Landlord,can he without our deposit/bond?

needtosavecash

Hi guys

Bit of an issue regarding out ex landlord and getting out of paying deposit back again


Basically we moved out the house this weekend, and I put all the keys through the letter box last night,as requested by him

Anyway had a call from his just now

Hes again looking to try and get out of giving us full deposit back!

Basically earlier last year I lost my job,and we got into arrears with N POWER, and anyway basically they got a write of access and fitted pre payment meters

The electric one is outside

Gas is fitted inside, in one of the kitchen base units in the corner! Very discreetly you wouldn't notice on first glance!

Anyway hes just pulled me on this saying he didn't agree toit (to be honest at the time I had more to worry about (like how we were putting food on the table) than telling him I had had a bailiff force entry and fit these meters)

Anyway hes not happy and said hes withholding our deposit because they have damaged one of the backs of the units fitting the gas one and it will now also cost him money to have a normal meter re in stated!

Is this true or not? By damage there will be marks left from probably 4 screw holes you wont even see from where the box has been screwed on!

I am going to phone N POWER shortly and see what they say, as we are now paying the arrers off by direct debit anyway after letting them know we were leaveing that property so they could take the weekly standing charge off the meters, we also left both meters with £5 credit on each!


Hes been funny with us since we wouldn’t move out a month early so he could start building work,because he wants to move his daughter in!

( he had promised us another 2 year contract just weeks prior to then wanting us out ASAP)

So where do I stand here

If I get the meter re instated surely the deposit scheme aren’t going to charge us for 4 small screw holes you cant even see unless bending down and actually look for them! In the corner of a corner kitchen unit

If so surely they wont charge us the full 500+ we currently have tied up with them,money we really need to pay family back who lent us the deposit for the new property

nikki1520

AFAIK most suppliers charge about £50 per meter to change them back to credit meters. (Although I think British Gas do it for free) However, to do this he will have to register a new customer who passes the appropriate credit checks.

As for the damage to the cupboards, what does your inventory say? Have you had one? If there s no inventory, he is unlikely to get these deductions past the DPS - if there is one, I would expect possibly the max would be for the cost of a new cupboard carcass and fitting - so depending on how much work this is, it could get expensive (for instance if he has to remove the worktop to replace the cupboard, which may involve broken tiles, resealing etc.)

However, he should be able to demonstrate that he has had this work done before he can gain access to your deposit. Hope that helps a bit

needtosavecash

Thanks for that! yes unfortunately its the corner unit, so the carcas is the biggest one in the kitchen,and id guess 2 sections of worktop,inc the sink would need to come out to replace it!

however i honestly cant see anybody doing that work for 4 holes you cant see! so hopefully i should be ok if what you think is right
(he has to prove the works been done before they pay him antying)

if not then i cant belive we may loose over 500 for 4 screw holes! when iv seen some of the states others have handed back with no penaltys (briefly worked doing painting for a company who had contracts with letting agents) and we would go back 6 months later and the house would be trashed,holes in walls, burnt/stained carpets!

wouldnt mind but we only spent over 1k decorating it all at xmas! as we thought we were staying for at least another 2 years

sandsni

As long as you put the property back the way you got it, minus fair wear and tear, the LL can't take your deposit. Unfortunately it sounds as though you DID make alterations without the LL's permission, so you would be liable for the cost of putting things back the way they were. Are these the only alterations you made without permission? Did the LL do a full inventory, with photos, when you moved in, and did you check and sign it? Otherwise it will be very difficult for him to prove you have damaged anything.

You can dispute any deductions through whatever deposit protection scheme your LL used (unless you're in NI where the schemes haven't been introduced yet). If the LL hasn't protected your deposit, keeping your £500 might be the least of his worries. I'm sure someone will be along who can explain better than me, but from what I understand, if he didn't protect your deposit and give you the prescribed information, he can be liable to a fine of up to 3x the deposit amount.

needtosavecash

Hi yes we did sign an inventry

however there were no pictures onit,just like somthing he had made up on excell to be honest

each room had its own box,listed the decoration and fixings of the room and the condition of the gardens etc, it was in there that we had to keep the gardens well maintained in keeping with the rest of the propertys on the street, witch again i did, the lawn was like a bowling green!!

we had full permission from the off to decorate and do what we wanted in that respect, subject to it being kept in a neatural decoration,witch it always was and he even commented how well the job was done!

we did damage the living room carpet, well the baby did, so we replaced this with the exact same carpet at xmas after we decorated,again he was fine with this at the time,

This is why i cant belive after looking after the house for so long, spending our own money onit (never again on a property i dont own after this) we have now come to this over 4 poxy screw holes!


yes the deposit was indeed posted in one of the schemes, we do have a copy of the paperwork for this

nikki1520

It sounds from what you've said that the internal condition of the kitchen cupboards isn't noted on your inventory. As sandsi has said, you have made alteratins to the inside of this cupboard without consent or approval, so I would argue that you are morally obliged to be liable for fixing it. However, the landlord would have to be able to prove that the holes weren't already there, and it doesn't sound like he can do this.

Perhaps a morally acceptable solution would be to agree an amount between you as a token towards a repair that may or may not be made - this will be cheaper for you, and more of a certainty for him.

G_M

In this case I believe the inventory will be irrelevant.

There will be an audit trail proving that NPower installed the meter during the tenancy. and the damage (if it is damage) will clearly be the result of this. Therefore the tenant is liable, whatever the inventory says.

Because we (people posting here regularly) nearly always refer tenants to the inventory over deposit disputes does not meant the inventory is the only source of evidence for a LL claiming damage.

the issue here is

1) IS there actually damage (yes, holes in a wall from pictures is damage - 4 holes hidden in a cupboard....? a bit harsh!)

2) is there a cost to the LL of re-instating a credit meter>

needtosavecash

Hi guys

spoke to N power

they want £75 to come and re instate new "credit" meters

witch im more than happy to pay,however as i no longer have any rights to the property the landlord would have to arrange this with them and then he can bill me for it (obv i dont even have keys anymore so i cant arrange it anyway)

i tried to phone him twice last night, left a voice mail

still no response, so unsure what to do now can i contact the deposit scheme myself if he doesnt get in touch and explain he is being un co-oprative with us etc?

Stujclark

Have you actually gone online and checked its with the scheme. Some landlords provide info, but then don't protect it. Which scheme did he use?

silvercar

they want £75 to come and re instate new "credit" meters

witch im more than happy to pay,however as i no longer have any rights to the property the landlord would have to arrange this with them and then he can bill me for it (obv i dont even have keys anymore so i cant arrange it anyway)

So £75 plus a call out charge.

i tried to phone him twice last night, left a voice mail

still no response, so unsure what to do now can i contact the deposit scheme myself if he doesnt get in touch and explain he is being un co-oprative with us etc?

No response since last night. This is not an emergency situation, so you can't expect the landlord to respond 24/7. You have offered him the solution, wait for his response a bit longer.

ValHaller

nikki1520 wrote: »

..... As for the damage to the cupboards, what does your inventory say? Have you had one? If there s no inventory, he is unlikely to get these deductions past the DPS - if there is one, I would expect possibly the max would be for the cost of a new cupboard carcass and fitting - so depending on how much work this is, it could get expensive (for instance if he has to remove the worktop to replace the cupboard, which may involve broken tiles, resealing etc.)

However, he should be able to demonstrate that he has had this work done before he can gain access to your deposit. Hope that helps a bit

Normally, the inventory will be required to prove loss. But in this case, if LL can show that meter was changed to PP during the tenancy (which could be very easy) and that the damage arose from fitting the PP meter, he is likely to win this one.

He does not have to demonstrate that he has had the job done to have it repaid from the deposit - but the deposit scheme is unlikely to allow consequential damge arising from the repair - such as broken tiles - unless the work has been done.