Panicking over return of owed money from LL (moved out but not cleaned yet)

dekaspace

Notice ends Sunday though LL wont be round to collect keys to Tuesday so I could be naughty and use those 2 days to clean if I get overwhelmed.

Its a unfurnished property and all that is left now is my hoover, a stepladder, carpet cleaning machine, and a small bedside cabinet I forgot to take when furniture was moved and a pc and small tv and thats getting moved by a friend with a car.

The actual cleaning may take a hour may take 3 hours as I have to shred loads of old documents, take out bin bags etc then hoover up and use shampoo machine.

But I am panicking, there was no deposit taken for property instead was 2 months paid in advance.

Oh and its Scotland, the notice was 30 days and yes LL told me this by multiple emails, and accepted notice I gave by hand and wrote me a letter confirming the end date.

However in person and on the letter they said "any money owed will be returned after we inspect the property"

This makes me panic they may claim damages i.e what should be wear and tear and I will have to take them to court to get money back.

Either way what would be a reasonable amount of time for them to inspect, and get back to me (and return money)

There is a complicated matter as well, when I moved in the previous tenant left a run down fridge and washing machine, the fridge broke shortly after I moved in and LL refused to repair saying its previous tenants property, not on inventory and it was up to me to repair or dispose of (and when I move out it must be moved)

Tben the washing machine broke and I had to use my own money (and took it apart myself) to fix it the part cost £20, if I went with a professional to fix would of been around £120!

I took machine with me when I moved so panicing they may claim I stole it, I think I still have the emails where they claimed its nothing to do with them and doesn't belong to them and it was up to me and my expense to fix it and I could do what I want with it.

Can I get some advice on all this?

G_M

dekaspace wrote: »

But I am panicking, there was no deposit taken for property instead was 2 months paid in advance.

Rent is rent.
A deposit is a deposit.

If no deposit was taken, then there is no deposit to return.

When did you last pay rent? A month ago? Paying 2 months rent in advance? So you've overpaid rent by 1 month. This can not be used as a deposit to cover damage, it can only be treated as rent.

I'm not familiar with Scottish law, but assume overpaid rent should be returned, and can be claimed via the courts.

If (as seems possible) the landlord tries to use the overpaid rent to cover damage or cleaning, then by definition he is treating it as a deposit, and therefore is in breach of the deposit protection laws!

da_rule

In a similar way to England and Wales, Scottish landlords have to protect a deposit in an approved scheme. Assuming you never received a certificate then it is fair to say that the money you paid was not a deposit.

As it was rent in advance, did you then not pay rent for 2 months? If you paid rent on top of the rent in advance then it would appear that you are owed rent which has been overpaid. As said, they cannot take damages out of this. If there is damage they would have to take legal action against you. Likewise, if they refuse to payback the overpayment then you would have to take legal action.

dekaspace

da_rule wrote: »

In a similar way to England and Wales, Scottish landlords have to protect a deposit in an approved scheme. Assuming you never received a certificate then it is fair to say that the money you paid was not a deposit.

As it was rent in advance, did you then not pay rent for 2 months? If you paid rent on top of the rent in advance then it would appear that you are owed rent which has been overpaid. As said, they cannot take damages out of this. If there is damage they would have to take legal action against you. Likewise, if they refuse to payback the overpayment then you would have to take legal action.

I am on benefits, so paid up enough that I was always 2 months in advance taking into account benefits are paid in arrears, unfortunately when I had my moving in date I phoned council to have them say they only sent payment for previous month to landlord 2 days before, I got the last payment paid to myself, I got LL to give me a rent statement showing that as of the date I gave notice I was not only 2 months in advance paid up but £88 on top of that meaning I should get 1 months back at end plus £88, the final benefit payment made in arrears I got paid to me, this is of course as its 30 days notice, so may be a few quid more than that.

Rent is £275 a month so I am due about £363 back.

What about the washing machine though? since LL said by email its not theirs and I can do what I want with it, and its not on inventory.

G_M

dekaspace wrote: »

....

What about the washing machine though? since LL said by email its not theirs and I can do what I want with it, and its not on inventory.

What washing machine? Not on the inventory. There IS no washing machine.

da_rule

They cannot withhold the money from you. If they wanted to claim that you 'stole' the washing machine then they would have to pursue you through the courts. As you have evidence of them saying they don't want it then they wouldn't have a leg to stand on really.

Do you have to repay any of the extra money to the Council? If so, they may be willing to help you get it back if the landlord tries to do anything dodgy.

dekaspace

About the wear and tear thing also, I notice the paint looks a little "dirty" in places that being said it was the cheapest white paint you could get, when the bathroom flooded and the wall was painted I was with the person who bought the cheapest Wilko tub of paint which cost a few quid and went over it once and barely used any of the paint, and that was even with painting one of the bedroom walls too, I also remember one time after I had only just come out of shower in dressing gown and touched my fingers to a wall there was fingerprints on the paint it is that cheap, and notice around the lightsocket it looks darker so the paint is so cheap and nasty.

Theres no gloss to it, for the landlords here if paint that cheap and nasty was used would you count the slighest marks on walls from the paint being that bad as wear and tear or damage? As to me if it was good quality paint (even better cheap stuff) it wouldn't be that bad that easily.

So back to the wear and tear, the only damage I can say is mine is in bedroom where the bed was and even though I had a headboard theres sweaty marks I attempted to clean but got nowhere (again the cheap paint meant even with sugar soap and the gentlest touches and cloths the paint just rubbed away)

Though thats the same room where theres still evidence of the leak from the bathroom which is next to it.

Wear and tear and things not my fault are in kitchen again which is other side of bathroom where the wall attached to bathroom has dried wet marks, and a small part of wallpaper down (and holes in wall which LL told me to do) when I had a seperate flood shortly after I moved in)

In no other room theres any damage of any sort bar the paint looking worn/dirty.

Back to me asking, would a reasonable landlord or the ones here charge for repainting, for one bearing in mind its 2 and a half years since I moved in, cheapest paint they could get and all that needs painted at most is a patch of bedroom wall, around light sockets and edges of hallway wall

da_rule

A few marks on the walls should be expected under fair wear and tear, especially after 2 and a half years.

Also, you do need to stop worrying quite so much, as they don't have a deposit they can deduct anything from.

dekaspace

da_rule wrote: »

A few marks on the walls should be expected under fair wear and tear, especially after 2 and a half years.

Also, you do need to stop worrying quite so much, as they don't have a deposit they can deduct anything from.

Having had pretty much every landlord I have ever had claim money for damages even when I was on hands and knees bleaching the sealant in showers or scrubbing it, on chairs dusting door frames, furniture polishing wood etc.

Last one claimed I trashed home even though he bought property 15 years previous with the furniture he claimed I trashed in it, and wanted thousands for new furniture even "man with van" to take stuff to dump, luckily got deposit back as he never protected it, one before I wasn't as lucky and even though he had hidden deep holes in ktichen walls when I moved in, had thin plywood cupboard doors in bedroom that snapped first use., poundland tiles in kitchen where a single one cracked, and the chipboard on walls crumbled, he claimed was damaged, he even claimed the marks where the metal headboard scraped against wall and sofa in living room was (which he did himself in front of me to check under it) was damage.

One before that charged me £120 cleaning costs for a few crumbs I left in a drawer, I forgot to scour baking tray on last use, and leaving a take away menu, and a old blank cd and small piece of bubble wrap fell in a gap in cupboard.

Even had the cheek to charge me £12 for rubber gloves that can be bought from poundland, and that was for a studio flat.

So some dirt looking marks (talking about you would have to know they were there) would be seen as wear and tear in most peoples eyes.

I guess that includes dirty looking paint around light sockets.

da_rule

I think that most reasonable landlords would see a few marks as fair wear and tear. Also, as they don't seem to have taken a deposit they would have to take you through the courts and prove that it wasn't fair wear and tear, which could be more trouble than it's worth.

Arleen

da_rule wrote: »

I think that most reasonable landlords would see a few marks as fair wear and tear. Also, as they don't seem to have taken a deposit, they would have to take you through the courts and prove that it wasn't fair wear and tear, which could be more trouble than it's worth.

Reasonable is the key word, and while there are many reasonable ones, there is also large river filled with unreasonable ones. The point you've made is important, though, and that is the reason why landlords should always take a deposit, as otherwise, it's too expensive to chase for money for small damages.