prescribed information deposit protection

dgtazzman

Hi all,

I just wanted to check with people more in the know if this would satisfy all the prescribed information legally required regarding the protection of my deposit. I have moved out/ended the tenancy and my LL is being a bit of a pain.

She wants:

- GBP 114 for cleaning a small 1-bed cottage. To keep things friendly, I have agreed to this charge, even if it is excessive.
- GBP 22 for a new kettle as the (quite old) one in the place was no longer working. I wouldn't know as I never used the kettle, I brought my own and this broken kettle was in a cardboard box for the 10 months I was there. I didn't want to use it as it looked dirty inside and actually had some corrosion on it. I have argued this and told her she couldn't charge me the full GBP 22 anyway, as that would be betterment, but she won't let it slip.
- GBP 37 for painting some marks and scuffs on the wall behind the sofa. These were already there when I moved in, but as the check in or contract didn't state anything about the state of the property, I left it for what it was. An inventory was made, but in essence only lists the furnishings of the property (it was fully furnished) without saying what state they were in, also no mention is made to the actual condition of the property itself when I moved in and no pictures were made.

Now, my contract only has one line in it about the deposit, namely 'A deposit of XXX to be collected by the Agent, held by the Landlord and protected by the DPS scheme'. No further information regarding the deposit is listed in the contract. It does my the LL's contact details in it.

A few days after moving in, I also got an email from DPS with my deposit ID and repayment ID.

I did not receive anything regarding the dispute process, terms, etc. of the DPS.

I don't want to be unreasonable and I have actually offered the LL GBP 150 as full and final settlement, saying I agree to the cleaning charge and the rest is a gesture of goodwill to get things wrapped up, but I'm afraid she's just going to keep chasing me till I agree to all her deductions. She even asked me to sign a letter to say I agreed to them, which I have kindly refused, telling her this is to be settled through the DPS.

Is there scope to use the (lack of) prescribed information as a bargaining chip here? I am pretty confident if I upgraded it to a claim with the DPS, I would win the argument, but I'd rather save the hassle, drop a hint and get her to agree to the GBP 150.

HappyMJ

Why would you pay £150 for what sounds like no reason at all?

Dispute the lot and you will get the lot back. It's not that much of a hassle at all.

£114 would pay for a cleaner for one whole day. A 1 bedroom cottage wouldn't take much more than a couple of hours to thoroughly clean and as long as you left it reasonably clean then they can't deduct anything.

theartfullodger

No PI served & you can sue LL for up to 3x deposit.. see..
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/tenancy_deposits/tenancy_deposit_protection_schemes/penalties_if_a_landlord_breaks_tenancy_deposit_rules

A landlord can be ordered to pay compensation

A court can order your landlord to pay you compensation if you're an assured shorthold tenant and your landlord:

* fails to protect your deposit in a government-backed scheme
* doesn't give you the required information about the scheme being used
* takes too long to protect your deposit or give you the required information
In most cases, your landlord has 30 days to comply with tenancy deposit rules from the date your deposit was paid or your tenancy was renewed.

The court can also order your landlord to repay your deposit or to protect it in a government-approved tenancy deposit scheme.

The amount of compensation can be up to 3 times the value of your deposit.

For what PI is see....
http://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2016/06/07/tenancy-deposit-prescribed-information/

fishpond

Does the £114 include carpets, cooker, curtains, windows and general cleaning?
If so, that is very cheap in the area I live in.
Also the way I read your post, you are disputing £23? Are you serious?

Boatdweller

If there are no pictures or descriptions of the condition of the property from move In and move out you can dispute the entire claim. How can the ll prove it needs to be cleaned / painted? Where is their evidence.

Charging for a new kettle is betterment which as you know they can't do.

Dispute the full amount.

dgtazzman

I know the amount seems a laugh, but I am disputing purely on principle. I wouldn't care if I didn't get any of the deposit back, but after the landlord verbally told me I had been a great tenant when I left and then 5 days later asked me to sign a letter that says I abused the property and lied to her, I'm digging my heels in, even if it is over 23 quid. The property was left in a good condition, in fact she says so herself in the sentence before she implies I abused the place as a storage depot. I was in between owned houses, so yes, I had a certain amount of flat packed furniture with me, but if I choose to store that in my rental property, that's my business, not hers. I arranged it so it wouldn't do any damage, padded it all, put my own carpets underneath it to save the flooring in the rental, etc. I even offered to remove it and store it in a storage facility after they first brought it up during the tenancy, but they agreed I could keep it there till I moved out, so they can hardly complain about it after the facts.

As for the cleaning, no carpets, all laminate. I cleaned the place when I left, including the windows in and out, but I surrendered the tenancy nearly a month early, so I told them they could get a cleaner in to give the place another clean before a new tenant moved in as the place is rural and would be filled with spider webs again in that window of a few weeks.

Didn't use the oven in the 10 months I was there even once, so that was in same condition as when I moved in.

I'd even argue I left the place in better condition than when I moved in. The place has a very high ceiling and I used a ladder to climb up in the bathroom and cleaned away a load of mold that was hidden away in some hidden corners nobody had checked for years, along with a vast collection of spider webs throughout the rest of the property.

LL is a bit of a chancer. The property was a self-contained annex/bungalow on the same land as their house. They should be paying council tax on the property (included in my rent as per my contract), but I did some digging and the council doesn't even know the annex is there. One letter to the right department would get them in a world of trouble. I even got the husband to admit to me at one point they weren't paying council tax on it and was told to keep my mouth shut about it or they would have to increase the rent.

Complication is I'm abroad for work for 3 months now. If I was home, I would probably bite down hard, but as I'm in a less than ideal position, I'd prefer an amicable split.

G_M

The 'Prescribed Information' varies depending on which deposit scheme is used. See examples:

Prescribed Information (RLA explanation of each scheme's PI and what must be provided)

For more on deposits generally, see:

* Deposits: payment, protection and return

Marvel1

Stuff them, even if they claim £10 I would dispute it's your money, don't agree to the cleaning charge and dispute the full amount, hope you get more back than claimed.

Marvel1

dgtazzman wrote: »

LL is a bit of a chancer. The property was a self-contained annex/bungalow on the same land as their house. They should be paying council tax on the property (included in my rent as per my contract), but I did some digging and the council doesn't even know the annex is there. One letter to the right department would get them in a world of trouble. I even got the husband to admit to me at one point they weren't paying council tax on it and was told to keep my mouth shut about it or they would have to increase the rent.

I would definitely now send a letter to the council.

silvercar

Depends how you want to play out your principles.

Easiest way to get your entire deposit back would be to say that failure to return your deposit in full will lead you to check the council tax situation with the local council.

FBaby

Are you sure you didn't get the PI? It is easy to forget that it was received but not knowing exactly what it is at the time, it is put somewhere and forgotten. If going through the agency, it is very possible it was sent to you by email if you exchanged any communication this way.

As to the deposit dispute, either dispute all of it, or agree to cleaning and nothing else. It will be up to her to prove that the place was unclean and that you broke the kettle and that the mark on the wall wasn't there before.

It's up to you what step you want to take, but it is quite a painful process, both going through arbitration and/or court (which you would need to do to claim for the PI not being issued, so up to you if you think it is worth it as a matter of principle.