Rental House deposit

Emeralds65

Dear All,
I am requesting for help here as I have been sleepless after hearing the news that my landlord/ estate agent wants to claim for more than the amount of deposit.
Our deposit was secured by Tenancy Deposit Scheme, there was a check in inventory and now a check out inventory, though check out one is made by a different company and we were not asked to be present.
Our deposit was £1500 and the landlord has sent us a letter claiming £3050 for severe damage to the property which I strongly disagree with as there was a mould and damp and condensation problem evident by the check in inventory and he is now claiming for redecorating the whole property costing £1000.
£1700 for the replacement of an old mattress he had given to us but he says we have left a blood stain on it, check in inventory says mattress not inspected thoroughly but check out inventory asks for £1700 for its replacement.
£75 for a replacement of a tap which is no where to be seen in a check out inventory as to why and what is the reason for a replacement.
Can somebody advice as now what to do and what to reply to the estate agents?
Thanks a lot!!

BitterAndTwisted

First things first: if you think th landlords claim on your deposit is not fair and reasonable then get onto the TDS site and claim the whole if it back. NOW!

If there was mention of the presence mould in the check-in inventory then the landlord cannot possibly claim that the condition on check-out was purely as a result of your tenancy. Dispute this deduction! Even if you had caused the mould, an allowance would have to be made for wear-and-tear. Most rental properties would require redecorating from time-to-time in any case and that is a cost which needs to be borne by the landlord. Total redecoration of the entire property sounds like a complete nonsense but I can't see the property from here.

Mattress: the landlord cannot claim the entire cost of a replacement. He will need to make an allowance for the age of the item, so you would be expected to compensate the landlord for the life of the item that you have deprived him of. A tenant's deposit is not a new-for-old insurance policy! Also, I have never heard of a rental-property being furnished with a £1700 mattress. Check-in inventory says "mattress not inspected thoroughly" so if you're certain you didn't cause that stain, then you didn't. Dispute the deduction.

If you believe that you haven't damaged the tap ask them to explain why what you believed was a fully-functioning tap requires replacement. Wear and tear applies to that as well, so you shouldn't be expected to bear the total cost for a second-hand item.


If you dispute the deductions and the TDS agrees with you then the only recourse the landlord would have is to take you to court. I don't fancy his chances, frankly

Emeralds65

Dear bitterandtwisted,

I mean there is a mention of mould and condensation in the check in inventory in places like the dustbin, patio doors, one window, washing machine and it also doesn't exactly says mould but writes things like
" blackening at the perimeters of glass " " black dusty residue on door panels" " significant condensation build up at left hand window " "mould inside the bin " .

Now me question is the condensation and mould mentioned in the check out inventory is more in clear words, also at more places like the ceilings and skirting boards which wasn't when we moved in. How do I go about this cz I did complain all the time at their quarterly inspection of the property, phoned them and let them take photos but never had it mentioned in written .

Also thee were no windows in toilets, the extractors fans dripped water all the time which we complained in written, they changed but they started dripping again which we only complained about on the phone, they never fixed it.

So the mould and condensation started coming on the ceilings particularly in two of the bedrooms, now he is asking £1000 to paint them but I don't think only the two bedroom ceilings will cost that much to paint , also it will still not fix the original problem of condensation, so can I argue on that basis too.

Also the landlord is selling the house, he started doing it one 2 months before we moved out, so we gladly arranged for an open house while we were there, had dealt with three of the agents marketing his property, always accommodated all the viewings they wanted, but the house wouldn't sell because of the mould which was clearly visible.
The estate agent said the LL wants to paint the whole property and sent someone for a quote while we were there, wanted to get it done ASAP, but on our request because of two small children waited till we finally moved out.
Never once the estate agent mentioned we were to pay for the paint but as soon as we are out they are now demanding the money from us

ging84

£1700 to replace an old mattress

that's taking the !!!! to say the least
lets assume that it genuinely was a high value mattress with a >£1700 replacement costs, and you genuinely were the cause of the blood stain and were to admit it, and that for a good enough reason for it to need to be replaced
that should very much be made clear in the inventory, eg it should be listed as the specific type or brand of mattress which makes it so damn expensive

also they cannot claim new for old, so if they were claiming for the number of years use you took away from an old mattress that means it must be worth well over £1700

Occasionally ending up bleeding in your bed i would say is fairly normal, If landlords don't want people bleeding on their virgin swan feather mattresses, they shouldn't rent them out, and if they do rent them out they should at the very least put a protector

theartfullodger

As B&T says..

also see here..
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/tenancy_deposits/getting_your_deposit_back
- read all that ...

& then 'phone Shelter on **free** helpline 0808 800 4444 but expect a wait from this overworked housing charity.

Cheers!

BitterAndTwisted

Has this alleged claim on your deposit and more been conveyed to you by the agent in writing?

If so, you need to respond in writing also. I believe that I've practically dictated said letter in my first post on this thread. If you need help composing one, just say so and I'll do it for you.

Emeralds65

Thank you all and also bitterandtwisted!!
Yes we have received a check out inventory on Saturday and also a letter accompanying deductions they want to make.
Do I need to write a letter to estate agent and also raise a claim with TDS?
Please help me in writing the letter if you can, I will be ever so grateful.

BitterAndTwisted

Yes, you MUST write to the agent. TDS will want to see that you've attempted to negotiate with the landlord/their agent before you dispute any deductions from your deposit through their arbitration procedure. Meanwhile get onto the TDS website and clam the lot back. Once you've done that the landlord won't be able to claim your money without your agreement first.

I have to be away from my comp for a few hours but I'll get onto it asap. Don't despair: your landlord is obviously an unreasonable and greedy a-hole possibly being led by the nose by his agent. He might be able to get his sweaty mitts on some of your money but I don't think he'll get away with all of what he's threatening you with.

Emeralds65

Thank you very much !!
Can you please tell me when I write to the agent should this be in depth with the email and photographic evidence or shall I save it for TDS and only write a summary for the estate agents.
Thank you for all your help!!

N1AK

Emeralds65 wrote: »

Thank you very much !!
Can you please tell me when I write to the agent should this be in depth with the email and photographic evidence or shall I save it for TDS and only write a summary for the estate agents.
Thank you for all your help!!

I've only ever had a couple of items contested when renting and I'm pretty sure that in cases like yours the landlord is simply trying to get some easy money. He doesn't lose anything if you contest and win, or agree a smaller payment, after all.

One tried to charge us for a clock that was clearly stated as not working on the check in inventory, and for a broken garage door that they broke and we'd got written records about.

Tell them where to go.

SerialRenter

Personally I'd leave it as a simple reply listing the claims they're making and the reason why you dispute each one under it.

Then collect all of your evidence together ready for the TDS arbitration.

For fair wear and tear I'd calculate it as follows:

A=Item original cost
B=Item age in years
C=Years item can reasonably be expected to last
D=Labour to assemble/fit item

Cost=A-(A*(B/C))+D

That should be a good rule of thumb, or at least I've posted it a few times and no ones yet to complain!