Can I still get my deposit back?

bob81341

I was a lodger. The contract stated "A deposit of £100 is required prior to arriving at the property refunded at the end of stay here unless damage has occurred". No inventory was ever performed, although I did take pictures of the ceiling leaking and the mold that followed.

I moved in on 24/08/2014 and I left the property on 08/08/2015
On 12/08/2015 the landlord emails me saying that she will only return half of my £100 deposit claiming that she had to replace all the soft furnishings and have the room deep cleaned.
On 12/08/2015 I emailed her my bank account information and said nothing else.

I decided not to fight it on 12/08/2015 as I was feeling very ill and I had to visit the emergency room on the previous day with symptoms of appendicitis. I was then hospitalized between the 15th and 21st.

On 25/08/2015 I emailed the college that recommended the landlord to me and asked them to mediate the dispute about the deposit
On 1/09/2015 An employee of the college told me that she passed it onto her supervisor.
On 1/10/2015 (after several reminder emails in September) I finally received a reply from the college asking for more information.
On 2/10/2015 the college told me they don't involved in these kinds of disputes and recommended that I try Citizen’s advice bureau.
On 2/10/2015 I used shelter.org.uk online form where I submitted all the details and asked for mediation.
On 7/10/2015 shelter responded and emailed me a link to a list of my rights, and a link to advice on how to negotiate the return of a deposit. They then said if negotiation doesn't work I would need to follow the procedure for going to court.
On 23/10/2015 I emailed the landlord asking for receipts for the deductions and an explanation for why she had to replace any soft furnishings.
On 27/10/2015 I sent the landlord a letter asking for receipts for the deductions.
On 27/10/2015 the landlord responded saying "You certainly used all the linen, duvets pillows etc and they all needed replacing as despite washing and dry cleaning they could not be used for another student. Had you asked when I informed you back in August I could certainly forwarded receipts but I no longer have them sorry."

Nancy2016

I'm no expert, but surely bedding is wear and tear?

No receipts, no proof.

Politely ask for your full refund.

bob81341

I believe that she will try to argue that I waited too long to ask her for receipts.

Guest101

6 years - from date of last payment - so i would say 6 years from when she refunded part of your deposit

Pixie5740

It's been months. Just send your landlord a letter before action asking for your £100 back. Forget all this fanny about with mediation. Unless you did something truly horrible to the bed linen meaning it had to be incinerated.

burnoutbabe

I'd be asking for the bedding back if charged for it!

G_M

The receipts might constitute evidence that the LL had purchased new sheets, but

a) it does not prove new sheets were needed
b) a receipt is not required anyway - if there was damage beyond fair wear and tear, the LL can charge for the damage, but does not have to buy new sheets

You don't say whether you ever received the £50 agreed. Did you?

As to whether the sheets etc were damaged beyond FW&T, what did the LL say exactly?

"they all needed replacing as despite washing and dry cleaning they could not be used for another student".

Seems ambiguous. If they were now unusable, that might indicate damage or permanant staining. There again, how old were they? If already 10 years old, maybe they simply reached the end of their lives.

Only a court can decide, after listening to both sides, unless you reach a compromise.

Jones51412

On 12/08/2015 the landlord emails me saying that she will only return half of my £100 deposit claiming that she had to replace all the soft furnishings and have the room deep cleaned.
On 12/08/2015 I emailed her my bank account information and said nothing else.

After this she did return £50 of my deposit. She still has the other £50.

I sent her a filled in version of this template: http://www.shelter.org.uk/__data/assets/word_doc/0004/1145938/LD2_Request_for_the_return_of_balance_of_lodgers_deposit.docx

She has responded with "I will not be sending anything else in writing to you as I explained had you made the request for receipts sooner this would not of been a problem."

She is saying "even once cleaned your body odour was still lingering within the bedding etc". I have no idea how old the bedding was. She claims that this is due to me not leaving the windows open enough. There is no evidence that she trashed or replaced any bedding.

In December she started asking me to leave the windows open to help the room dry out because the roof was leaking:
http://imageshack.com/a/img661/7493/ame5MH.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img673/3669/5xBFsm.jpg
http://imageshack.com/a/img661/5795/WLgfCN.jpg

I told her it was far too cold to leave them open for long periods of time (the heating only came on at 6am and 6pm regardless of how cold the house got). I did leave them open for her when I went out shopping or out to college. She responded by telling me to use a thicker blanket.

In March she was still asking me to leave them open (she wanted them open for longer). I told her that the thermometer in the house was measuring 16.1 and it's not supposed to drop below 18. I offered to move out if she was sick of me, she responded with "I am happy to have you remain lodging with me unless you want to move.".

In April she turned the thermostat off and the heating never returned even on extremely cold days, so I only started leaving the windows open for very large periods of time in May when it was warmer.

G_M

I'm not sure what further information you are asking for. The options have been explained.

* You've asked for your £50 back
* she's refused
* you've asked why
* she's explained
* you can either leave it there or
* if you disagree and want to pursue the £50, send a 'Letter Before Action' and then take her to court

Jones51412

I'm asking if her defense that I waited too long to contact her to ask for receipts is a valid defense in court, and if her reason for taking the deposit has any merit.

Guest101

Jones51412 wrote: »

I'm asking if her defense that I waited too long to contact her to ask for receipts is a valid defense in court, and if her reason for taking the deposit has any merit.

I've already said there's 6 years to chase any claim.


The merits are for the court to decide