Rent deposit dispute

Bonnieb

I have just moved out of a rented property I lived in for 2 years. Upon moving in I realised the property was covered in mould and damp which they done nothing about despite my calls and informing them I had a baby in the property. We have now gone into a dispute regarding the deposit as they are trying to take the whole lot. The house was quite old so often was dusty lots of marks etc.

First dispute is £600 for decoration. They have said I was not to redecorate (when in fact I was told in person I can and contract does not state otherwise) and have only questioned 1 of the bedrooms not the whole house which I repainted due to damp/mould. The check in report states the bedroom was a pale green and I decorated to a dusky pink. They’ve stated they found an area of crayon which I must have missed and so had to decorate the whole room. I have said I’ll be happy to take a charge for the crayon for £50 which I think is more than acceptable for a small area of crayon which could be easily wiped.

The second dispute is under “other” category and very vague. It says a light bulb was missing from landing which was never in the property and stated on check in report it was missing. Also they have said I’ve added nails to walls which I never added anything there were quite a few nails in the property upon moving in which was on the check in report. They have charged me £350 for this category. They have added cleaning to this also but not stated what cleaning, upon moving in the oven/fridge/freezer had not been pulled out in what looked like years so I cleaned all myself and scrubbed for days before moving out so am unsure what cleaning could have been charged.

I have written my dispute backed but just wondering if anyone thinks this is fair and what the process will be now? I have looked online and the estate agents reviews are quite bad for taking your deposit.

silvercar

The deposit protection scheme is for these kind of disputes. Follow the procedure for whatever scheme your deposit was protected through.

Irrespective of the damp issue, dusky pink is not green, so I imagine you will need to have written evidence of consent to change the colour if you want to win that portion.

G_M

Bonnieb wrote: »

I have just moved out of a rented property I lived in for 2 years. Upon moving in I realised the property was covered in mould and damp which they done nothing about despite my calls and informing them I had a baby in the property.
should have dealt with via repairing obligations at the time.Now not relevant.

We have now gone into a dispute regarding the deposit as they are trying to take the whole lot. The house was quite old so often was dusty lots of marks etc.
What was it's condition when you moved in? What does the inventory say?

First dispute is £600 for decoration. They have said I was not to redecorate (when in fact I was told in person I can and contract does not state otherwise)
Do you have their consent to decorate in writing?
If the contract is silent, there is an implied assumption that you will return the property as you found it.

and have only questioned 1 of the bedrooms not the whole house which I repainted due to damp/mould. The check in report states the bedroom was a pale green and I decorated to a dusky pink.
Then unless you have written consent, either
1) you must re-paint it green, or
2) pay the cost of re-painting

They’ve stated they found an area of crayon which I must have missed and so had to decorate the whole room. I have said I’ll be happy to take a charge for the crayon for £50 which I think is more than acceptable for a small area of crayon which could be easily wiped.
If the crayon "could be easily wiped." why did you not wipe it? You chose instead to paint the room, not even using the original colour

The second dispute is under “other” category and very vague. It says a light bulb was missing from landing which was never in the property and stated on check in report it was missing.
Then contest this and refer to the inventory

Also they have said I’ve added nails to walls which I never added anything there were quite a few nails in the property upon moving in which was on the check in report.
Then contest this and refer to the inventory
They have charged me £350 for this category. They have added cleaning to this also but not stated what cleaning, upon moving in the oven/fridge/freezer had not been pulled out in what looked like years so I cleaned all myself and scrubbed for days before moving out so am unsure what cleaning could have been charged.
What does the check in inventory say?

My guess is that some aspects you will win,some you will lose.

gen982

Hello
Grateful for some help. I put a deposit down on a rented property in London for the landlord to accept through an agency, in 4 days my circumstances changed and I decided to withdraw my offer ( my freelance work fell through which meant it would affect my income and make the rent difficult to pay). During those four days I didnt submit any details apart from my job title and salary for the landlord to consider the offer. When i decided to withdraw I got no communication from the estate agency that the offer was even accepted ( no proof that they even sent it to the landlord , no references or terms discussed). Timing wise the estate agency had more than 2 months to rent the apartment ( this has now been let)
Its been 2 months and after several attempts to speak to the agency via phone and email they have not given back my holding deposit (£400) I think they hope that I will stop asking. 
Is this even legal? and how can i ensure I get my money back?

greatcrested

Start your own thread rather than confusing your issue with Bonnieb's