Return of Student house rental deposit

happyandcontented

My son hasn't had his rental deposit returned to him (tenancy ended 30th June 2019)despite numerous emails to the letting agent.

Initially, they said that there was some mould in the shower so they were withholding an amount for regrouting, and for a clean of the property.

My son and his housemates queried the retentions and now they are not answering emails.

Any advice?

swingaloo

The deposit should have been protected. Was it? Your son should have something in writing from the landlord saying which deposit scheme his money was in.

If so you can apply through the protection scheme to get the money back less any agreed amount kept by the landlord for damage (fair wear and tear cannot be claimed for by the landlord).

You must write to the landlord asking for the deposit back so you have proof you have asked him for it rather than using email. Send it recorded delivery. I may be wrong but I think if you apply through the protection scheme you have to do it within 3 months of ending the tenancy.

Comms69

happyandcontented wrote: »

My son hasn't had his rental deposit returned to him (tenancy ended 30th June 2019)despite numerous emails to the letting agent.

Initially, they said that there was some mould in the shower so they were withholding an amount for regrouting, and for a clean of the property.

My son and his housemates queried the retentions and now they are not answering emails.

Any advice?

Yes dispute via the scheme - literally what they were created for

happyandcontented

I assume an email will suffice? He has sent several emails and some of the others have also tried to contact the agent.

need_an_answer

raise a dispute with the deposit service who hold the deposit for the property.

Hopefully your son and his housemates took photos of the condition they left the property in and these can be matched with the corresponding check in inventory.

Your son and his housemates had an obligation to return the property to the same or better standard than it was when they took occupation,minus wear and tear.

Unfortunately mould would not usually be classed as wear and tear if the bathroom was correctly ventilated and had an extractor fan,but that could be arbitrated with the deposit service if needed.


Was the shower clean when they moved in?

Out of interest what amount is being withheld and for what exactly...?


if the letting agent is not answering mails or phone calls then rasse the dispute for the return

grumiofoundation

happyandcontented wrote: »

I assume an email will suffice? He has sent several emails and some of the others have also tried to contact the agent.

Was the deposit protected?

If not sure he needs to check with deposit schemes
https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection

happyandcontented

Yes, it was protected. I have just spoken to him and he said that they wanted to retain £190 for cleaning the kitchen ( the rest of the house was fine and they did clean before they left) and £35 for the regrouting.

He accepts that the kitchen may need cleaning to a better standard although he said it was as good as when they moved in, but feels that the £190 is excessive and he is not happy about paying for the regrouting as it is wear and tear.

He intends to ring them tomorrow but as he was not the lead tenant he feels they may not interact with him and the lead tenant is abroad working in his first graduate role. My son starts work shortly too, so he wants to get it sorted out before then.

He would rather not take the dispute rout if it can be avoided, but he will do so if they are not more amenable when he contacts them tomorrow.

G_M

happyandcontented wrote: »

I assume an email will suffice?

Only if the tenancy agreement specifies email!. The law requires a landlord (or his agent) to provide a tenant with an address in Eng/Wales "for serving notices". That is where/how official communication should be sent.

Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 Section 48.

He intends to ring them tomorrow but...

Tell him to stop messing about. He should either write,or simply raise a dispute with the deposit scheme.


Dragging this out with phone chat is pointless.

happyandcontented

Is the dispute allowed to be raised by all tenants or does it have to be the lead tenant?

need_an_answer

Its not hard to raise the dispute with the deposit service...trust me its what its there for.

As a LL I've used it and so have my tenants its simple and ultimately fair if you have the correct factual evidence and hopefully a set of photos to back up the claim.


What I will say is that actually a kitchen can become expensive to clean if left "dirty" or not to the inventory standard.

An oven for example with hob and extractor could easily attract a £70 charge ...I'm a great advocate of oven pride at £3 a pack and that can usually do a brilliant job and its what I recommend to tenants before they move out.

Sadly once they have moved out then it does become the LL's choice over how they bring the oven back to standard....its not uncommon for £70 for that.
Add to that maybe the clean of a fridge and the defrosting of a freezer and its not inconceivable for the bill to be in 3 figures although a lot depends on actually how long it will take to clean... ive seen cleaners in student properties charge £50 for 2 hours quite basic cleaning.

Again sometimes the easiest way to remove mouldy grout is to replace it rather than clean it but without seeing pics its difficult to suggest a reasonable price.

From my own perspective I usually charge £10 for shower cleaning and on occasions as part of that cost instead of spending an hour scrubbing I've ended up just resealing it new

happyandcontented

Yes, I said similar to him regarding kitchen cleaning. I have my oven professionally cleaned twice a year and it costs £70. I would have thought maybe £120 for that and a good clean would be a reasonable figure but not £190.

With regard to mouldy grout, that does happen in a shower but is that not wear and tear?

Sadly, they were not savvy enough to take pictures! They have always got their deposits back without an issue previously, so I think they were a little complacent.