Getting deposit back from rental house

laurajane6486

Hi all,

I've been renting a house for over 4 years and have just bought my own house which I should be moving in to in about 8 weeks time.

My landlords lived in the house I rent before me and I am the only tenant they have ever had. They are very aware I have been a good tenant (never missed a rent payment and I have kept their house in good condition - they often say it is nicer here now than when they lived here). Because they don't want to risk getting bad tenants they have chosen to sell the house when I move out, so it is currently on the market.

Although it's in good overall condition (obviously with 4 years wear and tear) there are a few things that they might pick up on the final inspection such as a faint stain on the living room carpet where I spilt a drink (I tried to get it out but a faint stain remains) and some marks on the wall in the bedroom around the window frame from where I put up a blind (that they agreed to being put up) where the end of the blind scratched the wall.

Obviously I am aware that these are the type of things they could claim for from my deposit when I leave. However if someone has bought the house by the time I leave I doubt my landlords will bother replacing carpets or repainting walls? Maybe I'm wrong, but if the sale is going through and the buyers haven't picked up on these things (which I doubt they will because they're barely noticeable) then why would the landlords bother?

So my question is if the landlords do spot these things when I leave can they take money from my deposit for them if they don't actually intend to do the work required? As in take the money and keep it for themselves? Or if they take money from the deposit do they have to spend it on the things they've identified and if so am I entitled to proof of this?

I could understand them taking £X from my deposit and using that money to repaint the bedroom for example. They would be well within their rights to do that. But could they take £X to repaint the bedroom and then not paint the bedroom and pocket the money?

Sorry this is a long post and I've maybe not explained my query very concisely. I have a good relationship with my landlords, I genuinely feel I've been a good tenant, and they feel the same, I'm hoping they won't want to keep any of my deposit but if they say they do for X, Y, Z reasons but I don't feel they're actually going to use that money for those reasons I want to know what rights I have.

Thanks, Laura

anselld

If you have made damage they can deduct for this and they do not need to actually do the work.

However they cannot claim for "betterment", they must make allowance for normal wear and tear for the time you have been there.

You missed out the most important detail; have you checked your deposit is protected in a scheme? If you are unhappy with any deductions and you cannot reach agreement then claim via the protection scheme.

G_M

If you scratch my car, I (or my insurance company) can make you pay the cost of repair.

Whether I choose to then have the repair done, or drive around in a scratched car & go to the pub instead, is up to me.

dekaspace

G_M wrote: »

If you scratch my car, I (or my insurance company) can make you pay the cost of repair.

Whether I choose to then have the repair done, or drive around in a scratched car & go to the pub instead, is up to me.

However they say they have lived there more than 4 years, landlord says they were a good tenant and property is better than when they lived there (but not formally likely) so is it a case of agent/landlord looking at every possible fault regardless of how model a tenant is and anything they have improved since moving in so it seems more of is it more a moral thing or business thing.

We also haven't been told how deep or noticable thet scratches are and we can't tell if the agent or landlord will bother or that the landlord wouldn't of redecorated anyway to get buyers in.

I am no landlord but I would assume unless it was high quality brand new carpet when tenant moved in theres much doubt its reaching the end of its life due to wear and tear.

Prothet_of_Doom

G_M wrote: »

If you scratch my car, I (or my insurance company) can make you pay the cost of repair.

Whether I choose to then have the repair done, or drive around in a scratched car & go to the pub instead, is up to me.

But this is not the way it is with rental property. If you lend me your car for 4 years and I do 100K miles, would you expect a few stone chips, and the tyres to be worn.

Fair wear and tear is to be expected, and repainting of emulsion on walls every 4 years would be expected of the landlord, more so if they rented to students or families, where more wear might be expected.

If the OP cares to look on the DPS web site there is much information.

https://www.depositprotection.com/documents/a-guide-to-tenancy-deposits-disputes-and-damages.pdf

https://www.depositprotection.com/case-studies

Guest101

Prothet_of_Doom wrote: »

But this is not the way it is with rental property. If you lend me your car for 4 years and I do 100K miles, would you expect a few stone chips, and the tyres to be worn.

Fair wear and tear is to be expected, and repainting of emulsion on walls every 4 years would be expected of the landlord, more so if they rented to students or families, where more wear might be expected.

If the OP cares to look on the DPS web site there is much information.

https://www.depositprotection.com/documents/a-guide-to-tenancy-deposits-disputes-and-damages.pdf

https://www.depositprotection.com/case-studies

That's not what G_M said, that is wear and tear, G_M was talking about damage

LEJC

If it were me I would be concentrating on leaving the house clean.As a LL I would much prefer that you leave the oven,hob,kitchen,bathroom etc in a good clean state....things can be old and worn...but it always looks well kept if clean IMO....a good few hours invested in cleaning will probably save you a potentially more than you budget for deduction for cleaning from your deposit....

Whilst you cant repaint,make sure things like skirting boards are dust and dirt free and if any have been scuffed its better to clean them now rather than leave them...cobwebs again knock them down...these are all things that you may be picked up on when leaving.
If there is a garden make sure you dont forget to tidy that...again you can be charged a mornings work of a gardener to tidy up from your deposit if the need is justified.



Obviously if you had a check in inventory you can refer to that to see how things were described and try to get the then and now to match as closely as you can....but your LL must appreciate that you are 4 years on.

My personal thoughts would be that if the property is going to be sold then the "damage" you describe would probably be overlooked.

Gilead

As LEJC says - leave the property clean first and foremost. The fact that they are selling and it is on the market means buyers will see it as it is without the LL having to undertake any work such as repainting etc.

If they thought it necessary they could subtract costs of any additions you have made to put it back to what it was before, but if they have been happy with you renting then I don't see any reason for them to do so. General wear and tear should not come off your deposit nor a fresh lick of paint.

See what happens!

Pixie5740

laurajane6486 wrote: »

So my question is if the landlords do spot these things when I leave can they take money from my deposit for them if they don't actually intend to do the work required? As in take the money and keep it for themselves? Or if they take money from the deposit do they have to spend it on the things they've identified and if so am I entitled to proof of this?

I could understand them taking £X from my deposit and using that money to repaint the bedroom for example. They would be well within their rights to do that. But could they take £X to repaint the bedroom and then not paint the bedroom and pocket the money?

Yes, if you have caused damage over and above fair wear and tear your landlord can make deductions from your deposit even if she doesn't go ahead and replace/repair whatever was damaged. Note however that she is not entitled to betterment, in other words she does not get new for old.

For example, if a room needed repainted and that was going to cost £100 your landlord won't get the full £100. She's had 4 years use out that paint whilst you've lived there plus however many years use she had out it whilst living there (lets say that's 5 years). So in total she's had 9 years use out that paint. The reasonable life expectancy of that decoration could be 10 years so your landlord has already had 9/10th of the useful life meaning on 1/10th could deducted from your deposit.

laurajane6486

Thanks for all the replies, I appreciate them.

The scratches are like silvery lines on the paint surface. The paint is purple so it's not as noticeable as it would be on other colours. The wall isn't actually scratched and maybe silver marks would have been a better description than scratched. They're on the inside of the recess of the window so not in an overly obvious place.

I will be leaving their house absolutely spotless. I'm a single woman living on my own so the place is very clean and tidy all of the time but I will be setting aside a day (hoping it won't take that long though) to scrub the whole place once it's empty, paying particular attention to the kitchen and bathroom.

I am well aware that if I damage their property my landlords can retain some of my deposit. I assumed it would be to put towards the cost of rectifying the damage. I wouldn't have thought they could profit from keeping any of my deposit though, but it seems I'm wrong.

Anyway, hopefully it won't be an issue. I just wanted to know where I would stand.

G_M

=Prothet of Doom;71305937]But this is not the way it is with rental property. If you lend me your car for 4 years and I do 100K miles, would you expect a few stone chips, and the tyres to be worn.

Fair wear and tear is to be expected, and repainting of emulsion on walls every 4 years would be expected of the landlord, more so if they rented to students or families, where more wear might be expected.

I was responding to the OP's question:

So my question is if the landlords do spot these things when I leave can they take money from my deposit for them if they don't actually intend to do the work required? As in take the money and keep it for themselves? Or if they take money from the deposit do they have to spend it on the things they've identified and if so am I entitled to proof of this?

The quesion of what constitutes damge Vs wear and tear is of course relevant, but is a seperate issue which I did not address.