Deposit and making rental good

monty-doggy

I'm leaving my rented property as its been repossessed and sold. The EA who sold it have told me the new owner is going to rip it apart and redecorate, knock kitchen extension down and re build it.

LL who is receiver isn't really bothered about the house as there has been no money to do all the outstanding jobs.

Letting agent who I use sent me a letter today pointing out all the things I need to get done in order to get my deposit back, including re painting the kitchen which is going to be knocked down anyway!

Furthermore the current letting agent doesn't have a record of my deposit, the EA I used originally has it.

Where does this leave me?

MrLlama

Firstly, you need to confirm that your deposit is being held in a deposit protection scheme. This is vital to know, if not then the landlord is acting illegally. If you have not been given any information about the deposit protection scheme your deposit is held in then you need to ask your landlord ASAP (not your letting agent).

Assuming your deposit is held in a deposit protection scheme:

The fact that the property will be gutted just after you leave is irrelevant, it is your responsibility to leave it in a state you received it, accounting for fair wear and tear.

However, it is up to the landlord to prove the state that the property was initially in, not yourself. For them to be able to prove the condition, they will need a detailed inventory that has been agreed and signed by yourself. The inventory must give the exact condition of anything that the landlord wants to claim off your deposit for, e.g. if they claim money from your deposit for repainting the kitchen then they will need to have evidence that the kitchen was in a far better state pre-tenancy and it has degraded beyond what would be expected from general usage during the length of your tenancy.

If they do not have a detailed signed inventory that specifies the condition of the parts of the kitchen you need to repaint, you can simply ignore their demands. If they do try to claim money from your deposit then you can initiate a dispute with the deposit protection scheme that your deposit is held in.

BitterAndTwisted

This leaves you with a landlord in possession of your deposit. Which you are unlikely to get back under the circumstances.

You mention the current agent having no record of your deposit,which is unsurprising. Do they have a record of your dual-signed inventory from the start of this tenancy?

In your shoes I would withhhold the last month's rent and do absolutely nothing to the property to make good.

monty-doggy

I have a certificate from the old agent saying my deposit was protected.

I have the inventory from when I moved in, the house was digusting and dirty, holes in walls, kitchen was full of grease, dirt, mould, last tenants left soiled bedding, huge piles of moldy dishes, it goes on and on.

I decorated, plastered, painted, cleaned, disposed of all the crap, replaced a carpet and fitted a fire place.

I cut the skirting board to make the fire fit but new owners want me to remove the fire so they can renovate so I'm worried ill be charged for the skirting board.

But with everything I've done, the house is a million times better than when I signed for it!

MrLlama

monty-doggy wrote: »

I have the inventory from when I moved in

What does the inventory say? And have both you and the landlord signed it?

It irrelevant whether the place was filthy when you moved in, its all down to what the inventory says. If it says each room was new/spotless, and you have signed to agree with the inventory, then that's the condition you will be required to leave it in.

However if the inventory does not mention the detailed condition of a room then you can essentially leave it as a tip and just say it was a tip when you moved in. The landlord won't have any evidence to prove otherwise if you dispute any charge he makes to your deposit with the deposit protection scheme.

Same with the skirting board - if the inventory does not mention it being totally intact, and there are no photos of the room the fireplace is in, then you can simply claim it was like that when you moved in.

Guest101

The onus is on the LL to prove you are at fault for damage beyond wear and tear. The agent may be trying their luck. Check your inventory and just leave it exactly as the inventory describes

monty-doggy

Brilliant! The inventory doesn't describe anything but the photos show drawing on the walls, soiled beds and bedding, stained carpets, broken blinds etc. plus I have photos I took on the day we got the keys which the LL and agent were sent copies of.

I've since spoken to letting agent and they said I can ring up DPS and claim my deposit back myself as they had nothing to do with it so I can't see there being a problem now.

Hopefully!