End of Tenancy - £1800 bill.. please provide advice?

mr120

Hello,

UPDATE:

OK, thought I'd reply now the process finally finished!..! Huge delays at DPS.

So the LL claim was for £1143.50 ( damage £733.50 | redecoration £410 )
I agreed to £85 before adjudication ( damage £35 | redecoration £50 ).

DPS decision £68 ( damage £15 | redecoration £53 )

So I feel good about this, only paying an additional £68 instead of the LL requested £1143.50 (minus my agreed £85) and so will be getting a large amount of the deposit back.
Now I just have to hope the LL is just happy to move on from this, after 2 or more months waiting.

We ended a 5 year tenancy with a large bill after never missing payments and spending £500 on cleaning!


- We singed a small mark on a carpet, we will happily help pay for replacement, but he is saying we can claim no deduction for wear and tear (5 year tenancy), is this true?
- He says the tiler says the tile cant be replaced on its own and needs to be all replaced, we small scratched one black floor tile (not crack) - these are real tiles with groute between them, can he ask for us to pay for everything to be retiled?
- The paint is a single coat white unwashable, I am ok to help pay to repaint, but is £400 for a 2.3m x 2.6m room not high? and should we be paying 50%..?
- He says we need to replace 3 'standard' bulbs with 'kitchin/bathroom' grade bulbs? they are LED spotlights.. is there such a thing as kitchin grade bulbs?
- The vent fell down, its a vent cover not a machine, just needs gluing up, is 150 normal?
- The door to a patio is warped, so is stiff to open, he claims we must have slammed it - we never opened the door as it opens onto a main road and has spiders outside (arachnaphob). The checkout says they dont know how it could have happened. What can we do about this, anything?

Carpets £750 (actual quote for 2 rooms) speak to the checkout people or small claims that due to the burns etc a wear tear deduction will not apply as we are now forced to replace this carpet -rather than keep it which was our intention
Tiling £400 less 25% wear & tear = £300
Door £250
Painting £400 less 50% £200
Lights 3 replacements £75
Kitchen Vent £150

elsien

He's trying to pull a fast one. Put a dispute in to whichever scheme is holding the deposit.
Do you have a full inventory with photos when you checked in and out?

mr120

We do have photo inventory and checkout.

need_an_answer

Dispute with the relevant deposit agency,not the LL or the agent but the scheme holding your deposit.


You will be asked to supply supporting information to validate your claim as will the LL and from there the deposit holder will adjudicate whether the amounts claimed are fair.

mr120

Thanks for the current replies. I appreciate I need to go through the deposit adjudicator, im just trying to work out if some of the things he is asking are even real.. such as 'kitchen grade' lights, and that because its a singe it cannot have 5 years deducted from its lifespan in replacement costs.

Grezz24

another landlord trying to pull a fast one with their tenants deposit. I know there are landlords out there but they seem few and far between!

elsien

Have you seen this?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=67759912&postcount=3

Read what it says about fair wear and tear, and betterment.

If you've been in for 5 years and it's never been painted then if it's normal day to day marks on the walls that should be factored in as part of the ongoing costs between tenancies and I wouldn't be expecting to pay anything towards that.

need_an_answer

mr120 wrote: »

Thanks for the current replies. I appreciate I need to go through the deposit adjudicator, im just trying to work out if some of the things he is asking are even real.. such as 'kitchen grade' lights, and that because its a singe it cannot have 5 years deducted from its lifespan in replacement costs.

my point is its not up to you to work out what is real that's what the process of making a claim will establish using a set of criteria that has been used many times before.

Wear and tear can become a very subjective and indeed emotive issue when discussed between LL and tenant.That layer is removed when it comes down to a deposit adjudication and things become much more factual,so submit your evidence via photos etc and follow that process.

Its really not worth trying to second guess anything via forums everyone will have a differing opinion and we cant see your evidence or that of the LL.

In answer to your question over a "kitchen grade light",what was fitted and described in the check in inventory?

Bulbs are generally regarded as the tenant responsibility and as such when you leave the property you should have the same grade bulb in as was originally documented.

You can be charged to replace back to check in inventory standard if you have changed the bulbs for anything different.

out of interest you mention a carpet and a burn...but the original that you quote says "carpets " and burns...is there a reason for 2 carpets to be replaced and what size are these burn mark/s...are they in an obvious place (say the middle of the carpet) or less obvious in an alcove or at an edge?

Just curious.

sevenhills

mr120 wrote: »

He says the tiler says the tile cant be replaced on its own and needs to be all replaced, we small scratched one black floor tile (not crack) - these are real tiles with groute between them, can he ask for us to pay for everything to be retiled?

If they can get a replacement tile, I don't see why it alone cannot be replaced.
It could be difficult, if it is in a corner.

Carrot007

mr120 wrote: »

- We singed a small mark on a carpet, we will happily help pay for replacement, but he is saying we can claim no deduction for wear and tear (5 year tenancy), is this true?

Utter nonsense. it it was a bottom of the range carpet I would say it's now done and you owe nothing. Other than that maybe 50% or less.

mr120 wrote: »

- He says the tiler says the tile cant be replaced on its own and needs to be all replaced, we small scratched one black floor tile (not crack) - these are real tiles with groute between them, can he ask for us to pay for everything to be retiled?

Myabe the tiler did. However he needs a better tiler. Even if the tiles are no longer available (more likely) he needs to find something acceptable and not replace all. Unless he wants to, but he can charge you for that one and the labour (probably half as much as replaceing everything in laboutr). I did one in my old kitchen. And that was with maybe 1mm bad gaps at one side! It's not hard and I don't have a clue! (Drill in centre after applying masking tape) Crack it and pull up from centre, very simple, sounds like he has a bodger that does not know how to vlook on youtube)

mr120 wrote: »

- The paint is a single coat white unwashable, I am ok to help pay to repaint, but is £400 for a 2.3m x 2.6m room not high? and should we be paying 50%..?

Maybe in central London that would be reasonable? I'd say maybe £50 depending on how old it was and how much it cost (it sounds cheapo £50 may be too high).

mr120 wrote: »

- He says we need to replace 3 'standard' bulbs with 'kitchin/bathroom' grade bulbs? they are LED spotlights.. is there such a thing as kitchin grade bulbs?

No such thing. The housing is what needs to be waterproof (in the bathroom anyway). What are they. Gu10's? If Halogen then you should ower nothing as they die every 3 months. I have used LED's from ASDA for the last 3 years and none have dies. Maybe £5 for 2.

mr120 wrote: »

- The vent fell down, its a vent cover not a machine, just needs gluing up, is 150 normal?

Vent plate cover? No it should not be glued. Screwed in properly. If it was glued his issue and you should owe nothing. If it can be fixed properly maybe £20. Probably same if need a new one!

mr120 wrote: »

- The door to a patio is warped, so is stiff to open, he claims we must have slammed it - we never opened the door as it opens onto a main road and has spiders outside (arachnaphob). The checkout says they dont know how it could have happened. What can we do about this, anything?

He needs better evidence of what occured! UPVC? If so slamming cannot warp. Heat however can. South facing? And boo, spiders are you friends in the house. They deal with the nasties for you!

mr120 wrote: »

Carpets £750 (actual quote for 2 rooms) speak to the checkout people or small claims that due to the burns etc a wear tear deduction will not apply as we are now forced to replace this carpet -rather than keep it which was our intention

Deductions for use always apply. He can charge for burns but not betterment and can leave it there for the next people if he does not want to change it. No one is forcing him.




Is the prices duplicates?

ric1982

What is the expected age of the carpet? Was it brand new when you moved in? If it is now 10 years old for e.g. then you could argue that it needs to be replaced by now isn't it?!