Landlord wanting to deduct from our deposit

fiwen30

Hi all, looking for a bit of advice - we’re based in Northern Ireland.

Our tenancy ended on 31st December, after I gave 1 months notice due to buying our new house. We cleaned everything up, cleared out the overgrown flowerbeds in the back yard, and trimmed the hedges back - it was left to the standard as it was when I moved in 4.5 years ago. The house is laminate & tile floors all throughout, with carpet on the stairs and landing, and everything got a through clean. The cream walls and woodwork might have had a few scuffs, but nothing out of the ordinary from day to day living.

I had arranged with the landlord to have our final inspection on 30th December, but 30 minutes before our agreed meeting time, I got a text saying that their son had been showing COVID symptoms, and that because he had spent Christmas Day with them then they would have to isolate till the son had his results back. I dropped the keys through the letterbox of their home, so as not to have them in my possession after the tenancy had ended, and we agreed to meet when it was safe to do the inspection together.

I just got another text this evening to say that they have had ‘someone else’ inspect the house on their behalf, and that ‘based on their observations’ they’ll need to bring in a cleaning company to bring the house to an ‘acceptable state to let’. They want to deduct this cost from the £500 deposit which is held in the government deposit protection scheme. The landlord adds that ‘it also means we are losing revenue until it is sorted’?? Not quite sure what he was insinuating with that, if I’m honest, surely I and my deposit can’t be held responsible for any monies lost in a gap between tenants?

I’m annoyed and disappointed. In 4 years I’ve seen the landlord about 3 times, once for a broken boiler, and twice for the oven. Money has always been paid in full and on time, and the house was always treated with care and attention.

I’m also annoyed at myself, because I didn’t take any photos after the house was emptied and cleaned, as we were due to have an in person inspection.

I was relying quite heavily on getting that £500 back, and I know an end of tenancy cleaning service will be in the region of £300. Do I have a leg to stand on here, or do I just have to accept whatever costs will be deducted from the deposit? Thanks in advance.

anselld

Of course you have a leg to stand on (assuming it is as clean as when you arrived);  It is for the Landlord to prove the state is worse than check-in not the other way round (though pictures would have been useful).  You cannot be liable or any gap between tenancies.
Dispute deductions via the deposit scheme if you think they are unfair based on checkin / checkout inventory reports.

Grumpy_chap

If you have been there 4.5 years, always paid on time and in full, and not needed to make demands on the LL for maintenance, then the LL has done well.  After 4.5 years, the property is going to need a bit of a spruce up to secure best potential from the next tenant.  A reasonable LL would simply return all the deposit, whether a bit of cleaning is required or not.

anselld

Grumpy_chap said:

If you have been there 4.5 years, always paid on time and in full, and not needed to make demands on the LL for maintenance, then the LL has done well.  After 4.5 years, the property is going to need a bit of a spruce up to secure best potential from the next tenant.  A reasonable LL would simply return all the deposit, whether a bit of cleaning is required or not.

That is true as far as wear-and-tear is concerned but the duration should not excuse a lack of basic cleaning if indeed that was the case.

fiwen30

I’m very disappointed if I’m honest, after so many years of peaceful habitation, and a mutually beneficial arrangement.

If the message is to be believed, then the landlord hasn’t actually seen the house. We had meant to be doing an in person checkout inspection once his isolation period was over. I haven’t received a checkout inventory, or any sort of itemised list of what exactly is wrong with the cleaning job we did.

I’ll be phoning around a few places tomorrow to get some official advice, but wanted to check here first.

Wanderingpomm

In order to keep the deposit the property will have to be worse than it was when you moved in. What does the inventory say and is there before and after pictures? If not it will be hard for the LL to make a claim 

Pennylane

I feel for you!  My son and his partner rented a house for 6 years.  The letting agents were hopeless and every time there was a problem they ignored them. They would also not provide the landlords details so they could contact them direct.  At the end of tenancy they spent a whole weekend cleaning the house from top to bottom and it was immaculate.  My son even mended things that were broken when they moved in like window catches, toilet seat etc.  I advised them to take photos which they did. The agents tried to knock a load of money off the deposit and listed things like “hairline crack on bathroom tile” and “dent in door” both of which were there 6 years before. There are some very unscrupulous agents out there! 

dimbo61

Did you get a check in inventory from the Letting agents/Landlord ?
Have you got the deposit details ?
Contact them in the morning and claim your full deposit back.
It is up to the Landlord to prove that you have left the property in a worse condition that when you moved in taking into account Fair Wear and Tear.
Now if the property is empty while the LL has it repainted, new decorations, EICR /GSC/ New EPC that is down to them and should be expected after 4 + years.
Dispute any and all deductions that the Landlords thinks you should pay.
I would also consider a Letter before Action if you don't receive your full deposit within 14 days.
Good luck

fiwen30

Wanderingpomm said:

In order to keep the deposit the property will have to be worse than it was when you moved in. What does the inventory say and is there before and after pictures? If not it will be hard for the LL to make a claim 

Check-in inventory is pretty sparse, if I remember correctly. Things like ‘cream walls’, ‘laminate floor’, ‘cream curtains’. I think the only point of note in regards to things being broken or worn was that the dado rail in one of the bedrooms was coming away from the wall as the wall wasn’t straight. This is in exactly the same condition as it was 4.5 years ago.

I took a quick look through my iCloud, and have found photos of when I moved in, but unfortunately I didn’t take photos when I left as we were meant to have an in person checkout visit. And I still able to request this, now that the tenancy notice is past? It would be useful to get inside the house again to take those after photos, and also to go over exactly what the landlord thinks is so wrong with our cleaning, and what they think it would cost to bring it to an ‘acceptable condition to let’.

fiwen30

Pennylane said:

I feel for you!  My son and his partner rented a house for 6 years.  The letting agents were hopeless and every time there was a problem they ignored them. They would also not provide the landlords details so they could contact them direct.  At the end of tenancy they spent a whole weekend cleaning the house from top to bottom and it was immaculate.  My son even mended things that were broken when they moved in like window catches, toilet seat etc.  I advised them to take photos which they did. The agents tried to knock a load of money off the deposit and listed things like “hairline crack on bathroom tile” and “dent in door” both of which were there 6 years before. There are some very unscrupulous agents out there! 

The letting agent which advertised the place was...interesting. No computers, just a huge ledger in the middle of the shop, and everything done by one and paper. After the initial 12 months, further contracts were taken with the landlord directly, with no need for agents. This is part of the reason I’m so cross about this, because we had a solid arrangement for so many years.

fiwen30

dimbo61 said:

Did you get a check in inventory from the Letting agents/Landlord ?
Have you got the deposit details ?
Contact them in the morning and claim your full deposit back.
It is up to the Landlord to prove that you have left the property in a worse condition that when you moved in taking into account Fair Wear and Tear.
Now if the property is empty while the LL has it repainted, new decorations, EICR /GSC/ New EPC that is down to them and should be expected after 4 + years.
Dispute any and all deductions that the Landlords thinks you should pay.
I would also consider a Letter before Action if you don't receive your full deposit within 14 days.
Good luck

Thanks. I do have both an inventory and info on the deposit scheme, and will be making calls in the morning.

The only discrepancy I can see on the inventory, is that it included a washing machine. Now, this washing machine packed in after about a year of my tenancy. I contacted the landlord, who said that the washing machine at my house had been a cast off of their daughter’s when she replaced hers, and was included at the rental ‘as good will’, as so they wouldn’t be replacing it if it failed. I knew I could’ve pushed for a new one, as it had been included in the inventory, but I didn’t want to rock the boat. I replaced the washing machine out of pocket, and took it with me to our new house. I have text messages showing this, as proof.