Charging tenant for damage, using deposit

lookstraightahead

Did you not check the house out on your inspections? I know you do not have to carry out regular inspections but if you are so concerned about scratches and small holes I would have thought you would have been very keen to check regularly.

Sorry op, from my perspective I would be thanking them for putting them out so much while you carried out lots of work on their rental time and giving them a card and flowers

lookstraightahead

ruhe wrote: »

I didn't read that part about electrics to be fair although the OP said they did it themselves without involving an electrician so it couldn't have been "dangerous" so to speak. I still wouldn't charge anything after 7 1/2 years. Sounds like all the tenant did was try to personalize her home. I'm firmly on the side of the tenant and think she deserves all her hard earned money back. It would also be good karma for the property owners as well!
Treat people as you yourself would like to be treated is what I say. I'd love to hear the original posters say later in the thread they gave 100% of that tenants deposit back and sent her a good luck card for her next property

What a lovely post.

michele-p

The electrics are being fixed by ourselves and then checked by an electrician for safety so no danger possible.
Both chargeable in my opinion.
The cleaning has already been authorised by the tennant so chargeable.
You dont normally put a chair in the bath with metal feet which were sharp (self confessed in writing). The lino was ripped by self confessed "pulling and the washing machine out and not realizing until it was to late that they had caught it, also dropping a hot pan on the floor" Are both items wear and tear?
I dont think so, especially as she has said they weren't.
The door could be changed but, would be odd from the rest. Carpenter call out and labour as well as the cost of a fire door is not cheap and safety critical.
The cost of the whole door is not being charged.
The hook should not have been put on the wall in direct contact with the door when open.
If they carried this out with care they should of also fitted a door bumpstop.

michele-p

All items I have mentioned including reasons as mentioned have been given in writing by the tenant.
Self confessed evidence?

lookstraightahead

I agree only you can decide. If it were me as the tenant I would take offence and feel hurt. My reaction to that, after morally working it out in my head, would be to fight fire with fire. Only you know her as a tenant and whether you would win it hands down or whether she could come back at you with things, as I would do. But then maybe I am a stronger person or just not as nice as your tenant appears to be.

Why does she use a chair in the bath? Does she have mobility problems?

lookstraightahead

I remember years ago a landlord wanting to charge me for a rip in a carpet. The carpet was old and needed replacing and he was definitely trying to take the mickey. I reminded him that he had been late with his electricity safety check. Two separate issues but sometimes it is not worth winding people up for such small things (after 7.5 years). As a landlord I always gave all the deposit back unless there was something definitely unfair. Just depends where you draw the line.

michele-p

O.K. thanks for the advice.
Maybe a lot of the comments have been written by renters rather than landlords?

The thing is its run as a business not a charity and I don't have the spare cash to let it go. We never put up her rent to match market value/mortgage costs so we have only just covered costs, as we have actually spent a lot out on maintenance over the years in the flat.

I know form many years of renting myself before I bought, that a rental agency would have been far more likely to keep much more of the deposit. The amount of times we were charged for items, which we won't be doing - like lightbulbs, carpet cleaning ect. I just want to charge a fair amount for the items which I see are above and beyond what I'd expect as "normal damage" over the tenancy.

tom9980

Interesting reading the views i took similar damage to a door, vinyl 3 years old wrecked by damage, keys not returned, and a house with around 20 bin bags of items left (collected 6 days later) and no cleaning done. I claimed £200 for this at court, there were also arrears of £650 left after i had claimed the entire deposit of £800.

If it wasnt for the arrears and the tenants being so evasive i likely would have written it off.

At court the judge awarded me the full amount claimed.
£60 MCOL fee
£80 court hearing fee
£650 arrears
£75 for my time cleaning and bagging items
£25 for new lock
£75 for vinyl
£25 for fixing the door

Tenants have a shiny CCJ but i have little chance of enforcing judgement.

In the OPs case i think i would write it off after 7 1/2 years but suspect they would win in court with sufficient evidence and being reasonable with costs.

lookstraightahead

I have been both Michele. Looks like you would get about £100 in court ...

You have no arrears. One month with no tenant now is s bigger worry for you .

kerri_gt

Possibly she'd had an accident and had to use a chair in the shower for a bit.

Regarding the hole in the door, damage to the vinyl etc, accidents happen, itscoart of life. If a plumber had pulled the machine out and caught the vinyl, would you have expected him to pay for it?

Overall it sounds like she's looked after the flat and been a decent tenant. If she changed the lights while she was there then she'd have been more sensible to replace the originals herself before moving.

I would say it's fair to perhaps charge her for the cost of having the sparky check the fittings but apart from that, as a LL either leave, make good or replace. Part of being a LL includes keeping funds available for long term maintenance of a property which most of this seems to be overall (vs wilful tenant damage)