Riddiculous deductions from deposit?

lucie707

Hi all im just looking for some advice on where I stand regarding the landlord giving some crazy quotes and intending to deduct these from my deposit...

I moved into a small two up two down newish build house two years ago. I paid £595 deposit and it is held in a TPS. Every thing was done by the letting agents and I've had no communication with the landlord or even know his or her name. The house was not painted when I moved in and certain marks on the walls were even stated on the inventory. The house was cleaned to a domestic standard but not proffesional (I still had to clean it when i moved it) and again the inventory stated certain "dirt" marks.

I cleaned the house to a better standard when I moved out and the inventory at check out claimed it was cleaned to a good domestic standard...So I got my quote from the contractor via the letting agents yesterday and they gave me the details of work the intend to undertake using my depost for funds...£1669.20! This is three times my deposit! The brunt of the quotes are as follows:

£170 to clean all rooms
£70 to paint the hallway (tiny in a newbuild as you can imagine)
£70 to remove wall hooks and paint storage cupboard (again tiny!)
£105 to paint downstairs WC
£70 to paint kitchen
£18 to replace bulb
£22 decorate the lounge door
£140 paint lounge and remove wall hooks
£140 to paint stairs and landing
£110 decorate skirting board on the stairs and landing, decorate handrail
£22 to fill holes and decorate doorframe in bedroom1(there were no holes?)
£140 to paint and remove wall hooks in bedroom1
£45 decorate skirting board in bedroom1
£140 remove wall hooks and paint bedroom 2
£66 decorate skirting board and doorframe in bedroom2
£8 new plug and chain in bathroom (plug and chain fine when i left?!)
£55 removal of garden furniture at the bottom of the garden (there when i moved in, as stated in innventory).

I actually want to dispute all of it! I would understand if they had painted it freshly for me to move in and i'd wrecked the place but that is not the case, the house was left in the exact state that the previous tennant had left it in. Do these amounts honestly seem reasonable and do I stand a chance on recooping any of my deposit?

Confusedandneedhelp

lucie707 wrote: »

Hi all im just looking for some advice on where I stand regarding the landlord giving some crazy quotes and intending to deduct these from my deposit...

I moved into a small two up two down newish build house two years ago. I paid £595 deposit and it is held in a TPS. Every thing was done by the letting agents and I've had no communication with the landlord or even know his or her name. The house was not painted when I moved in and certain marks on the walls were even stated on the inventory. The house was cleaned to a domestic standard but not proffesional (I still had to clean it when i moved it) and again the inventory stated certain "dirt" marks.

I cleaned the house to a better standard when I moved out and the inventory at check out claimed it was cleaned to a good domestic standard...So I got my quote from the contractor via the letting agents yesterday and they gave me the details of work the intend to undertake using my depost for funds...£1669.20! This is three times my deposit! The brunt of the quotes are as follows:

£170 to clean all rooms
£70 to paint the hallway (tiny in a newbuild as you can imagine)
£70 to remove wall hooks and paint storage cupboard (again tiny!)
£105 to paint downstairs WC
£70 to paint kitchen
£18 to replace bulb
£22 decorate the lounge door
£140 paint lounge and remove wall hooks
£140 to paint stairs and landing
£110 decorate skirting board on the stairs and landing, decorate handrail
£22 to fill holes and decorate doorframe in bedroom1(there were no holes?)
£140 to paint and remove wall hooks in bedroom1
£45 decorate skirting board in bedroom1
£140 remove wall hooks and paint bedroom 2
£66 decorate skirting board and doorframe in bedroom2
£8 new plug and chain in bathroom (plug and chain fine when i left?!)
£55 removal of garden furniture at the bottom of the garden (there when i moved in, as stated in innventory).

I actually want to dispute all of it! I would understand if they had painted it freshly for me to move in and i'd wrecked the place but that is not the case, the house was left in the exact state that the previous tennant had left it in. Do these amounts honestly seem reasonable and do I stand a chance on recooping any of my deposit?

Do dispute all of it, its upto the LL to prove that you caused damage (not wear and tear).

Also a common tactic is to give ridiculous quotes and then say we'll settle the matter using the full deposit (ie you feel like you've saved £1,000)

lucie707

I thought that too then they look like the good guys for conveniently reducing it to £600

princeofpounds

You should dispute it if you feel it is wrong. You should use three main lines of argument as appropriate:

1) If the evidence conflicts with their claim, you should deny that their charge is correct.

2) If there is no evidence of condition on entry and/or exit, you should deny the damage and/or that you were the cause of the damage.

3) The LL is not entitled to betterment; i.e. they cannot charge you new price for a depreciated fitting. So you should argue down the price of any remaining charges.

It's very clear that they are taking the mickey here.

lucie707

Thank you I'll definitely include those points!

princeofpounds

Remember always refer to the evidence (or lack of). Blanket denials will get you nowhere, but the LL needs to demonstrate proof. Be systematic and brief. Read the arbitration case studies (from the scheme websites) to get a feel of how they make decisions.

Let us know how it goes.

lucie707

So do you think it's wise to mention the extortionate costs or just totally dispute the actual need to paint as it wasn't painted for me when I moved in? Is the fact they didn't even paint it after the previous tenant relevant in a dispute?

I don't want them to come back and say "well that's what our contractor is Charging so that's what it'll cost".

Confusedandneedhelp

lucie707 wrote: »

So do you think it's wise to mention the extortionate costs or just totally dispute the actual need to paint as it wasn't painted for me when I moved in? Is the fact they didn't even paint it after the previous tenant relevant in a dispute?

I don't want them to come back and say "well that's what our contractor is Charging so that's what it'll cost".

OK, how about this, when was the last time these walls were painted, lets hypothetically say 5 years, you were there for 1 year, and therefore could only be charged for 20% of the cost. - thats not even really accurate as its wear and tear, not damage

Thats what the contractor is charging and what it will cost them, you arent paying for betterment, ie the house to be better condition than u received it.

A good example would be carpets, life expetctancy 5-7 years in a rental. lets say they are 6 years old, u live there for a year and destroy them, you would owe the landlord very very little, maybe 10% of the full cost to replace. Because the LL has had the use of them for their expected period.

Wear and tear: If you hired a car, and returned it having used it, the car would be in a worse condition than it started, ie wear on tyres, breaks etc. But thats fair use of the product. Same with a house, its designed to be lived in, so if the paint on a wall needs redoing because it has passed it 'use' date, thats not your fault and you do not pay

CM66

Was the inventory duel signed when you moved in? If not they have no proof of the state of the house and cannot chase you for any of the deductions....

Eejay

I can't believe people do this. My husband is a landlord, and when his last tenant moved out the wall in the living room had loads of scrape marks where the sofa had been rubbing along the wall. Arguably they could have been a little more careful - they must have realised it was catching the wall before it got to the state it was in - but it's just paint! You can pick up tons of the stuff for really cheap and it doesn't take long at all to cover a wall - especially if it's the same colour and only requires one coat.

And £18 to replace a light bulb? What the heck are they replacing it with?!

Good luck - I hope the landlord doesn't get to keep a penny!

dominoman

Dispute all of this.

Don't pay a penny.

Lodge your appeal to the DPS straight away and from now only communicate via email or mail - never phone.

Don't argue over the costs and whether they are too much. Instead focus on the fact that you did not do the damage. The onus is on the landlord to prove you left the flat in a worse state than when you arrived. And of course fair wear and tear, which would include minor scuff marks do not count as damage.

The landlord already gets an annual tax allowance of 10% of your rent to pay for replacement and wear and tear so don't lose any sleep on his behalf!

He is taking the mick. Now you have left he thinks he'll freshen up the flat so he can get more from the next tenants, and he thinks he can help himself to your deposit for this.

Do not pay a penny. This behaviour angers me and gives landlords a bad name