Landlord deducting from deposit for 'cleaning'.

Tenant0212

Hi,

So I just moved out of an apartment in London, cleaned the house (left it in a better state than I got it as there was dust and dirt everywhere), moved everything out and went on my merry way to my next place. The keys were turned in a few days in advance as it lined everything up a bit better.

Now 2 days ago I received a phone call from the landlord trying to charge me a sum for cleaning the house, claiming it wasn't clean and it wasn't in the state it was given out to me. As I feel it is clean (as I and some friends spent a fair bit of days cleaning it), I said I wasn't going to go ahead with this. When I said this they suddenly lowered the cost of the cleaning by 25% but claimed it was still in such a state they would charge me cleaning costs.

What are my rights in this situation? There was no inventory signed, no way of measuring if it was indeed clean enough. Can they just deduct from my deposit like that unopposed?
The landlord claims he'll take pictures but as I've moved out a few days ago, and they've had people over already.

What can I do?

Thanks for your time reading and answering.

steampowered

You can submit a dispute to the tenancy deposit scheme where your deposit was registered.

Lrimas

As above. Find out where your deposit was secured and you should easily be able to dispute it (the process will take a bit longer but it is worth it)

Edit: the onus is on the landlord to prove that you left it in a worse state. Without an inventory the can't do this so you should automatically win (but it doesn't hurt to mention the things you said in your first post when you raise your dispute)

Ms_Chocaholic

If there's no inventory from when you moved in showing how clean/unclean it was, then there's nothing to compare to when you're moving out.


Was your deposit protected?

Tenant0212

Yes the deposit was protected. I used Openrent initially. If I go to the DPS (scheme) site and put in my information, it says it cannot find it. Tried calling them but they're closed.

Is it really this clear and cut that no inventory means I win the dispute? That would really be a relief after a chaotic and stressful move.

Thanks

FBaby

You say no signed inventory, does it mean there were none or that there was one but you didn't sign it. You don't have to have signed it although it is better for the LL if you have.

Did you contact all three schemes? How do you know it was protected?

fishpond

Is it really this clear and cut that no inventory means I win the dispute?
Yes, you would win every time and the landlord is a fool if he thinks otherwise.
No check in Inventory = no benchmark for the cleanliness or condition of the property prior to the start of your tenancy, I assume there is no check out either as there would be no point with nothing to compare it with.
Basically, there is no dispute as there is nothing written or photographed to dispute.

Tenant0212

I initially received an e-mail from the DPS scheme, the initial period was done through OpenRent, after that it went onto a rolling contract (if that's the correct term).

There was no inventory at all, we didn't sign anything. I wasn't even aware this was a thing until I googled for this dispute. The Landlord says he'll send pictures but I've not received anything yet. But from what you're saying he can send all the pictures he wants, if I dispute it, I don't get messed about with the deposit?

Quick edit, there was no inventory on check-out either. The Landlord's cousin (part of the landlord) even came by and told me it was looking good and he couldn't see the deposit being held.

Honestly not too sure why they're trying to mess about with this, I've been a good tenant, no problems, allowed viewings, cleaned the place.

Thank you all again for your time and effort in this, it's truly appreciated.

Margot123

The burden of proof is on your landlord, and where is the proof? They haven't got any.

Without evidence of how it was when you SIGNED the tenancy agreement, then it's irrelevant how many photos they come up with afterwards.

If I were in your position, I'd only correspond with the deposit company from now on.

Tenant0212

So what's my next step? So far he's only called me. How do i ensure I get this deposit back entirely? When I go onto the DPS website it says it can not find the deposit.

Thanks again!

Ms_Chocaholic

There's a few (3 I think) that your deposit can be deposited with so you will need to search them all. Is there anything in your tenancy agreement about where it is deposited?


https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection