moving legalities

leelo2003

My marriage broke up 5 weeks ago after almost 25 years of marriage and due to financial difficulties I cannot afford to stay in the house i'm currently in.
I live in a rented property through a agency and i'm moving in 2 weeks to a housing association.
I gave the landlord 4 weeks notice of my intention to leave and on Friday received a letter from them saying before i leave i have to
pay £268 rent which I knew,
clean the house from top to bottom not to be 1 mm of dust including all blinds, skirting and door frames
paint all the walls
make sure all light fittings have bulbs in
maintain and tidy garden
tidy garage.
clean all carpets
cooker cleaned

The issue I have with this is the paintwork when we moved in had been patched up by previous tenant with different colour paint then what was on the walls,
We had to hire a carpet cleaner and clean carpets when we moved in
I had to clean the cooker 3 times before it was suitable for use
we had to purchase bulbs for some of the rooms

I feel that they are taking the mick as we brought up the issues with them when we took other the tenancy putting them in writing for their files, I do not understand how if previous tenant didn't do everything on their list I am expected to do it all.

My bond is £560 and i am wondering how I stand on not paying the £268 I will owe and just leaving them with the bond to cover any cleaning that will need doing.

As anyone been through this their selves or should I just get on and do it all and hope I get my bond back.
_______

FBaby

The rules is that it should be in the condition in which you took the place. The issue is when you don't agree about what that was, hence the importance of doing an inventory and taking pictures.

Do NOT to pay the rent you owe, it is a different issue. Clean the place as best as you can and make sure it is at least as good as it was before and ask for your deposit back. If it is protected, you can challenge any money witheld. If it isn't protected, they are in trouble and you could take them to court for 3 times the amount, so I doubt they would mess you about much.

I would write to them and stipulate that you will leave the place as you took it and expect your full deposit back by x....

maman

FBaby wrote: »

I would write to them and stipulate that you will leave the place as you took it and expect your full deposit back by x....

And refer to the letter of complaint you sent them (ideally with a copy) that they have on their files.

rpc

If the deposit is protected, ignore the landlord. If he tries to claim some of your deposit, dispute it with the scheme and use lack of inventory plus your written records to make your case.

The property needs to be in the same state as when you moved in, except for wear and tear (which does not include damage or dirt).

If the deposit is not protected, the landlord has a problem.

TBagpuss

You may want to re-post on the house buying, selling and renting thread.

As FBaby says, you have to return the property in the same condition it was in when you started the tenancy, less reasonable wear and tear.

Repainintg the walls is (normally) the responsibility of the landlord, not the tenant. If you have caused any damage which is not reasonable wear and tear then you are responsible for the cost of putting that right.

Is there a dual signed inventory from when you moved in? Is your deposit protected?

Make sure that you take lots of pictures when you move out so that if you have to dispute any deductions they seek to make you have evidence of the condition the property was in when you move out.

Of the things you mentioned, I would comment as follows:

* Rent - yes, has to be paid (which I know you already know!)
* Cleaning the house Not unreasonable - strictly speaking only needs to be to the contition it was clean wjen you moved in, but unless you have very good evidence of the state it was in, I'd give it a thorough clean anyway
* Paint all walls Very unusual for this to be your responsibility - check your lease. If you painted the walls when you were living there you may have an obligation to return them to the original colour
* Make sure all fittings have bulbs in. you are obliged to leave it in the condition it was in when you moved in. That said, in your position I would probably get a bunch of pound shop bulbs to avoid any hassle
*Maintain and tidy garden What condition was the garden in when you moved in? What does your lease say? reasonable to leave it in a similar condition to when you moved in. Take photos
* Garage - reasonable to leave it empty of any junk and any of your stuff. Otherwise in a simialr condition to when you moved in
* clean carpets they should be as clean as when you moved in. No obligation to get them professionally cleaned (unless you have a specifc extra pet clause or something of that kind)
* cooker cleaned leave in the condition it was in when you moved in, assuming of course that this was documented.