End of tenancy deposit - Landlord being unreasonable 4 August 2020 at 9:56PM edited 4 August 2020 at 10:14PM in Reclaiming mortgage fees, council tax, etc 7 replies 91 views

Grumple_2

Hi All, 

I imagine this is an almost constant request on here, but I'm hoping for some simple guidance.

I moved out of the property nearly 3 weeks ago, and the estate agent has been anything but helpful in my queries/chasing regarding the return of my deposit money. 

My money is held in a deposit protection service, and I have started the process on that also.

Today I got an email from the estate agent with the following points from the landlord (and my responses in bold):

Hallway

ceiling scuffed – needs spot covering (no memory of this scuff - just paint it?)

Lounge  

There are sticky pads on the door and frame – presumably to reduce noise on auto close.  However these have left yellow marks – I hope that they can be removed by cleaners.  They were not picked up on the report but are very unsightly. (previous tenant left these - as well as various small plastic wire holders all over the place). 
End wall looks like a mark has been cleaned, poorly.  It’s quite marked. (when we moved in there were various marks and chips in the paint to bare plaster - we attempted to cover these ourselves. Apologies not up to your standard, but they should've been taken care of before we moved in apparently?) 
2 bulbs missing – please replace (will purchase and deliver if required - all of £2 worth. Fairly sure barely any of these bulbs were live when we moved in) 

Kitchen

Screw cap – on the window sill but has been broken.  Ideally requires replacing. (assume for the taps? These weren't ever present - I believe I found this at the back of the cupboard under the sink when moving out) 
Blind – the three marks make this unsightly.  It probably needs replacing as a result. (absolutely standard wear and tear for a kitchen blind - marks were likely there when we moved in) 
Lighting – the adhesive hook looks the type which can be removed. (again, left by previous tenant) 
Kitchen units – many are dirty/have not been cleaned. (all cabinets were wiped down inside and out - no idea what more is expected) 
Worktop – these are very unsightly marks.  In the first instance is the solution to see if the marks can be removed by cleaners?  If not we expect some monies in compensation. (water marks on a very cheap kitchen worktop around a sink - fairly expected I think) 
Drainer – again the rust marks may come off through cleaning, if not we expect some compensation.  It should not be rusty. (this is about 5mm in diameter. It will definitely clean off - wish I'd spent the 2 minutes to do it myself now) 
Hob – not sure if anything can be done about the chip – again compensation – it’s not fair wear and tear. (This is 100% fair wear and tear. It's a tiny mark on an ancient hob and was more than likely there when we moved in!) 
Extractor hood – Filthy – the filter should have been replaced by the tenant – can the cleaners have a go at improving the look and cleanliness of this area when they are in please? (literally never used this other than for a light - filter was brown when we moved in) 
Washing machine – again it just needs a clean.  Where are the instructions – it’s a brand new machine. (I have the manual, will deliver) 
Oven Filthy – needs cleaning (might need a clean, not filthy) 

Bathroom

Flooring – the damage is quite extensive. This needs replacing at the tenant’s cost. (Absolutely no chance. This floor was badly marked when we moved in and it wasn't replaced then?) 
Walls Again cleaning…
Bath – ditto
Basin Why were the taps replaced – was that us or them? Again needs a clean. (landlord agreed for these to be replaced...)
grey footprint mat – this either needs returning or replacing (if not the original then a new version).  It matches the carpet, and was in fact a front door mat – should be in the hallway rather than the bathroom. (this thing was so grotty it could've almost walked to the bin on its own. We weren't keeping it in our home) 

I'm 99% sure the landlord didn't do his own personal inspection like this before I moved in, because most of his points refer to issues that existed before I moved in. So in my opinion his critique shouldn't be taken into consideration at all. 

The estate agent had already done their own inspection and received my responses weeks ago, but the landlord is now being totally unreasonable and clearly attempting to retain deposit money. 

How do I fight this? The flat is in better condition than when I moved in!

Any support would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks! 

Grumpy_chap

How do the comments compare with your check in and check out reports and inventory?

Grumple_2

Grumpy_chap said:

How do the comments compare with your check in and check out reports and inventory?

Hi, the estate agents report was fine and they even stated that it all looks fine. It's only since the landlord has done his own visit that any issues have arisen. 

Grumple_2

I can't work out how to edit my initial post, but here are some photos of the main issues the landlord has:

Chip in hob


Water marks on worktop


Marks on bathroom floor

-taff

post this on the house buying and renting board

pramsay13

Simply request the return of your deposit with whatever scheme holds it.

The landlord will suggest an amount to deduct and you can suggest what amount you are comfortable paying.

If this differs you will need to give whatever evidence you can from inventory, photos, emails etc.

A decision will be made based on the evidence provided.

Petriix

A lot depends on how long you lived there and how recently the house was decorated. It would be expected that every room would need redecorating every 5 years or so and every appliance would have a finite life.

It is prudent to take a high definition video of every part of every room when you move in to avoid ambiguity around responsibility for changes. However, your landlord would have to prove (on the balance of probabilities) that you caused the damage and could only claim for part of the cost of replacing old items. 

Grumple_2

Petriix said:

A lot depends on how long you lived there and how recently the house was decorated. It would be expected that every room would need redecorating every 5 years or so and every appliance would have a finite life.

It is prudent to take a high definition video of every part of every room when you move in to avoid ambiguity around responsibility for changes. However, your landlord would have to prove (on the balance of probabilities) that you caused the damage and could only claim for part of the cost of replacing old items. 

Yes, I really wish I had done that. I trusted that the 'Check in inspection' carried out by the estate agent would be satisfactory (which it was, until the landlord got involved himself). 

I hope I won't ever have to rent again after this.