'Fair' deposit deductions?

mellymeepmeep

We moved out of the place we rented for the past 3 years at the end of June, as far as I'm concerned we've been great tenants making sure we looked after the property. I'm really bitter after so many bad experiences with deposits getting returned and I was a little wary on sign-out day when we handed our keys into the letting agents (it was a managed property so we don't deal with the landlord at all.) They've recently changed company name so our deposit was registered in the DPS under their old details. Anyway we got a phone call last week from the agent saying they'd conducted the inspection and are now going to charge us £45 PER lightbulb that we hadn't replaced. The whole flat is decked out in those stupid LED spotlights and the electrics were so dodgy it meant that we got no more than a week out of the bulbs each time we replaced them so we just stopped using them and bought lamps instead... this was reported to the agents countless times and noted in the check-in inventory we did ourselves so I've got evidence. I just want to know how the hell they can pluck a figure of £45 for a lightbulb that we bought from QLM round the corner for £2 each!?

I'm having to go through the DPS to get our deposits back because its been over 4 weeks since we moved out now and apart from that phone call things have not progessed at all in getting our deposit back. I have to get forms signed by a solicitor which I swear I've not had to do before in the adjudication process, is this a new thing? Its going to cost me money I'd rather not pay.

G_M

If you have reported 'dodgy electrics' you might be lucky with the scheme arbitration.

As for the inventory- was it dual-signed (ie did the LL/agent agree it?)

The sensiblething to have done would have been to fit working bulbs and then not use them, rather than leave defunct bulbs. Bulb replacement genreally falls to the tenant, not the landlord......

moromir

Were you definitely replacing the bulbs 'like for like'?

I.e. are you sure the original ones weren't something fancy hence the cost/why the cheap ones were blowing?

(I know very little about electronics I hasten to add)

mellymeepmeep

We checked the wattage and make of the original ones and they matched perfectly with the ones we bought locally so yeah it was like for like. It was definitely the electrics because the place was like the house that jack built (we didn't have our own boiler for 2yrs of living there, had to wait for heating when the people upstairs decided to put it on haha!) but that's not relevant I know. I just completely forgot about doing it to be honest because we gave up using the lights after a month of living there!

We know the new tenants and I went round the other day with a batch of bulbs for them and I have an email confirming they are OK with that, so there isn't going to be any cost for the landlord now (well there will be if the new tenants manage to get the electrics looked at, we tried countless times but nowt materialised.)

We didn't get the inventory signed but it was emailed to the agent and they replied to acknowledge recieving it and said they would "look into" the problems we reported, three years later we were still waiting for it haha!

Tjrw1985

Hi Melly,

If it helps, I had a check out where the agent were trying to charge £9.50 per bulb, for empty sockets.

When this went to DPS, I put in my evidence that the bulbs that were missing were ones that I had purchased and were therefore mine to take. Low and behold, DPS ruled in my favour as blown lightbulbs are classed as wear and tear.

Hope this helps

Guest101

I would say, if the house came with working bulbs, it should be left with working bulbs. But to charge anything above market rate for them is ludicrous. £45, even £9.50 ?!

tim123456789

Guest101 wrote: »

I would say, if the house came with working bulbs, it should be left with working bulbs. But to charge anything above market rate for them is ludicrous. £45, even £9.50 ?!

45 pounds is what an LED bulb can cost

what I don't understand is why they are blowing they are supposed to last "forever".

tim

Tjrw1985

I know what you mean Guest, but what you have to expect is that bulbs do blow, and they are classed as wear and tear and it is not the tenants responsibility to replace them. Or if they do, then they are within their rights to remove them. After all, they paid for the replacements, and I would damn well make sure no landlord got anything I paid for.

ValHaller

£45 is steep but probably on the margins of justifiable for a single bulb on the basis of £40 to turn up and £5 for replacing the actual bulb including materials. So £100 should cover 12 bulbs. Fancy bulbs which cost more should be invoiced at cost. But it is a fair point that blown bulbs are wear and tear.

Davesnave

mellymeepmeep wrote: »

They've recently changed company name so our deposit was registered in the DPS under their old details.

Just out of interest, you don't happen to live in a South Coast seaside town, do you?

My DD's LA recently changed names, after she and some of the other tenants had their problems published in the press.

Looks like she'll be having an interesting time when the post- tenancy inspection takes place this week! :rotfl:

pinkshoes

tim123456789 wrote: »

45 pounds is what an LED bulb can cost
tim

Since when?!?! We have a house full of LED bulbs, they last forever, and cost about £5.

The faulty electrics were clearly at fault here, so the OP should list the times and dates that these were reported in the deposit dispute (or ring them) to make it clear that it was uneconomical to repair them, and that £45 per bulb is ridiculous!