getting the deposit back (end of rental)

loga

Hi all

To cut a long story short, we have moved from our rented property on 31rst of july. We have lived there 19 months as a family of 4 then 5 (3 children under 6, one born there with contract renewed and the landlady knew i was pregnant). It is a 2 bedrooms flat with a garden. We had an inventory in and out and the money is keeped by the state agency. Since 2 weeks i have been chasing the EA for getting a least part of our deposit back but the landlady doesn't send any quote althought i know she is totally redecorating the property and want us to pay for majority of the work done.

problems :
cleaning : We have had the property cleaned by a maid company (we really thought that was professional but the company was bad and the cleaning was not great : but the property was not professionally cleaned at the beginning of the tenancy. Cleaning is a point we agreed to have it done. Now we are rethinking because she is redoing everything and would have it cleaned afterwards but we beleive it is not us to pay for it : what do you think ?

carpets : we had it professionnally steam cleaned but some stains didn't respond well. She is now changing all the carpets and apparently want us to pay for this : i beleive it is not fair as the carpets were not new when we get in. We would be happy to pay for a part of it if necessary but not for all. Is that right ?

Garden : The garden was in good condition and we maintened it normally. the inventory says we shoud have cut more the bush and the land lady says we should have had a gardener, and want us to pay for a gardener to redo the garden. We do not agree as it was not stated in the contract. Is that something we have to pay for ?

laminated floor : the floor in the dining / kitchen was not new and it is now scarthched. We agree with that as the children have play a lot in the garden + there was a leak during the tenancy (washing machine) : she had the appliance repaired but never cared about the floor before we quit the property. Now she want us to pay for replacement in full : we do not agree for a full refund as it was not new and the water damaged the floor but that her responsability to have it repaired in due time (we had told her about and she came to inspect at some point and did nothing). So we agree for a part of the replacement (don;t know how to figure how much as the floor was not new : probably 3 years old / shall i asked the receipt for that ? )

She also want us to pay for various things that we have never heard about before now and are not stated in the inventory out made by an independant expert.

All of this has been given me over the phone but for the moment i have nothing in writing. she told me she has the work being done in the moment (i had asked for quote but she didn;t send me any and the work is being done without our permission / do we still have to pay ? ) and she has said to the EA that the quote had been send to them by post this week ( 2 differents versions; which one should i believe ?)

waht are your advices on this matter ? shall i send a formal letter to her and the EA to request for the deposit ?

thank you for your help

Loga

She now says that we have broken and damaged all her property.

clutton_2

wait and see what you get in writing first.

loga

thank you clutton. We have been waiting one month now and would like thinks to spped up a little bit as we need the money (like everybody i guess ).

coal9011

What is in your tenancy agreement with regard to your responsibilities?

Does it say that your deposit can be retained against carpet cleaning, damage etc. ?

If it does not say anything about these then ask yourself the "honest" question: " is the property in a worse state - apart from normal ware & tear - then when I first moved in?" If your answer is Yes then make an offer towards this, from your deposit, to your landlord. But if your answer is No and your landlord keeps your deposit THEN DO NOT LET HER GET AWAY WITH IT!

Get £80.00 together and issue a County Court Claim against her for the return of your deposit! To many landlords think of your deposit as "their's" when you leave which is not fair if you have been a good tenant and caused no damage. If needs be, you will most likely qualify for Legal Aid if it becomes complicated (unlikely) where as your landlord will have to pay for legal advice. You seem to have been a good tenant and have been reasonable with your attempts at cleaning carpets,cleaning and the garden. A District Judge will look at this and take it into account (favourably) when considering your claim.

But if you have caused damage - then it is only fair that you contribute towards putting thing back in order! Then I am affraid you can say "goodbye" to most or all of your deposit. TAKE AN HONEST LOOK AT YOUR SITUATION AND THEN TAKE THE APPROPRIATE ACTION! " Good Luck "

loga

many thanks Coal.

Well to be honest we have 3 kids : one is a baby so no damage from him but the 2 others are 6 and 3 and they played a lot in the garden which is less wonderful as it was when we came in (but still nice : it is just that a few plants died thank to the poor weather also) + the laminate floor has been scratched a bit because of them running from outside despite my asking of putting off shoes ... that's why we have already agree (verbally for the moment) to participate to the re assessement of the floor (i say participate because it would not be fair to ask for a new laminate floor totally paid by us as the older one was not new when we came in.

For the cleaning, i was not happy with the cleaning made by the maids (2 of them for a whole morning and they made an awful job) and when the landlady came in with the inventory agent, i show them the receipt and proposed to pay for an other cleaning if necessary because i felt it was not great.

I was quite happy (well happy is not the word but it sound to me fair to pay for these 2 things) with that but then the landlady start complaining about nearly everything.

i wonder now about one thing : is wear and tear take into account the fact that we have children ?

I really think we didn't damage the property and tried our best to give back to the same standart as at the beginning of the tenancy apart from the floor in the dining/kitchen. But i am really wooried because she is really unpleasant on the phone and keep saying we were awful tenants !

How long shall i wait before i send a letter as i have nothing in written after one month ?

coal9011

I think - as you have already left the property - that you should write to your landlord asking for your deposit back now.

Then you will at least get a letter back from her stating that she is going to retain some or all of your deposit and you will know where you stand.(you can use this letter in your court case)

If your tenancy agreement does not contain conditions about keeping your deposit, then issue your court claim straightaway thereafter. This shows that you mean business and might even spur her to returning some of your deposit. If not then let a judge decide the outcome - the ruling will be fair either way. I think that its worth investing £80 to perhaps secure the return of £100's

BUT DON'T NOT DO ANYTHING!, or you will be paying for your landlords property maintenance.

Rick62

Sounds like your landlady is tring to get you to pay for a complete redecoration. You are not expected to keep the place perfect, you are allowed 'normal wear and tear', which means exactly that. There are loads of threads about this, have a look, including there is a free legal service to help with this sort of problem.

shamac

Hi Loga
we are currently taking our llandlord to court through the small claims system mentioned above for different reasons to you-he claims we broke our contract early.

Anyway i have found the websites for Shelter and arla.co.uk invaluable. If you need help filling in your small claims forms come on this forum and someone will give you good advice. Citizens advice is good as well but they are always very busy. Get a letter from your landlady stating exactly how much she thinks she should keep and why-ask for actual amounts-how much to replace the carpet etc. If you have contact with her from now on make sure it is in writing-don't speak on the phone you have no record. if you send her a letter send it registered post.

Best of luck-i had a 3 year old and a 6 year old in a house with white-carpets everywhere-and i mean everywhere! and it was a complete nightmare and i couldn't wait to leave. You are allowed to live in your home and it can't be in exactly the same state as a couple of years earlier-any judge will understand that. Stick to your guns it sounds like you have done evrything humanly possible to make the place clean and tidy-don't let her get away with it. Let us know how you get on
shamac xx

loga

thank for your good advices. I have gone to Shelter and arla and found a lot of information.

I will write a first letter as stated in Shelter on tuesday and of course will let you know how it goes.

thanks again

Loga

Melissa177

I simply can't believe the number of LLs who think that the deposit is their money to do a flat up with at the end of a tenancy.

real1314

re the carpets - the landlord cannot charge for full replacement if the carpet was not new when you moved in.

you might expect a 10 year life span from a reasonable carpet, therefore if it was already 3 years old, the maximum they could ask for is about 55% of the value (70% as it was already 3 yrs old, then another 15% off for the 18 months you were there). However if the carpet was not completely ruined during your stay, and might have been ok for another coupl of years, then they must tke this into account too - if it would have lasted 2 more years, that's another 20% off.
The laminated floor falls into a similar situation, however the damage due to the flood is the landlord's responsibility (assuming it was the landlord's washing machine?)

The best thing to do is to write to the landlord asking for their assesment of the damage and the cost within 14 days. Ask them to provide at least 2 estimates for each part of their damage claim, together with their own calculation for fair wear and tear. Keep a copy of the letter and get proof of posting (go to a post office to post it and ask them).

let us know their response and people will be able to give more advice.