Unfair charges from security deposit

Breast_Cancer_Survivor

My son has just moved out of the house he rented for 6 months.

We spent the whole weekend cleaning the house from top to bottom expecting to get the whole £725 deposit back.

Today we have been informed that they are keeping £300 to re wall paper one wall & imulsion one wall that the bed was against as it has left marks.

I queried the amount & offered to do the work myself but they are saying that it was expensive wall paper & they need to pay a professional to complete the work.

Can they do this? The wall paper has creases & air bubbles in it so they obviously didn't use a preofessional to do it last time.

The landlord is selling the house & I feel he is just being picky and that £300 is an obscene amount of monet to do 2 walls in a small bedroom.

Many thanks.

jezmyers

Ask for it to go to arbitration. Remember, it's up to the landlord to prove that the damage was a)not fair and wear and b) not there in the first instance.

So, in order for the landlord to retain that money, they would have to prove to arbitration that the damage to the paintwork was caused by negligence, very tricky if the bed was against that wall in the first instance, as well as the mark not being there.

A similar point goes for the wallpaper, why do they need to replace a whole wall? what's the damage?

As with all of these things, without seeing the check in/check out inventory and images, it's very tricky to give 100% accurate information.

malcolmffc

Do they have an inventory stating the condition of the wall at the start of the tenancy? If not they have no case for a deduction.

Breast_Cancer_Survivor

We agree that the wallpaper has been damaged albeit by the bed rubbing against the wall.

We are just disputing that it will cost £300 to fix as it will only be 2 rolls of paper & a pot of imulsion which were willing to do ourselves.

These are the 2 walls in question (photo is on the website taken before the damage).

Breast_Cancer_Survivor

I've now found the exact wallpaper too & it's £12.98 a roll.

http://www.diy.com/nav/decor/wallpaper-wall-stickers/wallpaper/blue__green___yellow/-specificproducttype-floral___foliage_wallpaper/Arthouse-Eco-Divine-Motif-Green-Wallpaper-9766468

You can't see the creases in the wallpaper from the photo but my sister is going to view the house (it's up for sale) over the weekend & take photo's.

You can see that there is emulsion over the skirting board though which doesn't make me believe that they paid a professional decorator to do it.

keyser666

Breast_Cancer_Survivor wrote: »

I've now found the exact wallpaper too & it's £12.98 a roll.

http://www.diy.com/nav/decor/wallpaper-wall-stickers/wallpaper/blue__green___yellow/-specificproducttype-floral___foliage_wallpaper/Arthouse-Eco-Divine-Motif-Green-Wallpaper-9766468

You can't see the creases in the wallpaper from the photo but my sister is going to view the house (it's up for sale) over the weekend & take photo's.

You can see that there is emulsion over the skirting board though which doesn't make me believe that they paid a professional decorator to do it.

I do love the sneakiness of your sister going in as a prospective buyer to take photos