Rental Check Out Inspections

abaxas

Just move out and post (recorded delivery) them then keys.

If they do a check afterwards, it wasnt you who stole the washing machine.

sharpee

Ok so its been 9 days since we moved out.

On the last day of tenancy I returned the keys to the LA, I made sure I got a photocopy of the keys and signed and dated by the LA as proof they had received them.

The day after I sent a letter to LL with all the details of meter readings, informing him we had paid all or final bills, redirected our post etc.

We have sent several requests for a time and date for the check out inspection but the LL is ignoring these requests.

How long do we have to wait before we can claim our deposit back from you deposit scheme?

Oh and where to we stad with regards to such a long time between the endof our tenancy and the inspection Obviously with all the rain the garden will not be in the state we left it etc

BitterAndTwisted

Just get onto the deposit-protections scheme's website and request the return of the whole of your deposit immediately.

Agents often contract out the check-out inspection to a firm or freelancer, so they often aren't in a position to confirm precisely when it will take place.

As long as you've left the property in the same condition as at the start of your tenancy, and you can prove it, you shouldn't have to suffer any deductions. If they attempt to claim any deductions you can dispute them if they are unjustified or unreasonable.

tbs624

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

As long as you've left the property in the same condition as at the start of your tenancy, and you can prove it, you shouldn't have to suffer any deductions. If they attempt to claim any deductions you can dispute them if they are unjustified or unreasonable.

If the LL wishes to make a deposit retention then it is for the LL to prove that the Ts have not returned the property in the same condition as that agreed at the start of the tenancy , save for FW&T.

sharpee

Ok so have finally heard back from our LL.

Depsite 8 written reqests for him to let us know time & date of check out inspection so we could attend he has had it carried out without informing us.

He is know asking lots of questions about the carpet cleaning company we used as we didn't use the one he wanted us to use. Main reason we didn't is because he only told us 6 working days before the tenancy end date and the sad company couldn't do it at such short notice!

So its now been just over 2 weeks, can we now contact my deposit to claim bck our deposit? It is stated in our cntract that we shoud be given the opportunity to attend the check out. Oh and we are expected to pay for it, don't see why we should as we weren't given the chance to attend!

I think that due to the fact he has comletely ignored our requests to attend the check out, he did acknowledge our request in an email stating he would let us know, that he is planning on trying to retain most our deposit.

There is no reason for him to do this and we do feel he is being unfair as duing our tenancy we had both dormer windows leaking into 3 of the bedrooms and scaffolding up on the property for a few months, limiting us on the use of en-suites, the garden etc. And we never complained to him about the lenght of time of the repairs! Wish we had now!

BitterAndTwisted

One: If you haven't already, get onto the deposit-protection scheme's website and claim the whole of your deposit back now.

Two: WRITE to the landlord and explain that you attempted to engage their preferred contractor to undertake the carpet-cleaning but they were not available, so you made other arrangements. Keep a copy of your letter for future reference. As long as the carpets were no dirtier at check-out than check-in, the landlord won't be able to claim any of your deposit.

Three: It is quite commonplace for the landlord to pay for the check-in inspection and the departing tenants to pay for the check-out. There is nothing definitely sinister about that. What is important is the documentary evidence.

Four: "Should be given the opportunity" is a million miles away from "shall" or "will".

sharpee

Anyone dealt with My deposites? I'm wondering if the processis different from the TDS scheme as My Deposites don't retain the deposit the LL does.

Also reading their guidance notes it infers that if you use them for the dispute process and you don't agree with their decision you can't then take it to court?

DizzyDasher

Did they give you a good quality inventory when you moved in, and did you sign it?

If you still haven't had any indication of any retentions I would do as suggested above and apply to the scheme (and if you want to be polite drop a line to the agency saying you assume after all this time they would have let you know of any problems by now, so you're getting on with the process).

That will at least shake the tree. But don't forget they can't charge for fair wear and tear or betterment (I believe a requirement to clean the carpets professionally is not actually enforceable: the carpets are sufficiently clean or they're not - it doesn't matter who did it - I think there are some guidelines somewhere on the OFT website on what is and is not reasonable?). And they obviously can't charge you for any damage done by their own works or roof leaks etc. If they try you will presumably have a very strong case (and it sounds like probably you will have some e-mail or other records of this work taking place that you could provide to the deposit scheme if needed?)

But maybe nothing bad will happen: and if you haven't damaged anything then they will in the end have to return your deposit in full, so try not to worry too much. I know it's frustrating, but they may just be disorganised.

tbs624

sharpee wrote: »

Anyone dealt with My deposites? I'm wondering if the processis different from the TDS scheme as My Deposites don't retain the deposit the LL does.

Also reading their guidance notes it infers that if you use them for the dispute process and you don't agree with their decision you can't then take it to court?

Yes, mydeposits is a non custodial scheme, but then so is TDS. It's the DPS that is the custodial one and the other two are insurance backed: there is no less protection for you because of that.

How the insurance backed schemes operate is that the LL/LA holds the deposit monies for the duration of the tenancy, and on tenancy end you and the LL should try to reach agreement on any proposed deductions. Any amount that is not in dispute must be returned to the T pronto and the amount that *is* disputed is then transferred to mydeposits. Yes, if you and the LL agree to use the mydeposits arbitration then their decision is binding upon both parties.

Sharpee - don't make this harder work for yourself than it needs to be.
Each of the scheme's websites has full info for both Ts and LLs -granted you have to trawl through the site to find some info that could be more easily accessible[edit:but] the info is all there. If you have plenty of time you can read through lots of previous case studies which are available here:

Just get on the site and apply for your deposit to be returned, as B&T has already suggested, and then take it from there. Come back here if you have any queries about what happens at the next stage.

sharpee

Thanks Guys for your advice I will do.