing the carpets from the bathrooms as not suitable with children who are potty training.

What things were damaged when you moved in?

they have no since added a new one when we moved in i was on benefits and as such found it very difficult to pay a monthly electric bill so asked could i have it changed was verbally agreed we could have key meter installed which we did now its been said we need to pay to have it changed back as we were given no written authority to have one installed this estate agents is the biggest joke ive ever had to deal with

To be fair, I think the charge for having a pre-pay meter removed is entirely reasonable. That was installed for your own convenience, not your landlord's. That you were on benefits is neither here nor there.

Do not enter into any discussion about the deductions with the agent other than in writing. Ask them now for an itemised list of all of their proposed deductions. Meanwhile you should get onto the DPS site and claim the whole of your deposit back immediately.