Disagreement with Letting Agency

trojan10_om

I am moving out of my rented place tomorrow. We have had an inspection, which went reasonably ok.
There are 2 problem areas which the agency want me to address
1
, Cutting the back lawn
2, Trimming the hedge

They say if I don't do either to their standard it will come out of my deposit.

However, I am 100% sure they are both in a better state now than they were when we moved in. Unfortunately I don’t have any photos as proof. However I specifically remember my lawnmower breaking on the weekend I moved in, after trying to cut back the knee high grass. I also remember not being able to fit my car in the front garden because of the overgrown hedge.

To my amazement the agency have produced printed photos of a neatly trimmed lawn and hedge dated the day we moved in. It was definitely not that neat on move in day, I suspect they have added the dates manually.

Can their dated photos be used as proof? I know they can’t possibly be accurate, but I have no evidence.

What shall I do? Its not an option for me to give in and cut it down, because my tools are in storage, and I’m at work each night until its dark.

Fire_Fox

If it says in your tenancy agreement to do the lawn and hedge that is what you should do, or pay a gardener to do it for you. Your personal circumstances are your own affair. It would be a lot less hassle to pay a mate in beer to sort the garden out than argue the photographs have been doctored IMO. Or the other part of 'we' could do it?

trojan10_om

It was not on the inventory, nothing outside was mentioned on in

Fire_Fox

According to you there are photographs, these form part of a thorough inventory and can be used as evidence. If it says in your tenancy agreement to do the lawn and hedge that is what you should do, or pay a gardener to do it for you.

Werdnal

Is you deposit protected> If so, file a dispute with the scheme the LL used and let them decide. The agent/LL will have to prove the start condition, and their photos will go a long way towards that, but they should allow you to contest with your own version of events. Sadly its a your word against theirs scenario and the scheme will be to mediate.

trojan10_om

Fire_Fox wrote: »

According to you there are photographs, these form part of a thorough inventory and can be used as evidence. If it says in your tenancy agreement to do the lawn and hedge that is what you should do, or pay a gardener to do it for you.

Yes they did produce photographs this week, but I have never seen them up until now. Surely anyone could use an old photograph and use photoshop or even MS Paint to add some basic text.

trojan10_om

Werdnal wrote: »

Is you deposit protected> If so, file a dispute with the scheme the LL used and let them decide. The agent/LL will have to prove the start condition, and their photos will go a long way towards that, but they should allow you to contest with your own version of events. Sadly its a your word against theirs scenario and the scheme will be to mediate.

Thank you, this is the kind of route I want to go down.

Although I have limited evidence, I genuinely know I am right and they are telling lies. So I would be prepared to fight and lose rather than to validate their lies.

Fire_Fox

trojan10_om wrote: »

Yes they did produce photographs this week, but I have never seen them up until now. Surely anyone could use an old photograph and use photoshop or even MS Paint to add some basic text.

As I said it would be a lot less hassle to pay a mate in beer to sort the garden out than argue the photographs have been doctored IMO. Or the other part of 'we' could do it?

paul1964_2

I would have thought that for a photograph to be of any relevence whatsoever, it would have to be included in an inventory that was agreed and signed by yourself.

As you say, a digital photo can easily be doctored. You could take a photo tomorrow and photoshop in the start date - just to show how meaningless their photographs are as evidence.