What to do for outrageous claim?

senatorbot

I left my student property 3 weeks ago and my ex-agent sent a notice that I need to pay £750 for replacing the entire kitchen worktop. There are scuffs and marks on the kitchen worktop which I agree that is damaged by me but £750 seems outrageous as it feels like they wish to replace the entire kitchen worktop just for the marks.

I've been in the property for 2 years and the worktop has been around for at least 2 years before me, so the costs shouldn't be that high. Not to mention the worktop is made from laminated wood, which is the cheapest worktop you can find. I've written something to the DPS but it says I need to require some form of dispute and proof of the damage. Due to the fact I left the property, I can't take any pictures to show the state of the damage. Is the agent liable to obtain full amount of £750 of replacing the worktop and labour or can I get off paying far less than that?

Pixie5740

Did you damage the worktop (over and above fair wear and tear) and can the LL prove it?

Is there an inventory from the start of your tenancy? If so did you check it was accurate and sign it? What did it say about the condition of the worktops?

Was a check-out carried out by the LL/LA at the end of your tenancy? If so do you have a copy? What does it say about the worktops?

You're correct about the LL not getting betterment i.e. new for old.

senatorbot

Yes, the worktop is damaged from dings and scratches above fair wear and tear. There is no disputing that.

There was an inventory check when I moved in and there was no signs of damage on the worktop but when I moved out, there was no checkout carried and I did not sign anything. I left the property for 3 weeks and they sent me an email today about the damage. I know that the worktop is damaged, there's no disputing that but considering the normal costs of worktops+labour, it seems pretty high for it to be £750 considering the small size of the kitchen.

What do I say to my agent to dispute the charges? or do I keep silent and talk to the DPS instead?

edit: The damage to the worktop are dents and marks on it from dropping things onto the worktop. I've taken steps to repair the damage and aside from a few bumps, it's hard to notice the problem now.

westernpromise

senatorbot wrote: »

I left my student property 3 weeks ago and my ex-agent sent a notice that I need to pay £750 for replacing the entire kitchen worktop. There are scuffs and marks on the kitchen worktop which I agree that is damaged by me but £750 seems outrageous as it feels like they wish to replace the entire kitchen worktop just for the marks.

I've been in the property for 2 years and the worktop has been around for at least 2 years before me, so the costs shouldn't be that high. Not to mention the worktop is made from laminated wood, which is the cheapest worktop you can find. I've written something to the DPS but it says I need to require some form of dispute and proof of the damage. Due to the fact I left the property, I can't take any pictures to show the state of the damage. Is the agent liable to obtain full amount of £750 of replacing the worktop and labour or can I get off paying far less than that?

Well, I'm a landlord and let me set out how I look at this.

• suppose the worktop cost £750 to fit when new.
• I expect it to last five years.
• it was 2 years old when you moved in.
• so at that point, you had a £450 worktop (2 years used up of 5-year life).
• you moved out a year later. It should now be worth £300 (3 years used up of 5-year life).
• it's a bit trashed and needs replacement.
• I'll assume 10% a year for fair wear and tear - I can't assume it's going to be pristine because it's a kitchen worktop and I'm allowed to knock off 10% a year depreciation for wear and tear anyway
• so I will replace it with new
• and you should really pay me £270 which is the value I expected to have handed back to me after you left - £300 less 10%.
• The difference between £270 and replacement cost is for my account.

What I'd suggest you do is fill in your own numbers and counter propose something along those lines. All the agent can really do to collect the full £750 off you is issue a county court summons demanding the whole lot. They then have to show how demanding the full cost of replacement with new is more reasonable than the above, and is also in the contract.

They'll struggle, I think, because ARLA guidelines say landlords can't put themselves into a better position at your expense:

http://www.arla.co.uk/info-guides/property-guides/deposit-protection-guide/betterment-and-apportionment.aspx

I had a tenant in a similar situation a few years ago who had overturned a bottle of hair colour on the bedroom carpet. Accident, just one of those things. The carpets were £5,000 to put down but were 5 years old by the end of the tenancy; ARLA said at the time that carpet is good for about 7 I think.

So I figured my loss was two-sevenths of about 20% of the carpets in the flat (because the stain was in just the one room), and they were now worth maybe £1,400; so 20% of that - we settled on £250 I think.

senatorbot

I got a receipt for the costs of the materials and labour and I was right, it seems they're charging me to replace the entire kitchen worktop with three pieces when only a single worktop has been damaged.

I've sent the complaint to DPS and I hope they resolve it.

jimjames

senatorbot wrote: »

I got a receipt for the costs of the materials and labour and I was right, it seems they're charging me to replace the entire kitchen worktop with three pieces when only a single worktop has been damaged.

I've sent the complaint to DPS and I hope they resolve it.

Are they claiming the original is no longer available? If so then you may need to replace whole work surface if you cannot obtain a matching piece to replace part of it.

senatorbot

Yes they're claiming the original is no longer available and is thus replacing it.

jjlandlord

westernpromise wrote: »

Well, I'm a landlord and let me set out how I look at this.

• suppose the worktop cost £750 to fit when new.
• I expect it to last five years.
• it was 2 years old when you moved in.
• so at that point, you had a £450 worktop (2 years used up of 5-year life).
• you moved out a year later. It should now be worth £300 (3 years used up of 5-year life).
• it's a bit trashed and needs replacement.
• I'll assume 10% a year for fair wear and tear - I can't assume it's going to be pristine because it's a kitchen worktop and I'm allowed to knock off 10% a year depreciation for wear and tear anyway
• so I will replace it with new
• and you should really pay me £270 which is the value I expected to have handed back to me after you left - £300 less 10%.
• The difference between £270 and replacement cost is for my account.

Well, it has a 5 year life, then depreciation is 20% (£150) a year.
If it has to be replaced after only 3 years then the landlord's loss is the residual value, indeed £300.
Thus, the tenant should compensate as much. There no additional "10% fair wear and tear".

culpepper

I would think that as it is a student flat, the worktop need not be perfectly matching throughout . We have a student flat that we let and If we had that same situation, we would replace with as similar a colour as possible but not expect it to be identical if the original was no longer available.

pyueck

senatorbot wrote: »

Yes, the worktop is damaged from dings and scratches above fair wear and tear. There is no disputing that.

There was an inventory check when I moved in and there was no signs of damage on the worktop but when I moved out, there was no checkout carried and I did not sign anything. I left the property for 3 weeks and they sent me an email today about the damage. I know that the worktop is damaged, there's no disputing that but considering the normal costs of worktops+labour, it seems pretty high for it to be £750 considering the small size of the kitchen.

What do I say to my agent to dispute the charges? or do I keep silent and talk to the DPS instead?

edit: The damage to the worktop are dents and marks on it from dropping things onto the worktop. I've taken steps to repair the damage and aside from a few bumps, it's hard to notice the problem now.

If this is the case why are you agreeing it is over fair wear and tear. If the landlord did not do an independent checkout, it will be hard for them to prove that it was your damage.

If I was you i would refuse to pay anything for the damage, take it to dispute and see what they decide.

Doozergirl

I'm with the poster above. Not least because £750 is a stupid price to replace worktops, let alone the fact that they are also claiming betterment.

Let them provide the evidence of the damage and let the dispute service decide what is fair.