Landlord carpet claim

ejw88

So after months of fighting the issues with my house which has ended up in a two page report from environmental health with problems which need rectifying today I went to hand my key in to what I thought was the letting agent.

I turned up and the landlady was there who I’d met once previously whilst she basically told me complete lies about what environmental health had said (she clearly doesn’t know I have a copy of the report) Whilst there I was told the house was not clean and they wanted me to clean it there and then whilst they stood and watched (turns out the landlady is friends with the letting agents)

The house was not dirty at all, the only dirt issues are the black mould in almost all of the rooms which has been reported over and over and over again.

I have pictures with time and date stamps to prove it is not clean but she claims she is going to hire a cleaner and charge me for it.

Now what I need to know about is the carpet. They claim I need to pay for a new carpet for the spare bedroom because the edges are frayed (it’s an old carpet and you can tell it’s not been done correctly as the edges just pull up instead of being tucked under the skirting board)

Will I have to pay for this? I have pictures But I’m
New to this so don’t know how to include it in this thread!

This was a spare bedroom which was not used for anything but storage so maybe happened during move out but it’s not something I’d noticed before.

We have a smart deposit so if they claim through the insurance we paid for them we then get the bill for the claim.

Help definitely needed.we have been excellent tenants I have always kept the house cleans we’ve never had issues on inspections and despite all of the problems with the house have always paid rent on time and never held it back.

Pixie5740

ejw88 wrote: »

So after months of fighting the issues with my house which has ended up in a two page report from environmental health with problems which need rectifying today I went to hand my key in to what I thought was the letting agent.

I turned up and the landlady was there who I’d met once previously whilst she basically told me complete lies about what environmental health had said (she clearly doesn’t know I have a copy of the report) Whilst there I was told the house was not clean and they wanted me to clean it there and then whilst they stood and watched (turns out the landlady is friends with the letting agents)

The house was not dirty at all, the only dirt issues are the black mould in almost all of the rooms which has been reported over and over and over again.

I have pictures with time and date stamps to prove it is not clean but she claims she is going to hire a cleaner and charge me for it.

Now what I need to know about is the carpet. They claim I need to pay for a new carpet for the spare bedroom because the edges are frayed (it’s an old carpet and you can tell it’s not been done correctly as the edges just pull up instead of being tucked under the skirting board)

Will I have to pay for this? I have pictures But I’m
New to this so don’t know how to include it in this thread!

This was a spare bedroom which was not used for anything but storage so maybe happened during move out but it’s not something I’d noticed before.

We have a smart deposit so if they claim through the insurance we paid for them we then get the bill for the claim.

Help definitely needed.we have been excellent tenants I have always kept the house cleans we’ve never had issues on inspections and despite all of the problems with the house have always paid rent on time and never held it back.

When you say "smart deposit" this wouldn't be a warranty provided by FCC Paragon would it?

http://fccparagon.com/services/warranties/

AvocadosBeforeMortgages

Did they protect your deposit in one of the three tenancy deposit protection schemes? It's a legal requirement https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection

If so, dispute it via the relevant scheme. If not, take her to court and sue for 3x the amount of the deposit.

You need only return the property in the same condition you received it in ^minus fair wear and tear^. It sounds like the carpet has just deteriorated through fair wear and tear, but even if you had done something like spilling red wine on it, the landlord wouldn't be entitled to a new carpet at your expense - see the concept of betterment http://www.propertymark.co.uk/advice-and-guides/landlords/fair-wear-and-tear.aspx

Dispute the cleaning charge too via the deposit protection scheme; it's a common scam and you do have photos + environmental health report.

ejw88

Yes it was the FCC Paragon scheme

Annie35

Avocados, it sounds like the op had a 'smart deposit' which is, I think?, a insurance policy whereby they pay a fee. There was never a traditional deposit.

OP, how do you mean you get the bill? Do you mean the whole bill or just any amount over the insurance payout? How does this smart deposit actually work?

ejw88

The smart deposit basically means we pay to cover the landlord for damages and unpaid rent, if the company has to pay out to the landlady then the insurance company bill us for the costs of any repairs (which is ridiculous)

Annie35

Christ! That sounds a con! So it's not 'insurance' at all then

Sorry I don't have anything helpful to say I'm sure some more knowledgeable will pop up soon

ejw88

I know, I thought it just covered them for anything like an insurance but apparently not, not really seeing the point in it if they claim from the tenants anyway!

We are hoping to see if we can claim
Money back for rent due to the house being in an unreasonable condition my SO also had to have two weeks off work due to sinus issues caused by the mould!

blackshirtuk

I would be getting in touch with the service provider to find out how they deal with disputes and how to raise one.

Was an independent inventory done at the start of the tenancy? Was the condition of the carpet noted?

A Landlord can only claim for damage less wear and tear, so they need evidence at the start and finish of the tenancy.

Assuming that the carpet was actually damaged they can only claim an amount to put them back in the position they were at the start of the tenancy. They cannot claim the cost of a brand new carpet unless they can prove the carpet was brand new at the start of the tenancy.

If the carpet was old at the start they will find it difficult to claim any amount. Generally the life expectancy of a carpet in a rental house would be at best 10 years, so if the carpet was 5 years old now the max they would be able to claim would be 50% of the cost of a new carpet. If it was over 9 years old at the start they would get nothing.

With rgards to cleanliness again they need to rely on the check in/check out inventories, If either wasn't done they will find it difficult to claim it was dirty. You refer to mould, was this part of the problems which enviromental health got involved with? and was it on the report as to reasons why the mould was forming? Condensation would be seen as your problem and your responsibility to rectify. Pentrating or rising damp would be down to the landlord to rectify.

Please come back to explain what FCC Parragon said with regards to a disputed claim, as I am genuinly interested how they will deal with this situation.

FBaby

the only dirt issues are the black mould in almost all of the rooms which has been reported over and over and over again.

What happened then? What do you think caused it so badly? Did someone come to look at it and identified the cause? Mould could be a result of poor wall cavity/roof leaks/poor drainage, which would all be the responsibility of the landlord, or more commonly poor ventilation, which you would be responsible for.

dacouch

When you say the carpet is frayed at the edges, are you sure it is not carpet moths?

The larvee tend to eat the edges of carpets.