Getting back a tenancy deposit (or some of it)

amy17brook

We bought a house and moved out of rented accommodation just over a month ago. The deposit of 725 is with the tenancy deposit scheme. Today we have received the checkout report and they want to keep 419 of the deposit. We spent weeks cleaning everything in that house including the walls and floors being scrubbed so this didn't happen. Most of what is in the report is things that were already present when we moved in some of which are in the moving in inventory. Some is staining on the walls (where the bin was) but we were there 4 and a half years, surely some stuff should go down as wear and tear. But some things like replacing brackets for a blind (they were never there in the first place, they were just held up with nails) they want to charge 40 quid to replace! The blind is still there, just no brackets as there never were. They are also claiming over £100 for the oven to be cleaned but the original inventory states 'not 100% clean as it is very old'. And £7 for replacing single light bulbs. Surely there's a standard pricing structure in place for things like this. I will be contesting this by the way, I was just wondering if anyone has any experience of such shameless robbery. I feel ripped off after the amount of time we were in there and the improvements we made including replacing the bathroom floor, redecoration and replacing spotlights with led bulbs at a cost of £50 to us.

Lioness_Twinkletoes

You need to use the tenancy deposit dispute resolution service.

amy17brook

Thank you. We have not got that far yet. The letting agent wants me to put something in writing with our views to see if we can resolve it before it gets that far. We submitted our claim to tds for the full amount 2 weeks ago.

Finchy2018

You didn't have to improve the property.

Check in report will show no brackets so highlight this.

It's not just the cost of the bulb but paying someone for their time to fit them too.

Dispute via deposit scheme.

G_M

* Deposits: payment, protection and return

saajan_12

amy17brook wrote: »

We bought a house and moved out of rented accommodation just over a month ago. The deposit of 725 is with the tenancy deposit scheme. Today we have received the checkout report and they want to keep 419 of the deposit. We spent weeks cleaning everything in that house including the walls and floors being scrubbed so this didn't happen. Most of what is in the report is things that were already present when we moved in some of which are in the moving in inventory. - okay, clearly you shouldn't pay for those. Reply referencing the original inventory and ensure any charges discussed are only for things that DIFFER between the check in and check out reports, not everything they see wrong now. Some is staining on the walls (where the bin was) but we were there 4 and a half years, surely some stuff should go down as wear and tear. - some wear and tear, yes. What is the staining? Bins shouldn't cause particular staining if they were emptied regularly, no rubbish touching the walls etc. If its just colour variation due to lack of sunlight on that area or general discolouring from traffic in that area, probably W&T. If its stained from rubbish / mould etc, then probably actual damage. How much is washing the walls / repainting anyway? But some things like replacing brackets for a blind (they were never there in the first place, they were just held up with nails) they want to charge 40 quid to replace! The blind is still there, just no brackets as there never were. - So don't get bogged down in the £40 number, the point is you've left it as you received ie nails not brackets. They are also claiming over £100 for the oven to be cleaned but the original inventory states 'not 100% clean as it is very old'. - Was the oven more dirty than when you received it though? 'Not 100%' could be a few spots of baked on food but the oven being largely usable, whereas IF it now has fresh grime, or lots of caked on debris, it would need SOME cleaning to get it usable. The cost might be reduced from £100 for a full clean to £50 for a rough scrub to get the main bits off, but not make it sparkle. And £7 for replacing single light bulbs. Surely there's a standard pricing structure in place for things like this. - There isn't, it depends on the type of bulbs required (may be out of stock etc) and time to fit them too. You should have replaced any blown bulbs so this doesn't seem unreasonable. I will be contesting this by the way, I was just wondering if anyone has any experience of such shameless robbery. I feel ripped off after the amount of time we were in there and the improvements we made including replacing the bathroom floor, redecoration and replacing spotlights with led bulbs at a cost of £50 to us.- that was your choice while you were living there and benefitting from that. IF you changed type of lights / floor / decor you could be charged to get them back to what they were before. No prizes / discounts for what you see as improvement (the LL could be indifferent or prefer how it was before)

The 'improvements' you chose to make were your choice, you don't get any prizes for that. Otherwise, dispute anything that was there in the check in inventory and I've listed some of the points that look inflated above.

I'd reply to them once to try to get it sorted amicably and propose a deposit deduction you think is fair. Hopefully you both know the score and don't need to spend the time to gather the proof. However if they don't come to a reasonable figure, then put in a dispute with the scheme. The downside is you do have to spend a bit more time getting together ALL your evidence as they may not give you another go to find more evidence, but it forces the LL / LA to take it seriously and back up any claims.