Heated Towel Rails? Im not paying for that!!

TryingReallyHard

I apologise in advance if this is long and poorly typed (My small toddler has removed half the keyboard keys and hidden them Grrr)

My ex-landlord has served me with court papers stating that i owe £5000 for repairs to my previous property. After asking for an itemised bill for these repairs they sent me a list (summarised below) of , to my mind outrageous requests? half standard stuff and half enhancments (bigger storage heaters, heated towel rails) They have said repair works came to 6000 but they are kindly taking responsibility for £1000 of those, as well as my deposit leaving £4500 leftover.
i do not believe any judge would look at this list and attribute it to a tenant, but am unsure as to where i stand on my deposit? do i need to file a counterclaim to recieve it back or will it be released when a judge laughs theyre claims out of court?

this is the list of works they sent me, with no prices attached either. I was told twice not to redecorate by them as after 3 and a half years it was standard theyd redo the magnolia.

Re-decorate throughout
Removal of all the previous tenant’s fittings e.g. shelving in bedroom to front, lamp shades, blind in bathroom
Removal of all flooring
Check that all storage heaters & associated timers etc funtion
NIC Test
Check/re-instate all smoke alarms
Check front door bell
Check damp patch in bedroom to front
Supply and install Hasp & Staple & padlock to loft hatch on landing
Supply and replace curtain poles in the living room
Check floor in small bedroom for possible damp patch
Adjust/ease door to cupboard in living-room
Adjust/ease door from living-room to inner hall
Check bathroom taps
Check flush on toilet
Replace pull cord
Replace towel rail holder with electric towel rail holder
Supply and fix dimplex heater on wall in bathroom
Move small heater in kitchen and replace with larger heater
Supply and fit new decor ends to end of base of kitchen cupboards
Check and ease kitchen doors
Ease cooker hood
Supply and install new 4 ring hob
Cap off washing machine fittings
Check lighting etc.

To my mind it looks likea standard list of things any landlord would do when letting to a new tenant, all the rest is enhanments?

there is alot of other background and details ive missed out for clarity purposes (ie 'missing rent payments of which i have reciepts ad innacurate figures in court papers etc)
I realise an error on my part was to not have a representative of the agent at move out, but my moveday was set on a sunday by them and no-one from their company works then!

thank you in advance

princeofpounds

You will need to go to court and defend yourself, but I should imagine much of this, and possibly all, will be struck out.

You are in England or Wales?
Was the deposit protected in an approved scheme, and did you get the prescribed information about the scheme?
Was an inventory performed on your entry to the property, and your exit?
Is there any other evidence of the condition of the property on entry or exit?
Of the items listed, did you do any damage beyond normal wear and tear?

I realise an error on my part was to not have a representative of the agent at move out, but my moveday was set on a sunday by them and no-one from their company works then!

The agent does not work for you and never did. They work for the landlord and are not an impartial observer. Having an agent there is no guarantee of anything.

Given you misunderstand this pretty basic point, I think we are going to have to go through a number of fairly basic explanations of how these things are supposed to work...

hazyjo

Why are you being charged for individual 'checks'?

Do you have any proof of the magnolia conversation?

What did your tenancy agreement say?

Did you take photos?

Did they do an inventory at the beginning and end of your tenancy?

Did you put up shelving, decorate, etc without permission?

Did you remove smoke alarms, curtain poles or anything else?

Did you notice any damp patches? Did you report them?

Was anything damaged or broken that you know of?

Sounds to me like the LL has sent you the bill/quote from their maintenance bloke for everything they've asked him to quote on. Maybe an admin mistake - but at least it goes to prove you're not responsible for all of that!

I would write (letter, not email, not conversations or any sort) to them responding to each and every point made.

Was your deposit protected in one of the three schemes?

Jx

googler

Most of the items beginning 'check ...' aren't actually repairs.

dori2o

TryingReallyHard wrote: »

I apologise in advance if this is long and poorly typed (My small toddler has removed half the keyboard keys and hidden them Grrr)

My ex-landlord has served me with court papers stating that i owe £5000 for repairs to my previous property. After asking for an itemised bill for these repairs they sent me a list (summarised below) of , to my mind outrageous requests? half standard stuff and half enhancments (bigger storage heaters, heated towel rails) They have said repair works came to 6000 but they are kindly taking responsibility for £1000 of those, as well as my deposit leaving £4500 leftover.
i do not believe any judge would look at this list and attribute it to a tenant, but am unsure as to where i stand on my deposit? do i need to file a counterclaim to recieve it back or will it be released when a judge laughs theyre claims out of court?

this is the list of works they sent me, with no prices attached either. I was told twice not to redecorate by them as after 3 and a half years it was standard theyd redo the magnolia.

Re-decorate throughout
Removal of all the previous tenant’s fittings e.g. shelving in bedroom to front, lamp shades, blind in bathroom
Removal of all flooring
Check that all storage heaters & associated timers etc funtion
NIC Test
Check/re-instate all smoke alarms
Check front door bell
Check damp patch in bedroom to front
Supply and install Hasp & Staple & padlock to loft hatch on landing
Supply and replace curtain poles in the living room
Check floor in small bedroom for possible damp patch
Adjust/ease door to cupboard in living-room
Adjust/ease door from living-room to inner hall
Check bathroom taps
Check flush on toilet
Replace pull cord
Replace towel rail holder with electric towel rail holder
Supply and fix dimplex heater on wall in bathroom
Move small heater in kitchen and replace with larger heater
Supply and fit new decor ends to end of base of kitchen cupboards
Check and ease kitchen doors
Ease cooker hood
Supply and install new 4 ring hob
Cap off washing machine fittings
Check lighting etc.

To my mind it looks likea standard list of things any landlord would do when letting to a new tenant, all the rest is enhanments?

there is alot of other background and details ive missed out for clarity purposes (ie 'missing rent payments of which i have reciepts ad innacurate figures in court papers etc)
I realise an error on my part was to not have a representative of the agent at move out, but my moveday was set on a sunday by them and no-one from their company works then!

thank you in advance

Personally it looks to me like the LL is looking for you to pay for his renovation costs.

Removal and make good of the walls where you have installed shelves may be an acceptable bill for you to pay, and maybe the 'damp' patches in the bedrooms if they are your fault, but everything else looks to be a) a legal requirement (i.e. NIC tests) or b) standard general maintenance or improvements.

For 1 the landlord I believe has to allow for general wear and tear, i.e. he cannot demand that the house is in exactly the same condition it was in when you moved in. If you have been there 3 years there will be signs that the house has been lived in.

I'm assuming that the cooker hood, curtain rails, etc etc were all in good order when you left?

Similarly the kitchen cabinets and the doors, were they all in good condition when you left?

Was there a hasp and staple on the loft when you maved in, is it still there? if not why not?

The wall storage heater, was this in the house when you moved in? If not why is he charging you to install one?

Assuming you left the house in a good condition, didn't wreck the place, left it clean and tidy, I doubt he's going to get very far with his claim.

Thats just my own opinion

princeofpounds

I would write (letter, not email, not conversations or any sort) to them responding to each and every point made.

It's important for people to realise that court papers have already been served by the landlord. The place to make a rebuttal may not be the courtroom and not through letter.

A detailed reply would essentially reveal the whole defence.

I would be more careful.

I would issue a written denial of their claim.

This would probably state a few general points:

- that you are not responsible for the damages listed
- that many of the claims constitute betterment, to which they are not entitled
- if they don't have proper evidence of the condition of the house on entry and exit, I would note that
- and if the deposit was not correctly protected warn them of a possible counterclaim.

If you are reponsible for some of the damages, and prepared to admit it, then I would consider making an offer to settle or an offer of mediation. But remember any offer can be an admission of liability so you would need to be careful about how you do this.

Desperado99

any chance you took photos of the place as you left it?

TryingReallyHard

Thank you for your replies

Regarding the deposit, Yes it is protected, I don't have details to hand but am sure i have the paperwork regarding it somewhere. However I was unsure if there were time limits on how long I get to claim for it. I originally was going to forgo the deposit as it just seemed so much hassle. Dont get me wrong £600 would really help me out right about now, but after all the stress of this situation and others i'd just about given up on it.

We did take pictures on exit to show that it was left in a clean state and all work that was requested was carried out, and I have a letter from the property company that says we cleaned it and 'carried out some repair works'.However this is why I said it would have worked in my favour to have a representative of the company to do a walk through together. I didnt mean to imply, PrinceOfPounds, that they are there on my behalf, but at least I would have had some argument as to things that couldnt be photographed (ie the working state of the hob)

Re the state the property was left in -
All upstairs carpets were clean and in fair condition (no stains or tear)
Downstairs carpets were grubby after a going over with a hired carpet-cleaner and i would have happily paid for a proffesional clean OR if needed a replacement. I would consider it fair wear and tear, but understand there arent any clear cut rules on it
Vinyl in kitchen, i was told the property owners would 'write off' due to an issue with the washing machine that they installed flooding.

HazyJo -I decorated one room from magnolia to white with a small stencil, there were no written rules about NOT redecorating, just to return it to 'as was' at the end of tenancy. I asked about this (general enquiry so i could colour match the paint) and was told, infront of a witness not to worry about it. Same with shelving. if it wasnt for that convo i would have done what i did with the picture hooks etc I.e. removed and filled.
The smoke alarms were left in the house however 2 were out of their holders IYSWIM as they were very high ceilings and i was unable to put them back up after a battery change. The lettings rep had put this on a job of works for their maintainance company to do MONTHS previously so they were aware of this.
The high ceilings were also the reason the lightshades were left in place, obvs i understand thats a fault on my part. Same with the curtains rails, no damage and untouched through my whole tenancy.

The HASP lock was not there neither were the storage heaters in bathroom, and the one thing that was damaged was put right by a professional and does not appear on the invoice. I honestly cannot see where they would get a total figure of 6grand from, and how they can say itwould only cost £1000 for them to repaint, install new hob and 2 new storage heaters?