Rental Deposit dispute

letswait

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone can help. Having recently left a rental property which I had been in for 4 years, the landlord has raised some points and asked for almost a third of the deposit back.

Firstly, what's most surprising is that all inspections done by the EA have been fine and when the LL came round all was fine then.
The LL is selling the property and we showed flexibility when the house was on the market and subsequently sold.

So my issues with what they are raising are:
From the inventory that was done when I checked in and then checked out, most of the points were raised in the check in, so I don't see why I should have to pay for things like wall discolouration etc?
They are asking for compensation on stains on the carpets which also were noted when I moved in, and also, they're selling so won't be replacing the carpets, just pocketing the money.

Can they ignore the check-out and check-in reports? As it seems they have paid no attention to them. I am also a bit surprised that the EA didn't say all this to them also? But seem just to be acting as a middle-man.

Am I going mad, or am I within my rights to dispute?

Hope to hear any responses.
TIA

Comms69

the Letting Agent works for the landlord, they are NOT a middleman.


Ofcourse, dispute it. You should do that straight away.


(a LL does NOT have to replace anything, they can just pocket the money)

aneary

Dispute all deductions you have the reports.

It's the LL responsibility to prove the damage.

PropertyFag

As others have said, dispute it. Sounds like nonsense.

Wall discolouration will fall under "wear and tear", so it' not deductible.

The deposit should be secured in a deposit scheme - so the landlord can't just dip into the deposit if you dispute it - it will need to do go through a mediation process, at which point he will need to provide proof to support his claims.

G_M

see


* Deposits: payment, protection and return

FBaby

Firstly, what's most surprising is that all inspections done by the EA have been fine and when the LL came round all was fine then.

Firstly, you shouldn't be surprised by this. You are entitled to live as you see fit, contractually, your only obligation is to return the place as it was when you moved in save W&T. Inspections should really about ensuring that there isn't serious damage or concerns that could make the LL liable if something went badly wrong, ie. the fire alarms have been taken out, tenant has done something to the electric sockets that could cause a fire etc...

Some LL/rental agents will take the opportunity to 'warn' about issues that could mean that either the LL is not happy and could wish to terminate the tenancy when they can legally do so, or cause them to ask for some of the deposit.

If it goes to ADR, it will come down to interpretation of the difference between the check-in and check-out. Discoloration of walls is unlikely to be granted as after 4 years, this will most likely fall under W&T.

Stains on carpet depends on whether he is referring to the same ones noted on the check-in report or new ones. If new ones, depends on how bad they are. Tiny spots might be considered W&T depending on the age of the carpet, bigger ones might result in some money going to the LL.

All you can do is challenge what you don't agree with and leave for the ADR to decide.

letswait

Thanks all for the responses and advice.

letswait

Hi All,

Just thought I would write a little conclusion as how it all ended.

The information supplied by GM was really useful, and the comments made about the landlord requiring proof was essential.

After emailing the agent with my objections (proof of check-in & check-out reports) and also a breakdown of cost the amount requested by them the amount they wanted dropped from
35% to 13%.

This is where it came into providing more evidence on communications supplied by them (statements of "we mentioned to the tenant numerous times"), that nothing was ever raised during the tenancy, so this then hit a bit of a brick wall, so the 13% then dropped to 9% and taken to arbitration.

The process is straight forward, but I was certainly glad we had the reports, tenancy agreement and communication tended to be via email, so was useful to supply these where relevant.

The outcome took around 4 weeks and resulted in having to pay 3% of the deposit... which was fine!
Thanks everyone.

FBaby

Thank you for coming back. Very few posters do yet many readers ask what the likely outcome of going to the ADR process is.

It is a long tedious process, so glad to read it paid of for you.