Excessive charges in deposit deduction - is it worth disputing?

osidos

I've recently moved out of a rented property and been charged £300 from my deposit (held by the DPS) for gardening. This seems excessive to me. Does anyone know if I'll have any chance of getting this reduced by the DPS?

Extra question: If I dispute this, can I still get the undisputed remainder of the deposit back quickly, or will the whole thing be held up?

The details:

The garden is quite small (maybe 7m x 7m). When I moved in, it was largely weeds, but they had been recently cut. I have photos that show it was a patch of short grass and weeds. Obviously these continued to grow.

It was my responsibility to maintain the garden - I don't dispute this. And I did leave the weeds quite tall, as I wasn't able to get the issue fixed in time. I accept I'm responsible for having the necessary work done.

But I've been charged £300 for this. I have spoken to the agent and they haven't been much help. The receipt I've been given by the person who did the work (for £300) says "To strim and clear all rubbish and weeds from the rear garden. Remove and bag up all rubbish and grass/weeds and take away."

Would I have much chance of successfully claiming this is an excessive fee for the amount of work provided? There couldn't have been more than 5-10 bags of plants to remove, and the work would have only taken 2 hours or so. So I feel that, even if the landlord paid £300 for the work, they could have got it done for less. I've seen disputes from tenants who had some success claiming the work wasn't required, but I haven't heard of anyone successfully arguing that the charge for the work is excessive. If I have no chance, to be honest I don't want to waste my time with it.

Possible complication: there may have been extra "rubbish" in the garden, but if so it was because others dumped it there, either other tenants in the building, or other people who accessed the garden through a gate. Early in my tenancy I did request that this gate be secured to prevent this kind of access, and was just given an unhelpful response. Last time I cut down the weeds, I had to remove broken furniture and other rubbish that had been dumped there, but I don't think this should be my responsibility if other tenants or people who were able to access the garden through an unsecured gate left it there - am I wrong?

Any advice/experiences would be very welcome.

Cakeguts

Well if you had done the garden before you left would you have been charged by someone else for doing it?

AdrianC

Deposit arbitration. Let them sort out whether the landlord can justify the amount or not - after all, you're not disputing the concept, just the amount.

hazyjo

Don't think it's that excessive actually. Costs a lot just to get someone to come and collect rubbish - let alone doing work in the garden too.

sal_III

Only the disputed amount will be held by the TDS, until a decision is made, the rest will be released.

If by your own account the garden clean up would have taken just 2h, why didn't you do it yourself? I suspect part of the cost is for disposal of the plant mass, if you had kept it in check, you could have disposed of it in bits with your general waste. Since it was left to run rampant, the final amount has likely required separate refuse disposal which costs money.

£300 seems about right for someone to come and clean up overgrown garden, you can of course dispute it with the TDS and wait for their verdict.

Someone throwing rubbish in your garden is your problem, if you had the exclusive rights to it in your tenancy agreement, you should have secured it, if it was causing problems, not waiting for the LL to act. A £5 padlock or a bike chain that you would have removed at the end of the tenancy would have been enough.

osidos

Thanks everyone for your replies so far. Any more anyone can add would be appreciated.

sal_III wrote: »

Only the disputed amount will be held by the TDS, until a decision is made, the rest will be released.

Thanks, that's good to know.

sal_III wrote: »

If by your own account the garden clean up would have taken just 2h, why didn't you do it yourself? I suspect part of the cost is for disposal of the plant mass, if you had kept it in check, you could have disposed of it in bits with your general waste. Since it was left to run rampant, the final amount has likely required separate refuse disposal which costs money.

With respect, the situation is what it is and I'm not asking for advice on what I should have done. I've acknowledged it was my responsibility, and I'm willing to pay a fair amount to fix it. In answer to your question, however, it would take about 2 hours to clear with a strimmer, which I don't have, but any professional does. I had intended to hire one, but other aspects of moving took up more time than expected, and something had to give. And yes, part of the cost is disposal, but there wouldn't have been a lot to dispose of.

sal_III wrote: »

Someone throwing rubbish in your garden is your problem, if you had the exclusive rights to it in your tenancy agreement, you should have secured it, if it was causing problems, not waiting for the LL to act. A £5 padlock or a bike chain that you would have removed at the end of the tenancy would have been enough.

The gate was in communal area that didn't just lead to my garden. I couldn't unilaterally lock it. Is it your opinion that rubbish dumped in my garden under these circumstances is my problem, or is that based on something?

sal_III wrote: »

£300 seems about right for someone to come and clean up overgrown garden, you can of course dispute it with the TDS and wait for their verdict.

I forgot to say in my original post, but this is partly why I included all the details - in case I'm wrong that it's excessive. I know someone else said they don't think it seems excessive either, but I'm curious about where that comes from.

I can't post links apparently, but one website (Bidvine) says average weeding costs per hour are £23.
Another website (The Gardeners Guild) says a gardener will aim to earn a minimum of £150 per day (I know that's a minimum, but 300 is double that, and the person hired was not an expensive landscaper, and neither was it a day's work).
Another (My Job Quote) suggests about £200 for a 6 hour job (and there's no way it was a 6 hour job).

Does anyone have any direct experience of what this sort of thing costs?

need_an_answer

Unfortunately once you have left the property it is then up to the LL to sort any discrepancies with the condition of the garden to return it to the same state as it was at check in.

You are quite entitled to enter a dispute with the deposit services and they will adjudicate the situation taking into account evidence from both sides.
You don't have anything to lose by disputing the amount but you need to be mindful that you will probably face some charge.
If you have clear evidence to suggest that the work was not required then that needs to be included in your evidence...stick to the facts and don't be swayed into trying to tell the deposit adjudicators how to do their job or supplying quotes etc...they are fair in their decisions but they do stick to facts rather than unconnected information.The "possible complication of other rubbish in the garden" was your responsibility to remove if it was not pictured or described in the check in inventory.

I will however say that as a LL myself whilst you may feel the charge is excessive it is not unreasonable to pay that sort of figure for the clearance and removal of overgrown plants,weeds and rubbish...I quite often get quotes from local gardeners to restore a small garden that has been "untouched" or at best "unloved" during a tenancy and unfortunately the quotes are usually several hundred pounds ….its always something that with hindsight would have been cheaper and easier for all to deal with if the tenant had put that couple of hours into restoring it before they left.

Only the amount in dispute will be retained until arbitration is complete so you could still request the remainder of your deposit back.

Believe it or not its gardens and ovens that usually raise eyebrows when it comes to deposit deductions....yes an oven can be cleaned very well for the cost of a pack of oven pride and a few hours work...but if the tenant doesn't do that prior to leaving then it easily results in a professional bill of anything up to £75 if a hob and extractor also need attention as well as the oven.
The garden similarly its probably more man hours than needing to use specific equipment to rectify.10 bags of rubbish would sound as if its not been regularly maintained during the tenancy...and with all living things if its left to get overgrown then it will need work if you've not done it prior to check out,to restore it to check in standard.

You acknowledged that "something had to give" when you were preparing to check out of the property...you picked an expensive area to potentially leave for someone else to rectify.
With a garden its difficult to attribute wear and tear,simply because they have an ongoing life cycle and don't need replacing after x amount of years.its much more clear cut that it should be in the same condition on check out as check in with allowance for a season change.

Hindsight is always a wonderful thing but searching out possible prices now is too late.A LL may have little option but to employ an "expensive " tradesperson in order to get the work done within a set timescale.You will not be able to influence the cost now that will be down to the adjudication process to decide.


I'm not quite sure how to word this so i'll just go for it and hope that no one takes offence but my bushes and shrubs in a medium sized garden have recently cost me £600 to trim! (regular maintaninance every 2 years)..I'm not particularly into gardening but I like them neat and its something I'm happy to pay someone to achieve...and like you I've probably got better things to do than worry about doing them myself.

AdrianC

osidos wrote: »

The gate was in communal area that didn't just lead to my garden. I couldn't unilaterally lock it. Is it your opinion that rubbish dumped in my garden under these circumstances is my problem, or is that based on something?

So who else's problem do you think it should be?
If you owned the property, whose would it be?

sal_III

Apologies if hit a nerve and/or my post sounded condescending.

Rubbish dumped in your garden is your problem based you having responsibility to return the garden in the same condition at checkout. Which is part of what you are being charged for, by your own account. I didn't say you are liable for clearing it, that would depend on your tenancy agreement wording. Even if there is no specific provision, there is an argument that if the tenants has allowed an illegal activity (fly tipping) to occur on the property they are responsible for the aftermath. It's a grey area.

You shouldn't base your reasonable cost on the cheapest quote, but on an average quote. LL is not obligated to use the cheapest service available.

You have nothing to lose by disputing the amount, just don't expect much if any reduction.

osidos

AdrianC wrote: »

So who else's problem do you think it should be?
If you owned the property, whose would it be?

If I owned the property, it would be either my responsibility, or that of whoever dumped it. If I couldn't track down the person who dumped it, it would fall to me to dispose of it by default.

But I don't own it - the landlord does.

Surely you can see how there is an argument that a landlord who decides not to secure a gate bears some responsibility for the results of that?

But I'm not really looking for debate or opinions on who should be responsible. If the law says it's my responsibility, I can accept that. If you can show that is what the law says, I'd appreciate that. But it would be better to just give the information.

I know I'm new here, but I really don't see why some people feel the need to add all sorts of unhelpful off-topic commentary.

AdrianC

osidos wrote: »

If I owned the property, it would be either my responsibility, or that of whoever dumped it. If I couldn't track down the person who dumped it, it would fall to me to dispose of it by default.

Bingo.

But I don't own it - the landlord does.

So you think responsibility for the garden is based on property ownership? Even though you're renting the garden, and you accept that responsibility for maintenance is yours? And the tenancy means the landlord cannot even enter the garden without your prior permission...? Quiet enjoyment, remember?

Surely you can see how there is an argument that a landlord who decides not to secure a gate bears some responsibility for the results of that?

Would it make a difference if the gate was "secured", and the rubbish was thrown over the top of the fence?

What about if it was rubbish pushed through your letterbox into the hallway?

But I'm not really looking for debate or opinions on who should be responsible. If the law says it's my responsibility, I can accept that. If you can show that is what the law says, I'd appreciate that. But it would be better to just give the information.

The law doesn't cross every T and dot every I in the kind of detail you seem to expect, nor does it need to.

I know I'm new here, but I really don't see why some people feel the need to add all sorts of unhelpful off-topic commentary.

Perhaps we're simply helping you to realise that common sense applies?