Landlord wanting to keep part of the deposit

star-gazer-666

Hi,



I have recently moved house and just carried out the final inspection with the landlord to be told that he will need to replace the glass hob due to a hairline crack on it. He has advised me that it will cost £240 and he is going to deduct it from my deposit.



I noticed this crack on the hob after 2 days of living in the flat, I contacted him about it as it was a new hob and I thought it may be under warrenty for any manufacturing flaws as I believe this is what caused it. It never crack while I was using it, I think it may have been when it was cooling. I never received any response from him in regards to this and he didn't even come out to see it. I put it on the inventory that was to be handed back to the letting agents at the end of the first week. And I have a copy of it too that claims the damage was there at the start of the tenancy.



When I handed in my notice the landlord insisted on doing an inspection before giving me a reference, he said everything was fine and would give me the reference, it was at this time, 10 months after I contacted him about the hob that he looked at it. He didn't say anything at this point about charging me for it. He then gave a reference to the letting agent for me to move into my new property.



When I handed the keys back to the letting agent, they were under the impression that the landlord had carried out the final inspection when he had given them the reference, and would release the cheque to me as he said everything was fine.



I received a text message from the landlord saying that he wanted to do a final check and take meter readings on the day my tenancy ended, so we arranged to meet today.



I arrived at the flat to find that his wife was waiting for me and he would be there shortly. He arrived and I found out they had conducted the inspection without me and that I was only asked to attend to agree the amount to be deducted.



This was when he told me it would need to be replaced and would cost £240, I told him I was unhappy as if he had came out when it had happened it could have been sorted then. If it was believed to have been my fault and not a flaw in the actual hob I could have claimed it off my contents insurance as accidental damages. He then said I should claim it anyway, I pointed out that my policy has been moved over to my new house and he said that it wouldn't matter I could still claim.



After leaving the flat I spoke with the letting agent and they have advised me that if I broke it I should pay for it, I still claim that I did not break it and I do not want to pay for it. They have advised that the deposit money is mine and they will hold it until we come to an agreement and they received a letter signed by both of us of how much should be paid to the landlord. I also found out that I can received a copy of the invoice for the repairs to make sure they are carried out as he has advised and that he also phoned the letting agents and told them he was still with me and that I agreed to the deduction.



I want to pursue the matter but I do not want to cause any problems that can affect any action I decide to take. Is it possible that some one can advise me on what to do next and how to do it. I really do not want to go through the small claims court. Should I get an independant contractor to look at the damage to advise on whether it was me of a manufacturing flaw that caused the crack? If it was due to me I would be happy to pay what my excess would have been if it had been repaired when I originally told him about it.

I also did some research on the type of hob to see if they are easily damaged and from the "Schott Ceran" website it seems that little short of me taking a hammer to it, it wouldn't break very easily.


Where do I stand with this and what can I do?

sandsni

Are you in England/Wales? If so, your deposit should be in a protected scheme and you should have been given all the details. Sadly deposit protection isn't legally required yet in Scotland or Northern Ireland (but I think it's due to become law in Scotland soon).

Was there a check-in inventory when you moved in stating the condition of the hob? Also, when you contacted the LL about the crack, did you put it in writing or do you have any record of it? It would be useful if you had some proof the hob was cracked when you moved in, but equally the LL needs to have proof that the hob WASN'T cracked when you moved in.

dimbo61

You stated that the hob had a crack in it when you moved in ( check in inventory so the landlord is trying it on.
Ask for your FULL deposit back now from the DPS that the deposit was placed in.
Make it clear to the LA that you do not accept any deductions for a hob which was cracked when you moved in.

moromir

star-gazer-666 wrote:

I also found out that I can received a copy of the invoice for the repairs to make sure they are carried out as he has advised and that he also phoned the letting agents and told them he was still with me and that I agreed to the deduction.

Just a very minor quibble - at least under the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (I dont know about the other 2 schemes) there is absolutely no requirement for the landlord to produce an invoice to prove the work has been carried out, infact there is no requirement for the landlord to even have the work carried out let alone prove it.

It might be easier to think of any deduction as compensation for the landlord's losses due to damage.

However, you say you've noted the crack on the inventory that was returned to the agent? (presumably you returned this swiftly at the start of your tenancy? Ie not months later?) so I'd wager you're pretty well covered and get started on lodging your dispute with whichever scheme your deposit is with!

star-gazer-666

I am in Scotland, and currently the letting agents will hold the deposit until the 2 of us come to an agreement over who gets what. They pretty much told me they will hold it forever if needs be but do not get involved due to the type or arrangement the LL had with them.

It wasn't there when I moved in, and not on the inventory that they gave me, but it appeared after living there for 2 days and only using the hob once. I wrote it on the inventory along with a cracked window pane and gave it to the letting agent within 7 days of moving in. We all have copies of it.

I then texted him as he wasn't answering the phone and I never heard back from him, but when he came out for the inspection just before i moved out he knew about the crack and that is what he wanted to inspect. 10 months after i contacted him.

I have also received an email from the manufacturer stating they are indestructable so "knocking it with a pan" as he claims I must have done would not cause that damage. It is a fault and he should have contacted the supplier of the product for a replacement.

I was considering offering him half of what he is asking to get it over and done with but I feel i shouldn't have to pay anything as it was his fault it was left for so long.

tbs624

OP you say that you don't want to go via the Sheriff Court but if you cannot reach agreement with the LL then that is your only option if you don't want to give in to his proposed deduction.

You did the right thing by flagging up the crack in the hob at the start of the tenancy - the LL/LA was foolish not to have checked it at the time, not least from a safety viewpoint.

rpc

Letter before action, note that the crack was listed on the check-in inventory (you could include a copy) and instruct them to return your deposit in full within 7 days.

If they won't see it your way and you won't agree to the deduction (you shouldn't) then court is probably the way to go. If you don't want to go to court then you need to accept that if they want to keep your money then they can. Only a court can compel them to return the deposit.

star-gazer-666

I have heard from the Citizen Advice and the landlord doenst have a legal leg to stand on thanks to the inventory, they are about to begin negotiations on my behalf of full deposit back or court action.

Hopefully it wont lead to court action, but it turns out i have a really strong case