Returning deposit - time limit

tracey29

DT12 wrote: »

£600 for oil on the driveway!?

You will have had to state condition of the driveway on your inventory (if you did then I'd be amazed).

There are 3 patches of oil damage on the tarmac. I've had a quote from one company who won't do anything for less than £2000 and another who have said £500 + VAT.

The damage is logged in the independent inventory

DT12

But was the condition stated on the original inventory when they moved in?

[Deleted User]

Phone a garage and ask what they use to clean oil spills. I've never heard of oil 'eating' into tarmac before??????

tracey29

DT12 wrote: »

But was the condition stated on the original inventory when they moved in?

It says there were cracks when they moved in but oil stains and wet oil present on their moving out. The oil damaged is reported by the inventory preparers as being the responsibility of the tenant to repair

Pixie5740

deannatrois wrote: »

Phone a garage and ask what they use to clean oil spills. I've never heard of oil 'eating' into tarmac before??????

Since tarmac is an organic compound then it can be dissolved by an organic solvent such as oil from a car.

To clean it you just need some detergent. Washing powder works well. Auto Glym's Engine & Machine cleaner works pretty well too.

tracey29

deannatrois wrote: »

Phone a garage and ask what they use to clean oil spills. I've never heard of oil 'eating' into tarmac before??????

One of my neighbours has an oil management company and he says it will just 'eat into it' unfortunately.

Phoning a garage is a great idea though. Thank you

Pixie5740

tracey29 wrote: »

I have just spoken to the TDS and gone through a response to my tenants with them. This is what the TDS said I should write and then if we don't agree I should refer it to them. Does this sound right?

'I’ve attached a copy of the schedule for you.

I have had quotations for repairing the driveway, the front door can made good but isn’t repairable, cleaning the carpets and oven and there was a certain amount of cleaning required as per the check-out survey report.

The quotes I have had for the above items are:
Driveway £600.00
Carpet Cleaning £320.00
Front Door £60.00
Oven, hob and extractor £90.00

Can you please come back with a response to this within 5 working days from today’s date.
Any deductions that you disagree on will be dealt with via the Tenancy Deposit Scheme.'

Send it to the tenants and see what happens.

Did you mention anything about timescales for returning deposits when you spoke with TDS?

If the tenancy ended in October I'm surprised the tenant has left it this long. I'd have attempted to get the deposit back before now.

DT12

deannatrois wrote: »

Phone a garage and ask what they use to clean oil spills. I've never heard of oil 'eating' into tarmac before??????

It can soften tarmac which is then prone to crumbling. You can apply sealants to prevent this and I would recommend people used that as a preventative measure.

If it is a driveway that isn't tarmac and issue is just cosmetic, then solvent + brush would remove it.

DT12

tracey29 wrote: »

It says there were cracks when they moved in but oil stains and wet oil present on their moving out. The oil damaged is reported by the inventory preparers as being the responsibility of the tenant to repair

How old is the driveway?

Not sure on a define life expectancy of a drive way, but you should consider it as tenants are not liable to exchange new for old.

tracey29

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Send it to the tenants and see what happens.

Did you mention anything about timescales for returning deposits when you spoke with TDS?

If the tenancy ended in October I'm surprised the tenant has left it this long. I'd have attempted to get the deposit back before now.

I did mention the timescale to the TDS but the guy I spoke to didn't really seem to know. He just said to send them that letter and take it up with the TDS.

The tenant emailed me on 4th November and asked for a timescale for returning it. I said then that I was waiting for the report back from the inventory people so I didn't know what they'd picked up on.
The tenant didn't reply to that and hasn't asked since.