Rented flat for 6 months and landlord is requesting £120 from my deposit to checkout?

kirklean

Good Morning,

I am looking for a little help and advice. I began renting a property in Ipswich (I usually reside in Scotland where laws are slightly different).
I paid a deposit of £575, and about £200 of other fees (for references and credit checks etc) when I was moving in. I also paid 6 months rent up front as my work contract was due to last 6 months.
The flat was far from move in condition however I did move in through and cleaned the flat top to bottom that took 2 full days.
I have now left the property and the flat has been handed back. Fortunately, my deposit was covered by the Deposit Protection Service. I received an email yesterday asking me to log in to agree deposit repayment arrangements.
I have logged in and noted that there is a deduction of £120. I queried this with the landlord and they stated that this was a checkout cost (inventory etc). This was not pointed out at the time of arranging the tenancy. Is this right and can they do this or do I decline this and request payment in full?

user1168934

Did you a sign a contract for tenancy? If yes then check if this was written in the contract or not. Normally this is mentioned in the small text caveats which are attached to the contract. Also make sure you signed/initialled the page otherwise you can dispute it. Also it should state exactly what the cost is for and how much as opposed to saying inventory etc.
If nothing is written in the contract then you can dispute it via deposit protection service otherwise you will have to pay for it.

I had a similar problem a couple of months back, these costs were never mentioned at the time of tenancy but they were written in the contract - had to pay it in the end although mine was only about £65 for the checkout fees.

Guest101

Even if written into the tenancy i think i'd dispute this.

I dont see how the cost is £120 for this service

jjlandlord

Guest101 wrote: »

I dont see how the cost is £120 for this service

It's a fairly standard inventory clerk fee.

Guest101

jjlandlord wrote: »

It's a fairly standard inventory clerk fee.

I guess its area dependant, locally its approx £55 - which to me seemed more reasonable.

Russe11

Deposit can only be taken to actual loss.

A fee for services can not be taken from the deposit, does not matter what the contract says, sure the landlord could try pursue a contractual fee... it has nothing to do with your deposit.

kinger101

Is it in the tenancy agreement? If not, just dispute it on the basis that there is no contractual obligation to pay it. DPS will likely award in your favour.

Some case studies from TDS (okay, not DPS, but I expect their approach is similar)

https://www.tds.gb.com/resources/files/Case%20studies%20on%20disputes%20involving%20agents%20fees.pdf

http://www.propertytribes.com/deposit-disputes-over-check-out-fees-t-8138.html

PasturesNew

I was expecting a £75 fee, but I got my whole deposit back .... I've always wondered if they made a mistake and I couldn't ask about it could I

It's immoral really. Check in fees and check out fees equalling 2-3 days' pay. Possibly an entire month's disposable income. Outrageous.

And, yes, they hide it in the small print of the contract. The contract you rarely get to see until you're there on move in morning and have all your stuff in your car and pop in to collect the keys.

jjlandlord

Russe11 wrote: »

Deposit can only be taken to actual loss.

A fee for services can not be taken from the deposit, does not matter what the contract says, sure the landlord could try pursue a contractual fee... it has nothing to do with your deposit.

This is incorrect.

princeofpounds

The fee can be taken if it was contractually agreed to.

In the SE at least, that's not an uncommon fee.

On the one hand a proper check-out is actually quite intensive. Couple of hours for the inspection, another hour or two for the report, plus travel time. For the full job, the fee isn't totally unreasonable, given overheads like travel, insurance, tax and marketing costs.

In reality, corners are often cut. Sometimes reasonably from the inventory point of view - if a room is obviously fine for example - but the price doesn't get cut.

Overall, it's a pretty cushy rate - 60k a year of turnover for doing let's say two every working day. But there is normally some agent skimming off the cream for referring the work to the clerk.

nicegirl

It's mentioned in my tenancy agreement at my current flat, but as the landlord's responsibility. I'm totally expecting them to try it on though!