deposit dispute

Mrs_Thrify

Debby, just a thought! prehaps you ought to buy thoose little plastic cups to put under your sofa feet? I bought mine in Wilkinsons for a few pounds - to prevent it happening again in your new place . I have wood tiles on my lounge floor. Julie

debbymcc

yea got mega carpet protection now, no wooden floors here thankgod.
a few questions re poss court action,
will the previous probs with the house be relevant?
would for eg a character ref from prev LL carry any wieght. Got £900 dep back from him with no prob.
whats it likely to cost
to be honest i am scared to go to court, they can afford to pay anybody to say anything. Still I will take action if thats whats needed.

merlinthehappypig

debbymcc wrote: »

yea got mega carpet protection now, no wooden floors here thankgod.
a few questions re poss court action,
will the previous probs with the house be relevant?
would for eg a character ref from prev LL carry any wieght. Got £900 dep back from him with no prob.
whats it likely to cost
to be honest i am scared to go to court, they can afford to pay anybody to say anything. Still I will take action if thats whats needed.

I think you need to take proper advice. The forum is great for help and pointing you in the right direction, but an organisation like Shelter should be able to tell you exactly what you need to know. My understanding, unless anyone can provide more info, still is that without a signed inventory your landlord has no defence against keeping your deposit. A claim through the likes of moneyclaim costs a small fixed amount, but I doubt that it would come to that with a properly worded letter before action.

Perhaps someone on the forum who has also been through this can give you the wording that you need.

Try Shelter tomorrow and let us know how you get on.

jebervic

debbymcc wrote: »

yea got mega carpet protection now, no wooden floors here thankgod.
a few questions re poss court action,
will the previous probs with the house be relevant?
would for eg a character ref from prev LL carry any wieght. Got £900 dep back from him with no prob.
whats it likely to cost
to be honest i am scared to go to court, they can afford to pay anybody to say anything. Still I will take action if thats whats needed.

Two things

As everyone has said - No Iventory, then the LL has no case !

If you're on low income or benefits then you should be able to get legal aid

debbymcc

ok .......feeling braver with every reply :-) thanx so much everyone. Dont think we`ll be eligible for legal aid, but will gird up my loins and take them on.

lynzpower

I dont think you get legal aid for the small claims track, you dont need representation for that.

the case should cost about 50 quid ( maybe less, I think the min is 30 quid) and if you win, which you will, they pay your costs plus 8% court rate of interest on the money they have withheld since the day it should have been returned.

barnaby-bear

debbymcc wrote: »

hi lynz, no not laminate, solid maple with surface varnish type treatment. My husband went back yesterday to look at it again. Mostly its damage to the varnish with a few small indentations to the wood. The LL had the EA in taking pics of abused floor.

Fair wear and tear - LLs claim tax relief to cover some of the costs of knocks and scuffs so some level of damage is expected. Why did you repaint after 18 months completely unnecessary. LL can not claim damages for betterment i.e. replacing old with new and must right the damage if appropriate (receipts), a floor should be expected to have furniture sat on it etc. With no inventory there is no case for the LL as no evidence of what condition was like before.

This is an easy online small claims (£50 costs) case but you must show tried to resolve i.e. send letter before action. Ddi you have gas safety etc by the book, written records of problems - all can demonstrate LL being vindictive.

It's also quite likely your LL hasn't been paying their taxes properly as a BTLer - out of vindictiveness I generally inform the tax office on the anonymous hotline that they are receiving a rental income unless they've been a good landlord.... like to think one or two got caught...

debbymcc

Thanx again, the heating was by oil, thus the argument about how much was in the tank. We made a mark on the hose to show the level when we moved in but its worn off. We are sure it was approx 1/3 full ie appprox 500lts, this much costs about £200. They insist it was full ie 1500lts £600. We have asked for reciepts but not sure how long is reasonable to wait for them. The LLs live in the next property.....yes they were nieghbours. They use the same oil supplier and are comparing our usage with theirs. Imposs they say for us to have used so little...but we were months without any heating when the system kept breaking down. Also oil supplier has discussed our account with LL ie dates we had deliveries and how much. :-((

BrandNewDay

I am totally talking out my behind, here, but I think the burden of proof lies with the landlord in these things. If they can't produce proof of an inventory (which should include the oil) then I don't think any court is going to give them much respect.

debbymcc

well I really hope so because i am in such a mess now not having got any of the money back. incuring bank charges left right and centre. Bank wouldnt allow me any OD so had to borrow from my employer to cover dep here. Thats to be taken straight out of my salary over next 6 months. Budget was so bloomin tight to do this move but couldnt stay there. Probs im stupid for relying on getting it back.
One thing is certain though there was never an inventory, so from what everyone says i will keep trying