Deposit Dispute - I'm a tenant, do I have a right to dispute this...?

LuciusC11

Hi All.

I have recently checked out of my house. It was a new build, but we lived there for two years. Here is the landlords summary of the damage:

Two bedrooms upstairs - both rooms had a black mark the size a 10pence piece on the carpets. I could have scraped them up with a knife and sponge. Landlord has charged me £60 to get both carpets professionally cleaned - by carpet I mean the entire thing, on areas that didn't need it, yet I have been charged for the entire clean of both carpets. Can I claim that this is far too excessive, and that the landlord is just cleaning the carpets courtesy of me?

Scratches on living room paint, a couple of other patches in the living room that need a touch a paint, and the wall in the corner of the kitchen needs repainting. Landlord has charged for the entire repainting of both rooms, claiming that there will be a colour imbalance if the walls are just patched. I dispute this because I believe the colours merge once it has dried. Firstly, can I claim that this work is too excessive, and that the landlord is just getting his house redecorated on my expense? Secondly, must he have to back up his claim about needing to repaint the entire room with scientific evidence? I'm trying to be really picky, but it's quite a statement that surely needs backing up?

Living room carpet - failed to remove a stain after having it professionally cleaned (which I agreed was necessary), as a result, the entire carpet has been ripped up and replaced. Again, this is at my expense, and as you guessed, this was expensive, and infact I now OWE him money because he has used up all of my deposit. I particularly need to know if I have a chance of reclaiming my money here - yes, I agree there was a stain, and yes I agree that it probably didn't come out. However, the carpet cleaner said that it was dog urine, and it will not come out. Firstly, must the landlord be able to prove this claim? Secondly, I have read that an item can be expected to be replaced if it is damaged where it can no longer function for its intended use. This obviously isn't the case, the stain is the size of a dinner plate - please, if I have any rights here, or if there is anything I can say in my statement to DPS to put pressure on the landlord, I'd really need the advice.

It is worth noting that throughout the checking out procedure, he was keen to remind me that it was a new build, so his standards are much higher. I disagree with this, because we have lived there for two years, it is no longer a new build. Suppose we lived there for 10 years, would he still be reminding me that it was new when we moved in? Where do we draw the line? Also suppose that in those 2 years, 4 different tenants lived there for 6 month periods - when the 4th tenant left, would he have right to still claim it as a new build? My point is that it is irrelevant. Am I wrong here?

The House of Lords states that a landlord can not charge the tenant with repair work that brings the house back to it's original state prior to the tenant living there. Well, I believe this is exactly what he is doing. With this in mind, does it sound like I might have a case. to dispute?

It is also worth noting that we had a fall out 3 weeks prior to check out, over £30 that he tried to scam me out of, claiming that I would need to pay rent on a day that I didn't live there (I won't elaborate, but suffice to say he didn't get the £30) - I strongly believe that this is the reason for him taking all of my deposit from me. I believe that he has used all of his industry jargon about paint being unbalanced, and new build standards, to take my money.

Please please can someone tell me if I have a case, and what argument I can put forward.

Kind regards

Worriedmummy

Hello- is your deposit held in a secure scheme for example the DPS? If so why don't you give them a call and maybe they can advise on what's reasonable?
If it isn't in a secure scheme- then it should be.

00ec25

assuming you are in England/Wales then you register a dispute with whichever deposit scheme is holding your money - it is in a scheme right????

As it was a new build then one must assume that everything was brand new when you moved in. However the LL is not entitled to "betterment" and the LL is expected to make allowannces for "fair wear and tear" - therefore minor scuffs would be expected, even after "only" 2 years. Repainint an entire room is clealry excessive and depending on what your scheme advises even a few minor scuffs could be wear and tear and so not allowable at all

BUT clear damage is not wear and tear so the carpet damage is your responsibility but the LL cannot claim the full cost of a replacement carpet - he can only claim a portion of the cost - he must provide evidencne of the expected life of the orioginal carpet and can then claim 2/? of the cost of its replacement

Does the check in inventory have any references to condition, without evidence of condition the LL cannot sustain the basis of his claim when you dispute it through the scheme

LuciusC11

Thanks both. Yes, the deposit is protected within the DPS. Yes I'm in England.

The landlord said that he was overlooking some wear and tear, but this was said in a way which suggested that I was getting a good deal, as if he was doing me a favour.

00ec25, thanks for your input - can you elaborate more on how I don't have to pay for the entire carpet myself? Can I build an argument case for this?

There was an inventory - but I'm fairly sure there were no scuffs or anything listed.

What about my suggestion that professionally cleaning the entire upstairs rooms was excessive for what was required to remove the two marks? Same for the entire painting of the rooms? Does his claim for needing to bring the colours into harmony have any weight?

Again, really appreciated. It just feels like I have no rights here.

RAS

Hi

AS carpet has a life span - anythign from 2-10 years (for very high grade carpets in low use areas).

So if this was a decent carpet with a 5 year life expectancy, for example, then you have used 2 years of its life. So wear and tear is expected. Therefore if the carpet needs replacing, the tenant can only be liable for a maximum loss experienced by the LL - which is 60% of the value of the carpet that was being replaced. He cannot charge you for replacing a cheap carpet with an expensive one.

nikki1520

With the carpet, the landlord has to demonstrate his loss. So if it's a good quality carpet with an expected life of 10 years, by having to replace it he has lost 8/10th of a carpet (because you lived there for 2 years and he has had to replace it 8 years earlier than anticipated)

Obviously, replace the 10 with the actual expected life of the carpet. If it was a cheap roll carpet, then 5 would prabably be more appropriate

nikki1520

Ooops - cross posted with RAS, who has explained it really well

LuciusC11

Thanks all for the carpet explanation. Assuming he doesn't have any recents for the original carpet, who can fairly decide the life expectancy of the carpet? He could claim there were 7 years remaining, and I could disagree - who is right here, if he can't prove the standard of the original carpet?

RAS

What does the original inventory say?

00ec25

your deposit is with DPS - the LL has to provide evidence to them to support any amounts he claims as deductions , it is up to them to decide if they accept his supporting evidence

if you (or he) do not want to use the DPS arbitration service then you will have to sue him in court for unfair deductions and the judge will decide

pinkshoes

Do you have a signed inventory listing the state of all the walls and carpets?

RE: the marks on the carpet in the bedrooms, then yes, this is fair that the LL charges you to clean the entire carpet. If you professionally clean one bit, it will be really obvious! If you could have scraped the marks out, you should have done this yourself! Ohps...

RE: the lounge carpet, then you should pay a proportion of it. I'd ask to see an original receipt if he has one, and offer to pay say 60% of the cost of a new one, given a carpet in a rented house should last at least 5 years.

RE: the marks on the walls, then it is perfectly reasonable to expect the whole room to be painted. Again, this is something you should have perhaps done yourselves before moving out.