What is the concequensce of dispute via TDS?

alex132

My previous letting agent appointment a professional cleaner to clean the flat after I left and charging me £500 for 1 bedroom flat. 
The flat deposit is £1,100, and minus of professional cleaners and the letting agent return me £600 last month.
I asked for cleaning receipt, but no response. When I left the flat, I clean it myself and letting the agent ask for professional cleaning receipt. I said I clean it myself, they said they will appoint their cleaner.

Can I request for dispute via TDS? I am okay to pay £500, but not above £500 which I feel ridiculous.

In this case, if I dispute £500, and the adjudicator makes a decision that I am unsuccessful,  Will adjudication ask me to pay more than £500?

greatcrested

Yes you can raise a dispute, and yes if you win you'll get your deposit back.

The landlord/agent does not have to show you a receipt - indeed, they do not need to get a cleaner in at all. IF (and I say IF) you left the property dirtier than it was when you moved in, they can charge you for cleaning (even if they don't clean!).

But if you left the property as clean as at the start, they cannot claim for cleaning.

What matters is

a) how clean was it at the start? Does the check-in inventory state this? Or are there photos?

b) how clean was it at the end?  Was there a check-out inspection? What does it say? Photos?

The deposit arbitrators will compare a) with b) and then decide.

How you clean it at the end does not matter: DIY, pay someone, get your mum to do it - makes no difference.

What matters is the quality of the cleaning, not who does it.

In this case, if I dispute £500, and the adjudicator makes a decision that I am unsuccessful,  Will adjudication ask me to pay more than £500?

No. The LL is claiming £500 sothat is the maximum you might have to pay - but since you said "I said I clean it myself" it is likely you will win. Did you take photos?

Read my post here too:

Post 3: Deposits: Payment, Protection and Return.

AdrianC

The landlord does not have to provide you with a receipt. If you want a receipt for the end-of-tenancy cleaning, you arrange the cleaning yourself before you move out.

It is very unlikely that the deposit service will award more to the landlord than they have requested. It is probably not impossible, however, and one poster reported on another thread that they had been awarded more.

princeofpounds

Sounds extortionate unless you left it in a terrible state. What did the inventory say on check-in and check-out in terms of the condition of the property? Do you have any other evidence, such as photos or video?

Yes, you can dispute at TDS. The adjudicator will only deduct amounts from your deposit which the LL can prove* are required to compensate them for loss or damage caused during your tenancy. They are generally very fair, so you should have little fear.

* Not to criminal law standards of beyond-reasonable-doubt, but on the balance of evidence.

alex132

Thanks. 
I am willing to pay £500 for cleaning, as I already get back my deposit last month, and no more connection with agent. 
But my question is if I am unsuccessfully in this dispute, can TDS or agent ask for me to pay more than £500?

greatcrested

How big is the property? £500 is a lot. At, say, £30 per hour, that's a full 8 hours work for two people!

If you think you cleaned the property to a standard equel to when you moved in you should dispute

a) the need for any cleaning and

b) the amount being charged being excessive, if cleaning was required.

AdrianC

alex132 said:

But my question is if I am unsuccessfully in this dispute, can TDS or agent ask for me to pay more than £500?

You may have missed the second half of my reply...

AdrianC said:

It is very unlikely that the deposit service will award more to the landlord than they have requested. It is probably not impossible, however, and one poster reported on another thread that they had been awarded more.

Link to the post I referred to...
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77806209/#Comment_77806209

alex132

greatcrested said:

How big is the property? £500 is a lot. At, say, £30 per hour, that's a full 8 hours work for two people!

If you think you cleaned the property to a standard equel to when you moved in you should dispute

a) the need for any cleaning and

b) the amount being charged being excessive, if cleaning was required.

You did not answer the question. I am willing to pay £500 for cleaning, and also I already paid for it.
I saw the post about dispute, and trying to ask if I unsuccessful in dispute, will TDS/agent charge me more?

grumiofoundation

alex132 said:

greatcrested said:

How big is the property? £500 is a lot. At, say, £30 per hour, that's a full 8 hours work for two people!

If you think you cleaned the property to a standard equel to when you moved in you should dispute

a) the need for any cleaning and

b) the amount being charged being excessive, if cleaning was required.

You did not answer the question. I am willing to pay £500 for cleaning, and also I already paid for it.
I saw the post about dispute, and trying to ask if I unsuccessful in dispute, will TDS/agent charge me more?

If you are willing to pay £500 (although this is a lot if you cleaned the flat) why are you going to dispute?

Edit - I agree with the above posts you should dispute if you cleaned the property and don't understand why you would therefore be okay paying £500 but as you apparently are...

greatcrested

Yes, OP is no longer making sense.

* the landlord is claiming £500 for cleaning

* you are happy to pay £500

* you have received the remainder of your deposit already - £600

* so what is the dispute? Just move on

* However you also say you have already paid £500. Not clear how though. If you paid, why is LL also deducting £500 from your deposit making a total of £1000 for cleaning!

MaryNB

greatcrested said:

Yes, OP is no longer making sense.

* the landlord is claiming £500 for cleaning

* you are happy to pay £500

* you have received the remainder of your deposit already - £600

* so what is the dispute? Just move on

* However you also say you have already paid £500. Not clear how though. If you paid, why is LL also deducting £500 from your deposit making a total of £1000 for cleaning!

It's taken me a few reads but I think by saying they paid, the OP is saying they paid by way of the deposit reduction. It's just a single £500 transaction. Which they seem to be simultaneously agreeing with and disputing. So perhaps they accepted the £500 cleaning fee (which is extortionate) but want to see if they can chance disputing it, but only if there's no risk of the cost rising above £500.

I mean unless the flat was a total bomb site or they left a hoarder's worth of rubbish behind, there's next to no chance the DPS will agree with the £500 fee, especially since no invoice has been provided to the OP.