Deposit claim

jaffy1229

I had a breakdown of costs from the letting agent with regard to my deposit of £425. The claim from the landlord is for almost £1000. My question is if I pay the £425 from the deposit, can they claim for the rest of the amount? or is £425 as much as they are entitled too?

Thanks

moromir

They can apply to small claims court for the balance provided the deductions can be justified.

benjus

The landlord can sue you for the remainder using the small claims track at court.

Is the £1000 justified? How much do you believe you owe the landlord for damages/rent arrears? Was the deposit correctly protected and the prescribed information served? Which part of the UK are you in?

ognum

jaffy1229 wrote: »

I had a breakdown of costs from the letting agent with regard to my deposit of £425. The claim from the landlord is for almost £1000. My question is if I pay the £425 from the deposit, can they claim for the rest of the amount? or is £425 as much as they are entitled too?

Thanks

I don't understand, who is dealing with this the LL or the LA? How has the LL broken down his claim?

fairy_lights

Do you agree with their deductions?

jaffy1229

ognum wrote: »

I don't understand, who is dealing with this the LL or the LA? How has the LL broken down his claim?

I have no dealings with the landlord, so I am just emailing the letting agent. I asked them for a breakdown of the claim and they have provided it. I assume the infomation is from the landlord.

jaffy1229

fairy_lights wrote: »

Do you agree with their deductions?

Some of them. But I have lived in the property for 6 years so some things are maybe down to wear and tear.

For example they replaced the hob and charged £108. The hob was in perfect working order except for 2 plastic light covers had broken. I would have thought that was down to wear and tear, but maybe because I seemed to have damaged it, it had to be replaced.

They have also charged me £140 for decoration. The property seemed to have not decorated for a while when I moved in and hadn't been decorated in the 6 years I had been there.

They have also charged for a worktop, that I agree got damaged but the cost of it seem very high. It was only a small worktop and was just a cheap one. But they want £137 for it..

So yes I accept some of the claim, but am unsure if I am being charged for thing I shouldn't be. It hard to know if its right or not so I don't know how to proceed.

jaffy1229

benjus wrote: »

The landlord can sue you for the remainder using the small claims track at court.

Is the £1000 justified? How much do you believe you owe the landlord for damages/rent arrears? Was the deposit correctly protected and the prescribed information served? Which part of the UK are you in?

The deposit is protected. The claim is only for damage. The landlord appears to be only claiming the £425, but I am guessing the landlord could go to the small claims court for the rest.

Here is the email I recieved from the letting agent;

I have received a breakdown on the works that they landlord would like to claim your deposit for at the above property.

Figures we have paid out for are as follows:

Basin £94.74
Toilet £115.85
Hob £108.00
Worktop Unit £132.65

Total Materials £451.24
Total Labour on the above works was £250 + £50 for Tip removal.

Bedroom : Materials £30 (Paint) £100 Labour

If you included a figure on the professional clean of the property you could say £150.00, so that would come to around £1,031.24 total claim against a £425 deposit held!

Please could you let me know your thoughts on this.






So although its seems he only want the £425, he will probably claim the rest as well. If I knew he would't claim for the full £1031, I would probably just pay the £425 and leave it at that.

benjus

Sounds to me like a case of "betterment". Basically the landlord appears to be using your deposit (YOUR money) as their renovation fund.

For example, if the hob was brand new when you moved in and you stayed for 6 years, the landlord should have a 6 year old hob. If for some reason the hob needed replacement, he is entitled to claim from you the cost of a 6 year old hob (or a proportion of the cost of a new hob). He is NOT entitled to a brand new hob at the end of a 6 year tenancy. If the damage was superficial and easily repairable he should only claim the cost of the repair.

I find these case studies very useful to understand what is fair to claim on a deposit: https://www.thedisputeservice.co.uk/case-studies.html

On the subject of cleaning - how clean was the place when you moved in? Is this documented in writing? The landlord cannot demand the place in a better condition than when you moved in.

I don't think claiming anything for decoration after a 6 year tenancy is reasonable.

On the face of it the proposed amount seems excessive and I think you should negotiate it down. If that fails you can raise a dispute with the deposit protection scheme. What kind of inventory/check-in report/check-out report do you have? Did you sign them?

fairy_lights

jaffy1229 wrote: »

Basin £94.74
Toilet £115.85

What are they claiming is wrong with the basin and toilet? were they actually damaged in any way or are they just trying to get you to pay for new ones?

jaffy1229

fairy_lights wrote: »

What are they claiming is wrong with the basin and toilet? were they actually damaged in any way or are they just trying to get you to pay for new ones?

The basin was damaged which I accept. But the toilet was not damaged, so I don't know why that is there at all