Tenants, getting your security deposit back.

Loaded_Bachelor

I am vacating the property I rent on Oct 27th. I pay £340 per month rent in advance, last payment by standing order on Sept 27th, and I initially paid a £440 deposit at the beginning of my contract 3 1/2 years ago.

I have kept the property in good condition and from a cleanliness, carpets, fixtures and fittings etc point of view it is in better condition than when I have arrived.

There is no mention in my tenancy agreement regarding either the time scale of settlement of my security deposit or detail regarding whether anything is put in writing and given to me on the day of inspection.

My concern is that the landlord's agent is visiting me at noon on 27th Oct for a final inspection. This got me thinking that they will inspect, say its all okay, but then I have to totally trust that they will act fairly and subsequently return my £440 (or large % of my) deposit to me. If they said something like we'll need to deduct £75 for cleaning I would grudgingly accept this despite the fact that as already stated it doesn't need cleaning.

Because, I don't fully trust the integrity of the letting agent (not a member of A.R.L.A) or my landlord I am thinking of writing to them requesting that they agree to bring £440 cash with them on their final inspection so that they can settle up there and then or at the very minimum that they agree to make a written inspection report on the day that is agreed to and signed by both them and me thus making it difficult for them to fabricate costs after the event.

If they do not agree to this I then plan to write to them again stating that I feel they are not being reasonable and I am therefore withholding my last month's rental pending a satisfactory outcome of the security deposit issue. I may also state that I will not return the keys to them immediately after the inspection but drop them through their office letter box at 11 p.m. that evening.

Are my concerns justified and am I being over aggresive by making such demands? I would be grateful for any advice.

Thank you.

Keanu

What you need to take into consideration is that the Landlord will wish to keep the bond back to ensure other issues are ok before reimbursement.

As you say, there is the physical state of the property as you leave it but there is also the issue of all utility and other bills being paid in full.  Obviously these can only be calculated by the relevant companies at the point you exit the property.  

I'm sure you've had dealings with these companies in the past and they're not the quickest to resolve outstanding issues.

Therefore it is only reasonable that the Landlord holds back the bond to ensure all outstanding bills are paid up to date.  

I do agree that it is a good idea to get something in writing regarding an agreed state of the property.

Loaded_Bachelor

Thanks for your reply Keanu.

I'm not sure I exactly agree with the point about the landlord having utility bill risk. I suppose the only way a landlord might have possible liability is if the tenant crookedly registered for utilities in the landlord's name and then ran up unpaid bills in the last billing period before leaving the property. I think this whole scenario is highly unilkely and in any case the landlord could easily prove that it was a fraudulent act by the tenant.

More likely some tenants may leave unpaid bills in their own name but the landlord would not be legally liable to pay these and the individual owing the money would be chased for it, not the landlord.

The place I rent is rented unfurnished so unless I was an idiot who caused deliberate malicious damage to the decor or fittings then in my mind there is no risk at all to the landlord after the final inspection and a reasonable percentage of my deposit should be returned to me there and then.

I have just fired off the email to the letting agency and I'll let you know how I get on.

Pal

The landlord may be able to prove in a court of law that he is not legally liable for a tenants utility bills, but that will not stop the utilities being cut off to his house in the meantime, reconnection charges, solicitor's costs etc.

Much easier for him to keep your deposit for a month or two to make sure that everything has been properly sorted out before he returns the money.

They may agree to return a portion of the deposit, but given that you may have run up a huge telephone bill, they are unlikely to agree to do so.

Loaded_Bachelor

Thanks for your reply Pal. Nothing in the contacts I have with them mentions utility issues, it only mentions the condition of the property. Anyway, here are the emails and letters that have gone backwards and forwards since I first posted here:


19th September.
Dear Mr xxxxxx,

I am the tenant at Ground Floor Flat, 44 xxx Road, xxx and as you know I am vacating the property on the 27th October at the end of my current tenancy agreement.

I am writing regarding the exact procedure in relation to me receiving my £440 security deposit back from you as the specifics of how this happens are not covered in the tenancy agreement. You wrote to me on 26th August 2004 stating that you will be making a final inspection of the property at midday on 27th October. I am agreeable to this and will be present for it.

I would ask that you bring enough cash or cleared funds with you on that day so that after the inspection you can settle with me. The property is in a far better condition than when I arrived in it. Clearly, you have to ascertain these facts for yourself and I am happy to assist you with this.

Can you please confirm all of the above to me by response to this email.

Thank you for your assistance with this.

Yours sincerely,


Mr xxxxx

Loaded_Bachelor

21st September (their reply to me)
Dear Mr xxx,

Thank you for your letter of 19th Sept. regarding return of your dilapidations deposit.

I would advise you of our normal procedure. My colleague Mr. Bloggs will carry out the final inspection at midday on 27th October. He will then send a final report to the landlord giving him the opportunity to inspect the property for himself and we would expect this to take place within 48hrs of receiving our report.

Afer this time if there are no issues outstanding your dilapidations deposit will be forwarded to you at your new address.

Yours sincerely,

Mr xxxxxx

Loaded_Bachelor

22nd Sept.
My reply to them.

Dear Mr xxxxx,

Thank you for your letter to me of 21st September in response to my email to you of 19th September regarding return of my security deposit for rental of the above property.

Can I firstly point out that your “normal procedure” that you have described in your letter to me of 21st September is not stated as you have described it anywhere in the original or subsequent tenancy agreements I have with you/the landlord. Therefore, in my opinion, any procedure should be a fair one that equally balances the rights and responsibilities of both the tenant and the letting agent/landlord. Your “normal procedure” that you propose clearly does not do this.

What is stated in a copy of your “XXXX & Co. Terms and Conditions" which I received from you before the beginning of my first tenancy agreement and before signing my first tenancy agreement is : “A DEPOSIT EQUIVALENT TO ONE MONTH’S RENT PLUS £100 IS ALSO REQUIRED ON THE DATE OF OCCUPATION. (THE DEPOSIT IS REFUNDABLE SUBJECT TO THE RETURN OF THE PROPERTY IN A SATISFACTORY CONDITION)”

My understanding of this phrase, and I believe the understanding in a legal framework, is that the refunding of the deposit and the return of the property in a satisfactory condition are events that happen simultaneously. The phrase clearly does not mean that the two events occur 48hrs or longer apart from each other or that one event happens and the other never happens at all. The “XXXX & Co. Terms and Conditions" document forms a legal part of our agreement.

The sole object of a final inspection is to ascertain whether any money needs to be deducted from the tenant’s security deposit to bring the property to the original state that it was let in. You state that your Mr. Bloggs will carry out this inspection on the last day of my tenancy, October 27th. Mr. Bloggs has made previous site inspections on approximately 13 occasions since my tenancy of the property commenced in April 2001. He always struck me as an experienced professional who knew how to inspect a property and presumably your company also hold this view having had him do the inspection for this and other properties over a long period of time.

Given this fact, why is Mr. Blogg’s inspection alone not enough to establish the condition of the property and settle with me there and then? You state in your letter to me that. “He will (Mr. Bloggs) send a final report to the landlord”. I would like a copy of this “final report” given to me on the day of the inspection immediately after the inspection has been made by Mr. Bloggs. I would also insist that both he and I sign the report to state that we both agree with the contents of it.

I suggest that my final settlement with you will be based on the agreed (between Mr. Bloggs and myself) findings of his final report, a report taking place while I am present in the property, and not based on a “report” by a self interested landlord who can state anything they might want to at a later date whether it be true and accurate or not. The original reason I chose to rent a property via a letting agent was precisely to enable a fairness of financial and other dealings in respect of the tenancy as opposed to dealing direct with a landlord of whose standing I would have no idea about. In so doing I have paid both a premium in rent and your own administration charges and having done this I do not expect anything other than fair treatment. Your company is long standing and on your headed paper shows you as being members of the National Association of Estate Agents and The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors so I would therefore expect both high standards of practice and fairness from you.

I originally paid £440 in cash (plus £340 in cash for 1 month’s advance rent) on 28th April 2001 in good faith to you XXXX & Co., not to the landlord. I expect this method of dealings to be reciprocated by you. However, when you reciprocate, there will be no element of good faith required on your part as you will have full ability to establish the facts of the condition of the property.

Can I add, in other circumstances, that when one takes out a tenancy agreement direct with a landlord it is standard procedure for financial settlement to take place between the tenant and the landlord on the tenant’s departure date. I see no reason why you, as the landlord’s paid and nominated agent, should not follow this procedure.

May I remind you that you, XXXX & Co., have legal responsibilities towards me the tenant as well as any legal responsibilities you may have towards the landlord in any separate agreement with them. May I also remind you that I have previously paid you an introduction fee of £100 plus VAT and various other administration fees of £40 plus VAT and £55 plus VAT during my tenancy. I therefore expect to be treated equitably.

On 28thApril 2001 I paid over my cash to you and was then given the keys to the property. When I later came in to the property to move my stuff in I found the following:

All of the carpets were impregnated with urine, a fact which one could not recognise on a quick inspection but which became obvious when one opened all the doors and windows to ventilate what had initially seemed to be living smells but then realised having ventilated for an hour and shut the doors and windows that the smell was still present and was from the carpets. The landlord and his/her agent should know their own property and its condition and be candid with any prospective tenants about this.

The garden was approximately 2 feet high in grass and weeds.
The drain outside the back door was completely blocked with 1 foot of solid gunge.

Perhaps one could argue that I could have returned to your office and demanded return of the money and cancellation of my tenancy agreement on the grounds that the property was not in a fit state to inhabit. However, on 28th April 2001 I had already moved out of my previous residence so my options were very limited.

My initial viewing was some weeks before my moving in date. On April 28th 2001 I was obviously heavily committed to moving in or else I would have been homeless. I feel that the landlord and/or you as their agents took advantage of this fact by not ensuring that conditions were habitable before I moved in.

I obviously could not live properly or hygienically in conditions where all of the carpets stank of urine so I replaced the carpets at my own expense and made good the poor condition of the garden and outside drain. This begs the question of your own professional conduct and of the ethics of the landlord that you would let out a property in such condition.

It also begs the question as to what happened as regards the previous tenant’s security deposit? Was it withheld from them, and if so then why weren’t the funds that were withheld from them then used to bring the property up to a liveable state?

In summary, I am not happy with your proposed “normal procedure” regarding inspections and the return of my security deposit and find them to be totally unacceptable. I consider your proposals to be very unfair and in breach of your own terms and conditions. I look forward to new proposals from you that are fair and not totally lopsided in favour of the landlord. The tenancy agreement is between me and you/the landlord and all parties have an equal right to be treated equitably.

I know my rights under English law and I will stick to my principles to ensure that these rights are achieved, taking further legal advice if necessary.

Yours sincerely,




Mr xxx

Sent by email and by recorded delivery post.