Landlord Suing me for £6,500!!!!

martindow

mail2z wrote: »

Sorry to say, you are a nightmare tenant. Your landlord may have gone overboard with the charges. If I was your landlord I would added charges the property will remain void while these work is being carried out. If you were the landlord and if your tenant did what you did to the property I am sure you will be demanding twice your landlord is charging.

I'm sure I'd feel the same but the LL can't just invent figures for 'charges'. They need to be justified and justifiable.

rmacnair

Kynthia wrote: »

you clearly wanted him to do every little thing in the property instead of realising he didn't have to do some things and that behaving in a 'tenant like manner' means doing some things yourself, like dealing with slugs and getting a draft excluder. You seemed to think it was fine that your dog caused damage and left it that way.

I gave him a list of things I wanted him to look at, he only actually looked at a couple after Housing Standards threatened him with legl action as it was a helath and safety concern. I sorted out the slugs and ants after reading up on tenant responsibilities. I was under the impression that this was the landlords responsibilities but it was mine, so I dealt with it. The gap in the door was the main door to the house and was about 1-2 inches wide at the top of the door; a draft excluded would have been no good; it needed fixing.

I don't know where you're getting it from that I thought it was fine that the dog caused damage; I have held my hand up and said I am responsible for this but not to the cost he has claimed; it was the LL that told me it was fine.

Kynthia wrote: »

This one really annoys me, you didn't pay the rent you owed even though your deposit was protected and the landlord couldn't even access it without your agreement until weeks later, once the tenancy had ended.

I wrote to the LL, explaining the situation with moving to a new house and that he could take it out of the deposit, which he agreed to. This amount was released when we left the property, the remaining £100 was released a couple of weeks later. All of this was on the advice of a well respected estate agent.

Soleil_lune wrote: »

From what you have said, quite a lot of damage was done by your puppy, but it sounds like damage that wouldn't be massively expensive to repair. I think, from what you say, that an offer of about £500 would be sufficient.

I've been as honest as I can about the damage as I am not sherking taht responsibility, but without a repair quote I can only put my own estimates on it. The actual area of damage caused by chewing totalled about 1 square foot.

Soleil_lune wrote: »

Makes me so glad to be in social housing now. I was in private let for quite a few years, and am glad to not have to put up with private Landlords anymore. What a minefield private renting is!

I'm now renting a house through an estate agent who manage the property for the LL. They do a quarterly inspection and have actually praised me on several occasions for how well kept the house is and how little I ask from them. I've previously rented 9 properties and the LL in question is the only one I've had problems with and the only one who hasn't handed me back 100% of my deposit. I will NEVER rent from a private LL who manages the property again.

Soleil_lune wrote: »

Dogs are notorious for damaging property, when they are young especially; so if he rented his property to someone who had a dog or more than one dog, then he only has himself to blame really.

Not only that but I'd shown the landlord the damage about halfway through the tenancy and he barely battered an eyelid and never asked me to repair it or that he would have it repaired at a cost.

G_M wrote: »

Tenants like you do likewise. I would hate to have a tenant like you.

I certainly wouldn't be claiming £4600 for a new kitchen, but equally if a tenant offered me £16 I'd make damn sure I got as much as I possibly could from him for taking the p*ss!

Can you please explain what I've done that is so terrible? Yes the dog damaged the property but other than that it was well looked after; we had a cleaner every week and during the summer a gardener every other week. I haven't at any point denied the damage and I have estimated the repair costs at £420, not £16.

BobQ wrote: »

The issue is what condition it was in when you left. If your landlord has evidence of its condition when you left he could have a case, if not he does not have a case. End of. It does not matter that you know a gardener who charges £10/hour. If work is needed he is entitled to select a competent gardener at the appropriate market rate. You had your chance to correct the problem before you left.

The grass was overgrown (about 6 inches high as shown in the check out report) and the patio needed weeding. I estimated this as 4 hours worth of work at £10 an hour. He had tried charging me just shy of £500 by using a contruction and roofing contractor who's company was dissolved in 2007. How many overgrown gardens that need cutting and weeding take 50 hours of work?

BobQ wrote: »

Again you had an opportunity to do the repair DIY and chose not to. Your landlord is entitled to expect you to pay for a competent professional to repair the damage you left. While he may have done repairs himself while you were living there that is his business provided it corrected the fault you reported and did not break the law. He does not have to DIY or use an unqualified person just to save you money for damage you caused.

Fair enough and I have taken this sort of advice onboard and included it in my estimates as £120 per hour labourer.

BobQ wrote: »

Your figures are meaningless unless based on quotes from reputable and qualified tradesmen. If you think his quotes are unreasonable get your own.

I agree, but I can't get quotes for something that doesn't exist anymore, if at the time the LL had explained the situation, I would have got someone in to look at it and estimate the cost of repairs. And without any quotes for repairs I can only make judgement on my own knowledge and understanding.

BobQ wrote: »

Of course you do not seem to want to listen, nor are you seeking advice.

You are making a totally invalid assumption. I have taken on advice; I've reworded and restructured my letter and accepted that labour should be included in my own estimates.

harrys_dad

rmacnair wrote: »

a well respected estate agent.

That is the best oxymoron I have seen on here for a while.

dotchas

rmacnair wrote: »

The gap in the door was the main door to the house and was about 1-2 inches wide at the top of the door; a draft excluded would have been no good; it needed fixing.

You rented a house with a 1-2 inch gap above the door:eek:

As a landlord, I would not be too happy at my tenant telling me to use the deposit for the last months rent..............but I wouldn't go as far as to sue them for £6,500;)

The replacement kitchen is way over the top. But other charges seem fairly reasonable.

sp1987

Dear lord. I just don't know what to say. And that letter of response? *shudder*.

You sound like nightmare tenant of the week. You leave the property with chewed dog remnants and wonder why the LL is disgruntled? He's probably so !!!!ed off with his half eaten house that he fancied chancing a few grand.

Case in point; every rented house I was in I received an oven dirtier than I wanted...so I didn't ring environmental health or the daily mail....I just cleaned the oven (shock horror!). At the end of the tenancies, I cleaned the ovens as best I could to leave. One agent spotted we had cleaned the property top to bottom and it was cleaner than when we arrived...so didn't try to dispute our deposit return. One agent was unscrupulous so tried to charge £50 to get an oven clean for an oven that I'd scrubbed lots of pre-me grime off and kept in good condition throughout. Either way, when I left I did the best I could with what was there. The thought of leaving the house looking like it had been a thoroughfare for the local kennel club would be beyond comprehension.

All I can say is you and LL will be wasting a lot of trees on this one....

allat

Has the landlord got photographic evidence of the damage? Has the landlord got cost estimates for the work? What does the check in and check out report show? Its a shame that you asked the landlord to use the deposit to cover the last month's rent. What does your deposit certificate say about dispute resolution...you may be covered. I would make the deposit certificate company your first port of call in sorting this out. You can also ask Shelter for advice. IMHO you need more information before you can make a decision on how to act.

rmacnair

harrys_dad wrote: »

That is the best oxymoron I have seen on here for a while.

Hah, fair enough; I will rephrase this to a well known estate agent.

allat wrote: »

Has the landlord got photographic evidence of the damage? Has the landlord got cost estimates for the work? What does the check in and check out report show? Its a shame that you asked the landlord to use the deposit to cover the last month's rent. What does your deposit certificate say about dispute resolution...you may be covered. I would make the deposit certificate company your first port of call in sorting this out. You can also ask Shelter for advice. IMHO you need more information before you can make a decision on how to act.

Yes he has photographic evidence of the damage, but I'm not disputing the damage, just the cost to repair. He didn't get any cost estimates for the work to repair no, just the final invoices for replacing his kitchen.

sp1987 wrote: »

Dear lord. I just don't know what to say. And that letter of response? *shudder*.

You sound like nightmare tenant of the week. You leave the property with chewed dog remnants and wonder why the LL is disgruntled? He's probably so !!!!ed off with his half eaten house that he fancied chancing a few grand.

I haven't wondered why he's disgruntled; I've accepted the responsibility, but not to the cost of £6.5k. Also, you haven't seen my letter of response so how can you shudder at it?

sp1987 wrote: »

Case in point; every rented house I was in I received an oven dirtier than I wanted...so I didn't ring environmental health or the daily mail....I just cleaned the oven (shock horror!). At the end of the tenancies, I cleaned the ovens as best I could to leave. One agent spotted we had cleaned the property top to bottom and it was cleaner than when we arrived...so didn't try to dispute our deposit return. One agent was unscrupulous so tried to charge £50 to get an oven clean for an oven that I'd scrubbed lots of pre-me grime off and kept in good condition throughout. Either way, when I left I did the best I could with what was there. The thought of leaving the house looking like it had been a thoroughfare for the local kennel club would be beyond comprehension.

The house was clean and tidy; I too spent a good 2 hours cleaning my oven before we moved out. You act as if the dog has run riot and chewed the entire house; she chewed 2 cabinet doors and part of the corner of a cabinet. When I moved in, the house hadn't been cleaned properly, so I got a cleaner in to spend 5 hours cleaning the house top to bottom. We used the same cleaner 2 hours every week for the duration of our tenancy (apart from the final month when we weren't actually living there).

RAS

This is an open forum.

Some people will post useful comments, some will commiserate with you and some will slag you off, particularly if you rise to the bait.

If you were less defensive, you would not get so many adverse comments.

rmacnair

RAS wrote: »

This is an open forum.

Some people will post useful comments, some will commiserate with you and some will slag you off, particularly if you rise to the bait.

If you were less defensive, you would not get so many adverse comments.

I'm not a forum regular so I'm not quite used to being slagged off. Having said that, I have taken the advice of those who have had a go; I've simplified my letter, removed emotion and left in facts. I've also estimated repair costs at about 10x as much as I was originally estimating, so I am thankful to them and hopefully it will help to resolve the issue quicker and outside of court.

thequant

"Yes he has photographic evidence of the damage, but I'm not disputing the damage, just the cost to repair. He didn't get any cost estimates for the work to repair no, just the final invoices for replacing his kitchen."

I guess this is hub of the matter, he's basically trying to claim for the cost of the kitchen back. While he's at it, why not chuck a few extra things on the claim.

However the claim for the kitchen is the clearest case of betterment that you would ever get and there is no court which will grant that amount in the claim. His solicitor will have told him this.

The other thing which is solicitor should have told him, that to process a claim of this size will cost in excess of £500 in court fees.

If he fails to get the amount he is awarded, then court when awarding costs will only award a an appropiate proportion of them back.

Also the is a small claims action, court don't like people using these solictors in these cases. As such the courts will not award him any costs for using one. So this is all money down the drain for him.

I suspect the reason he is using a solicitor is because he knows the weakness of his own case and is hoping that by using one he will intimidate him.

It sounds like you do owe him some money, but no where near the amount he is demanding.

did the letter he send state "without prejudice save as to costs" ?

I would wait till you get the correct letter before action before responding again. Responding at the moment is just showing them that they have put the wind up you and will encourage them that the tactics are working.