Deposit Scheme Adjudication

wildheart83

"The Check-in Inventory dated 15 October 2014 and the Check-out Report dated 17 April 2015 have not been specifically disputed by either party and have both been supported by embedded photographs so I am therefore satisfied, in the absence of any substantive evidence to the contrary, that these documents accurately reflect the condition of the property at the start of the tenancy and the end of the tenancy and having compared the Check-in Inventory and Check-out Report, I am satisfied that the item was in a worse condition at the end of the tenancy than at the start of the tenancy and I find that there has subsequently been a breach of the Tenancy Agreement for which the Tenant should be held liable for rectifying."

FBaby

So here you go. You both agree to the check in and check out photos and according to the adjudicator, he did find the item was in a worse condition, ie. whether it was damaged to start with, it is now much more damaged then it was then beyond expected wear and tear.

There is nothing you can argue about this as you can't dispute the adjudicator judgement, only if you can evidence that they didn't follow the proper process.

wildheart83

But the crux of my argument is that the item was damaged prior to me moving in. The condition hasn't changed because I was unable to use it because of the condition it was in when I moved in.

They haven't taken into consideration that the check in inventory description stated that it was in good condition but the photographic evidence shows otherwise

mrginge

wildheart83 wrote: »

But the crux of my argument is that the item was damaged prior to me moving in. The condition hasn't changed because I was unable to use it because of the condition it was in when I moved in.

They haven't taken into consideration that the check in inventory description stated that it was in good condition but the photographic evidence shows otherwise

No. The crux of the argument is that it was more damaged when you left compared to when you moved in.
That was assessed based on the photographic evidence AND the reports.
You did not dispute the content of either report, therefore you accepted their content.

Why did you accept a check-in report that stated a good condition?

jjlandlord

wildheart83 wrote: »

They haven't taken into consideration that the check in inventory description stated that it was in good condition.

The key is that, as they make clear, you agreed to that description.

DandelionPatrol

wildheart83 wrote: »

But the crux of my argument is that the item was damaged prior to me moving in. The condition hasn't changed because I was unable to use it because of the condition it was in when I moved in.

They haven't taken into consideration that the check in inventory description stated that it was in good condition but the photographic evidence shows otherwise

You have rather shot yourself in the foot here - and you have rather wasted people's time on this one - because you signed for it being in good condition.

You should have challenged the inventory description at the outset. I suggest that your best option now is compare notes with the new tenant and see if their inventory claims the item is in good condition, in which case you have new evidence and a claim via the small claims court may resolve the matter.

mrginge

See how easy it was to get to the answer once you posted the detail?

wildheart83

I did challenge the inventory. I sent an email to the LA 4 days after moving in which the adjudicator had a copy of. I'm sorry if you think I've not been clear but I've never had to go to adjudication before

DandelionPatrol

wildheart83 wrote: »

I did challenge the inventory. I sent an email to the LA 4 days after moving in which the adjudicator had a copy of. I'm sorry if you think I've not been clear but I've never had to go to adjudication before

Ah! Another little snippet.

Did you sign the inventory with or without reservation?

No need to be sorry - to us it does not matter to us that we have to pull the story out of you like pulling teeth. But the adjudicator will go with what you submit and not try to drag anything out of you.