LL waits 13 Years to inspect Property .

Olive_Oyl

Hi guys ,

I'm looking for some advice please .

Ok . The situation is as follows .

Tenant in a property 13 years . No inspections whatsoever by the LL .

First inspection carried out in September " To allow us to assess the general condition of the property & help confirm any maintenance or repair issues "

Surveyor visits the property and takes notes of the area , comparable property to let, garden size, fixtures and appliances and the general condition.

The following week tenant receives a letter from LL stating that the deposit paid 13 years earlier is now in a secured deposit scheme.

Fast forward four weeks & the tenant manages to see the report .

On it the surveyor mentions seeing an ashtray in a cupboard, the tenant doesn't smoke , but allows visitors to in the back garden ( hence the ashtray )

The report goes on to say that although the tenant states they do not smoke , the tenant would have contributed to staining and therefore liable for half the cost of redecoration.

The report then has a section asking about the tenant.

The surveyor states that the person has anxiety, was nervous & had a relative living there part time .

To summarise .

The surveyor has said that the non smoking tenant has contributed to alleged staining & written in the report details of anxiety etc . The LL has never repainted or replaced the carpets even before the tenancy started ( tenant had to redecorate when the moved in, like wise carpets there from previous tenants )

And finally the letter following the visit re the deposit .

My questions are . The surveyor has accused the tenant of smoking in the property & mentioned that possibly only half the redecorating cost would possibly be met because of this even though the accusation is unsubstantiated. What would you advise? .

Secondly made comments regarding their health condition on the report . I see no relevance why this would need to be there ?

Thirdly the LL has never painted the property and there is no clause in the tenancy to state the tenant is responsible .? ( even though the tenant has redecorated several times )

And finally is it just more than a little coincidental that the inspection & the letter followed within a week of each other ?

Sorry for the long post & thank you for reading

Olive .

donfanatico

This kind of stuff winds me up. 13 years not come to see his property and now wants to get half the money for redecorating?

This LL gives others a bad name.

I can't help you otherwise , sorry

anselld

Is the tenancy ending?
Is the LL claiming deductions?
If not, then it is all entirely irrelevant.

kingstreet

Surveyor?

What kind of surveyor?

dancingfairy

Depending on whether the tenant has been resigning contracts each year or whether it has gone onto a rolling tenancy then the tenant may be able to caim 3 x the deposit in court for failure to protect the deposit. It has to be done within a certain time of the signing of the contract. If the was signed 13 years ago and never been renewed (ie just gone onto a rolling contract) then I believe it didn't need to have been protected (Although better that it has been). This may not be relevant now but is useful to look into/bear in mind and could be used as leverage with the landlord if they start playing silly.
Is the tenant planning on moving out? The landlord trying it on regarding the state of the property is absolutely ridiculous. How are they going to prove what the state of the property was 13 years ago? They haven't a leg to stand on. Also it matters even less if the tenant isn't leaving.
The tenant may want to cover themselves by writing to the landlord at the address for serving notice, just reiterating that they have never smoked in the property (nor allowed anyone else too), that the relative was visiting and that the state of their mental health is of absolutely no relevance.
You could also consider writing a letter of complaint to the firm of surveyors as well as this sounds most unprofessional.
df

mlz1413

Id write back ask who they have determined staining from wear & tear.

Your friend has been luckily to be let alone for 13 years but it seems the LL now has some sort of agenda.

Keep us posted.

dancingfairy

Edit: are you sure you mean surveyor as in a mortgage sense or do you just mean some unqualified bod from the letting agent/landlords mate as clearly this will make a huge difference.
df

pmlindyloo

Is it just my suspicious mind or does this sound as if the Landlord is considering selling? Surveyor? Suddenly putting deposit in a protected scheme?

Is this tenant on a period or fixed term tenancy at the moment?

dancingfairy

Sadly I agree with pmlindyloo. I think the tenant should check very carefully the terms of their contract and consider that sadly they may need to be prepared to move.
Obviously you can write and ask the landlord what his/her intentions are but it doesn't sound like relations are particularly good.
Bear in mind that as a tenant you have rights:
ie you don't have to show people around. The landlord can't just turn up unannounced, they can't force you out of your tenancy if you are in a contract etc etc.
If in doubt come back on here and people can guide you further.
df

G_M

Olive_Oyl wrote: »

Hi guys ,

Tenant in a property 13 years . No inspections whatsoever by the LL .


First inspection carried out in September " To allow us to assess the general condition of the property & help confirm any maintenance or repair issues "

....

The following week tenant receives a letter from LL stating that the deposit paid 13 years earlier is now in a secured deposit scheme.

...
My questions are . The surveyor has accused the tenant of smoking in the property & mentioned that possibly only half the redecorating cost would possibly be met because of this even though the accusation is unsubstantiated. What would you advise? .

Secondly made comments regarding their health condition on the report . I see no relevance why this would need to be there ?

Thirdly the LL has never painted the property and there is no clause in the tenancy to state the tenant is responsible .? ( even though the tenant has redecorated several times )

And finally is it just more than a little coincidental that the inspection & the letter followed within a week of each other ?

Please advise type of tenancy, and exact start date. Was it originally a fixed term? How long? 13 years? or 12months? If 12months, what happened then?

Deposit should have been registered within 30 days of April 2012 (Localism Act). (unless the original fixed term was 13 years+, OR became a periodic tenancy before 2007). Late registration = you can sue the LL for up to 3 times the deposit. You will not get the full3 times as the deposit isnow registered, but you willget your court costs (around £1000) back.

you cannot be expected to pay for redecoration after 13 years. Ignore any claim for money, and if you leave and your deposit is deducted, use the scheme arbitration scheme. This is 'fair wear and tear'.

The smoking issue is a red herring. Just ignore.

Health issues. Irrelevant. Ignore.

Coincidence? Of course not. The landlord is now taking an interest and getting on top of his obligations(deposit, repairs etc). So what? Be pleased!

Have you actually been asked for any money?

My advice: Write to the LL:

Dear Mr LL,

Thank you for arranging an inspection of the property on xx/xx13. I am grateful that you are looking at maintaining the property after 13 years, and would bring to your attention the following matters that need repair:

1) xxx
2) xxxx

Additionally, please note that unsurprisingly after 13 years the property is in need of redecoration. This is due to normal fair wear and tear. I will, of course, be delighted to cooperate with your contractors with regards to access, for this, and theother works above.

Finally, thank you for arranging registration of the deposit. As you know, The Localism Act 2011 required all such deposits to be registered within 30 days of its implementation (April 2012), and although it is encouraging to see compliance with the Act, late registration does not negate the possible penalties.

(para above depends on answers to questions about tenancy dates)

I look forward to hearing from you with timescales for the works.

Yours sincerely

A Tenant

anselld

G_M wrote: »

Deposit should have been registered within 30 days of April 2012 (Localism Act). (unless the original fixed term was 13 years+!). Late registration = you can sue the LL for up to 3 times the deposit. You will not get the full3 times as the deposit isnow registered, but you willget your court costs (around £1000) back.

I don't think that is correct; if the tenancy has remained unchanged since before April 2007 there was no obligation to protect.