DPS Deposit Protection

RLCUNNII.S04386

Hi allnim new to this site so apologies for any mistakes. We moved out of a rental property in January. I registered the return of my deposit straight away on the dps website. After several phone calls letters etc to letting agent they have just last night finally registered a dispute with the return of our deposit. We'd even sent and returned a statutory declaration to the dps. Surely 5 months is too long to dispute a deposit.

pmlindyloo

Well, yes I think it's much too long but having read the reviews for the DPS it doesn't surprise me!

https://www.allagents.co.uk/the-deposit-protection-service/

RLCUNNII.S04386

Just loosing all faith in receiving my deposit back. The reviews are correct the agents on the phone have not got a clue what they are doing or how to advise me of my rights. Not good when you're not very clued up yourself. Have £825 sat making interest in their accounts and no sign of getting it back. It's coming up to the 6 month mark

mije1983

Do you agree with what they are disputing? Did these points come up on the check out before you moved out?


I don't think your £825 is making them much (if any) interest though

RLCUNNII.S04386

No I don't agree, the landlords were very happy with the property, considering they didn't know that we had had to pay for the property & carpets cleaning before we moved in (provided them with photographic evidence and cleaning bill, however never had it reimbursed) and that it hadn't been decorated as they had paid the letting agent to do. The landlord resides in China & only came home for 2 months to have their baby. They were perfectly happy with the property we left them a brand new fridge freezer as in the last couple of weeks theirs broke down, left the furniture for the other child's bedroom as they were basically moving in with no furniture etc and they were due to give birth any day. The letting agent is trying to charge £500 for re decorating but because we lived there 2 year they want 3/5's of it so £300. We had to move out 2 days late as new letting agent couldn't give us the keys to our new property as previous tenant had overstayed. We called and they agreed that was fine. They want £75 for the 2 days. We also had to pay for their internet and phone line as they were still in contract. I asked for copies of apparent bt bills but all the letting agent would provide was an invoice in their name stating £50 a month. Nothing showing the actual charges. We subsequently moved to our own provider as felt we were being duped for basic broadband and line rental at £50! So we apparently owe £108 for 2 months internet as we moved providers. However there is nothing in the contract to stipulate that we are liable for these costs. The landlords are back in China now so there is no way of getting in touch with them. I think it's the greedy letting agents probably trying to rip us off as they have been caught out not cleaning and decorating the place in the first place when they were paid to do so! We've signed no exit inventory the letting agents basically ushered us out of the door at 10am when we agreed 1pm after telling us everything was fine.

anselld

The undisputed amount (£400?) should be returned straight away.
Just follow the dispute resolution process for the remainder.

To be successful in claiming decoration they would need to prove you have damaged decor beyond normal wear and tear.

The £75 you are getting lightly, they could easily have charged another month.

Internet, who had the contract? And why did the contract run beyond end of tenancy?

G_M

RLCUNNII.S04386 wrote: »

No I don't agree, the landlords were very happy with the property,
Do you have this in writing? Submit it with your claim.

considering they didn't know that we had had to pay for the property & carpets cleaning before we moved in (provided them with photographic evidence and cleaning bill, however never had it reimbursed)
Do you have evidence eg invoice? Submit with your claim.
Is there a check-in inventory? What does it say about condittion?

and that it hadn't been decorated as they had paid the letting agent to do.
Nothing to do with you

The landlord resides in China & only came home for 2 months to have their baby. They were perfectly happy with the property we left them a brand new fridge freezer as in the last couple of weeks theirs broke down, left the furniture for the other child's bedroom as they were basically moving in with no furniture etc and they were due to give birth any day.
Do you have this in writing? Submit it with your claim.

The letting agent is trying to charge £500 for re decorating but because we lived there 2 year they want 3/5's of it so £300.
So they are allowing for 'ettermet'. That's correct of them.
However, does it require redecorating because:
a) you caused damage?
b) it's 'tired' after 5 years (wear & tear)
c) it is in worse condition than the description in the check-in inventory (see question earlier)?

We had to move out 2 days late as new letting agent couldn't give us the keys to our new property as previous tenant had overstayed.
So you could be charged for a full month - rent is not autoaticaly sub-divisible

We called and they agreed that was fine. They want £75 for the 2 days.
they have been very generous!

We also had to pay for their internet and phone line as they were still in contract.
Do you mean when you first moved in? A bit late now to complain about this. You did not have to pay for or use their prvider.

However, if you chose, at the time, to use the service, then you implicitly agreed to this.

I asked for copies of apparent bt bills but all the letting agent would provide was an invoice in their name stating £50 a month. Nothing showing the actual charges.
so you owe £50 per month for hoever many onths you used the service.

We subsequently moved to our own provider as felt we were being duped for basic broadband and line rental at £50! So we apparently owe £108 for 2 months internet as we moved providers.
You need to explain this: do you mean 2 x £50 (plus a few days?) for the first 2 months?

Or is this an additional charge just for switchingg, which you should refuse to pay unless it was charged by your provider as part of setting up your new contract.

However there is nothing in the contract to stipulate that we are liable for these costs.
as explained
* you used the service provided by the LL initially, so implictly accepted it
* if the switch fee is being charged by your service provider, pay your service provider

The landlords are back in China now so there is no way of getting in touch with them.
Write to the agent, quotong the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 section 1 (below).

Landlord & Tenant Act 1985

1 Disclosure of landlord's identity.

(1)If the tenant of premises occupied as a dwelling makes a written request for the landlord's name and address to-;

(a)any person who demands, or the last person who received, rent payable under the tenancy, or

(b)any other person for the time being acting as agent for the landlord, in relation to the tenancy,

that person shall supply the tenant with a written statement of the landlord's name and address within the period of 21 days beginning with the day on which he receives the request.

(2)A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with subsection (1) commits a summary offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

RLCUNNII.S04386

Unfortunately we don't have anything in writing from the day we were ushered out of the door. Since this day we and our written requests have been ignored. So we'll pay the £75 with regards to the 2 days.
With regards to the internet we paid the £50 a month however the amount was never agreed at sign up. They didn't want to face cancellation fees so we agreed to take over the bill. I presumed we would cover the bt bill & that it would be put in our name. I asked every month for a copy showing the actual charges and not just a made up invoice for £50. Wouldn't it be down to them to provide proof of the unpaid bills to the dps. If they provide bills from bt showing £50.00 a month then I'll pay it but I've spoken with bt and at that time there was no £50 line rental and internet package. Would the dps fall for one of their written invoices?

Why should we pay 3/5ths of decorating costs? The property wasn't decorated prior to our move in. I have photographic evidence of this, marks all over walls chips in paintwork and windowsills etc. Any issues with paint work will be wear and tear. We even repainted the kitchen in magnolia and gloss as it was all stained with cooking fat! Large chips in windowsill etc. Again I have photographic evidence of this.

saajan_12

RLCUNNII.S04386 wrote: »

No I don't agree, the landlords were very happy with the property, considering they didn't know that we had had to pay for the property & carpets cleaning before we moved in (provided them with photographic evidence and cleaning bill, however never had it reimbursed) and that it hadn't been decorated as they had paid the letting agent to do. - you only have to return the property in the same condition you received it (less fair wear & tear) so you can dispute any claims for cleaning with pictures of how you recieved and returned the property. However you don't have a right to dictate the condition of the property when you move in, so can't get reimbursement of your initial cleaning costs and the arrangement between LL and agent has nothing to do with you. The landlord resides in China & only came home for 2 months to have their baby. They were perfectly happy with the property we left them a brand new fridge freezer as in the last couple of weeks theirs broke down, left the furniture for the other child's bedroom as they were basically moving in with no furniture etc and they were due to give birth any day. - That was your choice unfort.

The letting agent is trying to charge £500 for re decorating but because we lived there 2 year they want 3/5's of it so £300. -
did they decorate when you moved in? Why does the property need to be redecorated so soon - are there marks / damages to the walls/doors etc? If so they are entitled to a 2yr old paint job that should last another 3 yrs, not need redoing immediately, so they are correctly (possibly generously) allowing for the expected 2 years of wear & tear.

We had to move out 2 days late as new letting agent couldn't give us the keys to our new property as previous tenant had overstayed. - Your new property issues are not your current LL's problem though. As soon as you stay day 1 of the new month, you're liable for the full month's rent (and possibly more if you don't serve valid notice). We called and they agreed that was fine. They want £75 for the 2 days. - what had you agreed? "staying an extra 2 days is fine" doesn't imply those 2 days would be free of charge. It was up to you to get something in writing to vary your agreement before your month was up, and leaving on time if you didn't get this. £75 is generous of them, else in the absence of a written agreement you'd be liable for the full month's rent.

We also had to pay for their internet and phone line as they were still in contract. I asked for copies of apparent bt bills but all the letting agent would provide was an invoice in their name stating £50 a month. Nothing showing the actual charges. We subsequently moved to our own provider as felt we were being duped for basic broadband and line rental at £50! So we apparently owe £108 for 2 months internet as we moved providers. However there is nothing in the contract to stipulate that we are liable for these costs. - Do you mean a bill from BT charging the agents or an invoice that the agents wrote charging you? If the former, that sounds like sufficient evidence of the charge. If you used the LL's phone/internet provider, that would imply an agreement to pay for it so you owe the £108.

The landlords are back in China now so there is no way of getting in touch with them. I think it's the greedy letting agents probably trying to rip us off as they have been caught out not cleaning and decorating the place in the first place when they were paid to do so! - the relationship between agent & LL is nothing to do with you. The agents represent the LL so if the LL is happy letting the agent manage things, you have to go by what the agents say. We've signed no exit inventory the letting agents basically ushered us out of the door at 10am when we agreed 1pm after telling us everything was fine.- you don't need to sign a check out report, photographic evidence from them would generally be accepted unless you have photos to dispute these.

Just follow the TDS process, getting all your evidence re condition of the property at the start and end of the tenancy. Sounds like they're being fair (no betterment in the decoration, pro-rataing the rent)