getting the deposit back (end of rental)

Melissa177

10 years - I think that is a lot, it depends on the carpet quality.

Reasonable wear and tear is to be expected, and the tennant should not have to pay for a new carpet (paying for professional cleaning is pretty generous).

loga

thanks to Victor i 've find again this thread : it was lost somewhere.

Nothing new for the moment. I have send a mail to the EA and wait for her answer before sending a first formal letter. I am worriing a lot abot all of that and really hope it will gone well.

thanks for your support anyway and sorry again about my english (i'm french)

ashcarrot

Incidently if you have any pictures you can post of the damage it might help us judge how much to offer etc.

Loretta

real1314 wrote: »

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.

I agre although as it has been a month already with nothing being done I think 7 days is long enough so as to keep her mind on it and keep this moving

loga

I have no pictures unfortunatly. Concerning the carpet, i do think it is just a few stains that did not respond to the professionnal cleaning but some where already there and she rent it us anyway. Concerning the laminate floor, i know we have to pay for something as part of the damage was caused by our kids (the other part is the water and it was her washing machin not ours)

I am preparing the letter but my english is awful for that kind of thing (well i can speak but writing with no mistakes is SO difficult). Would you be help me to do so ?


My start :

Dear Landlady

We have left your property on 31 july 2007. Since then, we have had no news from you concerning the return of our deposit, nor quote on any sort. We therefore waiting forward to receiving our deposit back within the next 7 days.

Best regards

your ex - tenant

loga

Hi again

just to keep you inform, nothing else happened since i have send the letter to the landlady.

What should be our next step ?

thank again

Loga

loga

I have today received a list of dilapidation that the Landlord would like to deduct from our deposit via the estate agent.

It is absolutly crazy and i would really appreciate your comments + help to respond.

in blue, the proposal, in red state on inventory in and in green state on inventory out, in black my comment.

Cleaning - £385.00 kitchen acceptably clean, contents clean, oven clean, cooker hood greasy to casing, hob clean smeary to casing, fridge clean, washing machin clean, freezer clean diswasher clean sanitary ware clean, the outgoing tenants had the property given a Maids clean, However this is not the standart noted at the commencement of the tenancy and futher general cleaning is required. We had a maid clean the flat and it was not perfect but i didn`t get a professional clean at the beginning of the tenancy.

Garden (putting in good order, replacement of dead plants) £379.20 + £56.22 good order and well maintened the rear garen required sweeping and the flower beds require further weeding and digging over. the garden was fine when we left, and i wouldn`t imagine that we were responsible of replacing dead plants

Coffee table repair £350 few light scratches, seen to top surface, generally good aged order, there is a large stain / blistering to the surface of the coffee table would have been cheapest to buy an order one in a charity shop !!!

Replacement of dining chair - £69 Removal of unwanted chairs - £10 One of the dining chair has been cracked, We didn`t found a similar one so we bought a full set of 4 wooden effect dinig chair to replace. The landlady doesn`t like them. Can she make us pay for that ?

Replacement of security keys from Banham - £42.30 ???? we have given back ALL the keys as stated in the inventory why shall we have to pay for a replacement


Replacement of Wing-back armchair - £795.00 shaded to both arm covers, seat cushion marked, heavy general ingrained soiling and staining to its entire plus a large red candle wax stain to one side and a large lilac crayon stibble type mark to the seat. This will have to be cleaned and not respond satisfactorily to cleaning then it will have to be re-assessed. This was a big cream upholstered arm chair quite old. She want to buy a new one i guess but is that fair ? i don`t know what to think about that as it was really an old stuff already.

Repair of Kitchen / dining area of wood floor - £593.37 i agree for the replacement of the dinig area as i recognize that my children have made some scraches running from the garden in the room (but it was already numerous light sraches and scuffs noted in the inventory in). i don`t agree with the kitchen area as it come from a leak from the diswasher that she was aware of (stated on the inventory out).

Replacement of stained carpet in back bedroom - £890 (verbal quote) professional clean in and out. a few stain remains : the carpet wasn`t new and there was already a stain noted on the inventory in. whaht shall i do ?

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP

loga

sorry in my anger i posted twice

olly300

Can you answer yes or no to these questions:
1.Cleaning- Can you prove the property was not professionally or otherwised cleaned properly at the start of your tenancy?
2. Garden - did you weed the garden at least a week before you left?
3. Garden - did you have a lawn mower and mow the lawn a week before you left?
4. Cleaning - do you have a receipt for your maid clean?


If the answer is yes to 2, 3 and 4. I suggest you write to landlady a letter with the title "Letter Before Action". In the letter state you dispute all her claims and want you deposit back within 21 days otherwise you will take court action to get your deposit back, and she will be liable for costs plus interest. Send the letter to her via recorded delivery. If the letter doesn't reach her then go to her house with a witness and put "Hand Delivered" on the envelope and post it through her letterbox.

After 21 days if she hasn't offered to give you what you consider a reasonable amount of your desposit back then submit a claim via moneyclaim on line for all of your deposit. You claim for all of it because it's up to the judge to decide how much of your deposit you should get back. Post back here and you will get help in what to write.

BTW I think it's unreasonable for anyone to charge for extra weeding of the garden in summer when plants grow very fast. I have to weed my garden every 2 weeks in summer otherwise it can get overgrown with weeds. Plus no landlord can seriously expect tenants to take care of their garden to the standard they expect. If they are that worried about the garden the best thing is to pay for a gardener and add the cost on to the rent. If they don't the best they can expect is the tenant to do some weeding of the weeds they recognise, which means they may be quite large, and mow the lawn.

Also carpets according to the carpet shops I've been to lately can last anything from 5 to 15 years depending on the quality and grading.

rs82uk

this is the problem with the uk we let anyone be a landlord and they can get away with anything, every single rented property I have lived in I have had a battle getting my deposit back, most of these buy to let morons don't have a clue what they are doing and think they can make a fast buck, they are always coming to you wanting to put the rent up but mysteriously dissapear when things need doing around the house.