TDS deposit dispute

northernirelandgirl

Please delete

fishpond

Do you have an inventory, in particular the condition of the mattress?
What do you expect the LL/next tenant, to do with this mattress?

Pixie5740

northernirelandgirl wrote: »

Hi I recently moved house on inspection the landlord said she was happy with it and to request my money back. She text me over the weekend and said she had found damage to the bed (furnished house). The damage consisted of 2 broken slats and staining to the mattress which is a health related issue of mine but I did always use a mattress protector. My total deposit was £575.00 and the landlord wants to keep from this £400!!. Now I am happy to offer something however the mattress was in situ for several years and replacement slats are cheap. She wants to replace the whole bed frame. Is this a reasonable demand? I will also add that from October to January the upstairs heating in the upstairs didn’t work even though I notified the landlord and still continued to pay full rent.
Can anyone advice what to do I cannot afford a loss of £400.

The heating is/was a separate issue from getting your deposit back. If the heating wasn't working there were steps you could have taken to escalate the matter to the local council but the full rent would still have been due.

https://www.housingadviceni.org/advice-private-tenants/who-responsible-repairs

Getting back to the deposit the landlord can deduct money for any damage you caused during the tenancy but she is not entitled to betterment. If you can't come to an agreement about how much should be deducted from your deposit raise a dispute with TDS.

https://www.tdsnorthernireland.com/tools-and-guides/faqs/tenants/

saajan_12

northernirelandgirl wrote: »

Hi I recently moved house on inspection the landlord said she was happy with it and to request my money back. She text me over the weekend and said she had found damage to the bed (furnished house)- over the weekend sounds like it's soon enough after the tenancy end so no question over damages caused after tenancy ended. The 'inspection' report isn't necessarily binding. . The damage consisted of 2 broken slats - okay, were they broken when you started the tenancy? If not, your responsibility to pay to rectify. and staining to the mattress which is a health related issue of mine but I did always use a mattress protector- Evidently the protector wasn't sufficient, as the mattress was still stained. Stains are damage, not 'reasonable wear' so it's your responsibilty to get it cleaned / replaced (to a 2nd hand mattress, not new) . My total deposit was £575.00 and the landlord wants to keep from this £400!!. Now I am happy to offer something however the mattress was in situ for several years and replacement slats are cheap. She wants to replace the whole bed frame. Is this a reasonable demand? - if cheaper than the replacement parts + labour I will also add that from October to January the upstairs heating in the upstairs didn!!!8217;t work even though I notified the landlord and still continued to pay full rent. - Heating issues do happen, the LL should have been working on a repair in a reasonable timeframe, however either way this is now irrelevant
Can anyone advice what to do I cannot afford a loss of £400.- affordability aside, you will lose the reasonable amount to rectify damages. However if the LL is overclaiming, you can claim through the deposit scheme / court to get back the balance.

Check
1) whether slats were already broken before your tenancy started
2) cost of replacing slats + labour
3) cost of replacing mattress with a 2nd hand, unstained mattress

If the total is less than £400, dispute the deduction through teh deposit scheme and provide your evidence of 1,2,3 above. If the deposit is not protected or the LL refuses ADR, then file a Money Claim Online for the same and come back here about the non protection penalty.

G_M

Unusually I disagree slightly with sajaan_12 above. A 2nd hand matttress is very cheap, and even if visibly 'unstained' it's impossible to compare its condition with the original.

A mattress typically lasts about 8 years. How old is this mattress?

If, say, 4 years old, the landlord can claim 50% of the cost of a new replacement mattress of a similar size, quality etc.

saajan_12

G_M wrote: »

Unusually I disagree slightly with sajaan_12 above. A 2nd hand matttress is very cheap, and even if visibly 'unstained' it's impossible to compare its condition with the original.

A mattress typically lasts about 8 years. How old is this mattress?

If, say, 4 years old, the landlord can claim 50% of the cost of a new replacement mattress of a similar size, quality etc.

Reassuring to think we usually agree

In this case, yes, a % reduction for the lost useful life of the mattress is also a reasonable approximation.
PRO: assumptions e.g. cost of new mattress, 'age' of mattress in situ are easily verifiable
CON: useful life is debatable; no allowance for an older mattress kept in great condition or a newish mattress that was treated badly by a previous occupant.

Taking the cost of a 2nd hand unstained mattress which is otherwise comparable to the OP's means
PRO: takes into account actual condition at start of OP's tenancy and can deduct reasonable wear & tear
CON: relatively few 2nd hand mattresses on the market, even less in the same condition as OP's so can be hard to get the 'correct' price

All in, not an exact science so I think either could be justified, upto arbitrator / judge's discretion.

G_M

saajan_12 wrote: »

......
CON: useful life is debatable; no allowance for an older mattress kept in great condition or a newish mattress that was treated badly by a previous occupant.

......

Reminds me of a mattress warranty I came across last year when I was looking for a new one.

It was a high-end mattress with a 5 year warrranty. However the warranty would be invalidated if the mattress was usd for any purpose other than sleeping.

.............:rotfl:

saajan_12

G_M wrote: »

Reminds me of a mattress warranty I came across last year when I was looking for a new one.

It was a high-end mattress with a 5 year warrranty. However the warranty would be invalidated if the mattress was usd for any purpose other than sleeping.

.............:rotfl:

reading in bed.. heard it's a terrible practice by vandals alone.