Letting agency wont return deposit

TAZ

i am sure if you ask your question on the following website you would get lots of advice, i have read the site and the way your landlord is dealing with the carpet issue is the way it is usually done but they say that 5 years is the maximum lengh they say a carpet lasts in a rental.


might be worth your while have a read of it.


http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3

real1314

Coopster wrote: »

[QUOTE=Silercar....Does that mean you can kick holes in the wall , pull the oven door off etc



Well no of course not, thats not what i am trying to get across..... I want to know why they can charge me what they are???? I certainly never agreed to some thing along the lines of, if the carpet get spoilt then i pay what they are expecting me too.
I have rung the landlord directly( he hasnt returned my calls) .
The scale the agency are using only goes up to a carpet of 10 years or less. If its 11 years then we dont have to subsudise the repayment. Sigh.
All i want to know is, do i take this and learn, or fight? Where are the agency getting these figures from???? why not 5 % for a 10 yo carpet or for that mattter 20 %??? seems to me they are making things up as they go along


And yes, I will fight this

thanks to all, anything else?

Yes, they are "making it up", as it's not specifically stated in the agreement exactly how much would be deducted for damage to the carpets, just as it isn't stated how much it would be for a 3 inch rip in the wallpaper that's been up for 1/2/3/4/5 yrs, nor a 6 inch rip, nor 7/8/52 etc

They are making a deduction that seems to them, (and possibly to others) *reasonable*, based on their judgement and experience. That's another way of saying "making it up".

silvercar

Yes, they are "making it up", as it's not specifically stated in the agreement exactly how much would be deducted for damage to the carpets, just as it isn't stated how much it would be for a 3 inch rip in the wallpaper that's been up for 1/2/3/4/5 yrs, nor a 6 inch rip, nor 7/8/52 etc

They are making a deduction that seems to them, (and possibly to others) *reasonable*, based on their judgement and experience. That's another way of saying "making it up".

The question to ask yourself is whether a judge would think it reasonable ie what chance do you have of winning in court?

Voyager2002

Carpet: I think you are on to a loser and should just pay an amount calculated according to the agent's formula. Yes, they are making it up, but most observers (and probably a judge in any court you might go to) would say that their formula is perhaps too generous to the tenants.

Oven: you may have a good case. Have you seen those photos? Do you think that the oven looked like them when you moved into the flat? In any case, I think that your professional opinion that the oven was adequately clean at the time you left the flat would carry some weight in any legal proceedings.

clutton_2

i know you are annoyed about this - but - move one and write it off down to experience - life is too short for this type of small argument.

your next place will have your deposit protected.....

Doozergirl

Their formula does somehow seem to presume that the tenant is responsible for paying for 10% of the carpet every year. It almost suggests that once the carpet celebrates it's 10th birthday _party_ that the tenant gets to keep it, lol! Perhaps the LL should start paying rent on it after that point?!

I don't think it sounds generous to the tenant at all. If the carpet were a year old, is it reasonable to expect a tenant to cover the cost of 90% of the carpet for some burn marks? Or even a five year old carpet, 50% of the cost? That to me sounds like betterment.

Who is even to say how long a carpet should last? Surely that depends on it's quality and the amount of use? Perhaps if they'd burned the bedroom carpet they should pay a higher percentage as that carpet should receive less wear and last longer than the one in the living room?

As a LL, if you put a carpet right next to an open fire, you'd have to make allowance for the fact that it will spit and perhaps floor it accordingly?

Coopster

Thanks again to all that have replyed . The web sites you provided make very interesting reading. Will be posting this on the landlordzone site, so again thanks for that.


Just another query here thou, Surely the landlord HAS to provide proof as to the actual age of the carpet??
Anyway, am making a list of questions I need to know to try and find out....am going to the letting agencys office today. Maybe I will get more response out of them if they are face to face with my ugly mug , because they are just rude when i talk to them on the phone.

I`ll let you know how it goes.
cheers

MissMoneypenny

Coopster wrote: »

Anyway, am making a list of questions I need to know to try and find out....am going to the letting agencys office today. Maybe I will get more response out of them if they are face to face with my ugly mug , because they are just rude when i talk to them on the phone.

As a solicitor friend of mine always says "Keep it all in writing". If you deliver the letter by hand, put Delivered By Hand on it. If you post it, send it first class and get proof of posting. If you have to take them to court you will need all of this to prove what you have done.

Have you thought of looking on the Shelter site to see what they say? They were very active in pushing through the new housing act to stop bad landlords.

Also, look on the Office of Fair Trading website as the have a file on what they consider "fair". The OFT don't deal in retrospect, but their take on what is fair and what isn't, should be considered by a court.

If you find that the estate agent are being "unfair" about their charges for the carpet according to the OFT, then report the estate agent to the OFT (sending them a copy of the EA letter with these charges).

clutton_2

""to stop bad landlords" - as tenant burns a carpet - a landlord wants reasonable compensation to replace the damaged item - and all of a sudden s/he is a "bad" landlord ??

MissMoneypenny

clutton wrote: »

i know you are annoyed about this - but - move one and write it off down to experience - life is too short for this type of small argument.

your next place will have your deposit protected.....

The deposit has always been protected - by the courts. Some landlords just hope that people won't take them to court. I still think the courts will offer better protection to the tenant than the new system though, but at least now every tenant will have some protection from bad landlords and useless estate agents.

Look into it OP and if you think you have a fairly strong case, then go for it. Keep all your evidence, including the fact that you have offered to pay an amount towards the carpet. Estate Agents and Landlords can't make up their own laws.