Claiming From Estate Agent due to Incorrect TDS Claim?

fiveacre

SteveVy said:

The plug is for an outdoor PIR Floodlight...I didn't have this installed it came with the property.

Was that not flagged on the EICR, assuming it's flex in plaster without protection?

dil1976

fiveacre said:

SteveVy said:

The plug is for an outdoor PIR Floodlight...I didn't have this installed it came with the property.

Was that not flagged on the EICR, assuming it's flex in plaster without protection?

Are we snagging the whole house now? But out of curiosity what sort of "protection" would it need?

Bluebell1000

Our agents missed several things - including patches of repainted walls in a different colour, rubbish dumped... they had already returned the deposit so the agents gave us a large discount on their reletting fees, and sorted out some of the issues using their own tradesperson at their expense. It was annoying and made it pretty clear that they have totally different expectations to us.

We now self manage.

fiveacre

dil1976 said:

Are we snagging the whole house now? But out of curiosity what sort of "protection" would it need?

If you're proposing to pursue a deposit recovery in the courts contrary to the TDS decision it would make sense to ensure the usual boxes are ticked like gas cert, etc.

The flex buried in the wall like that raises the possibility that it may be a DIY job, and therefore might not buried at sufficient depth or within a prescribed zone, which perhaps suggests there may not be an up-to-date EICR. If that's the case, it might be best just to drop the damage issues rather than bring additional attention to this property.

london21

SteveVy said:

Hi Folks,

I hope you can help me , I am very annoyed at the minute.

I rented out a fully refurbished 2 bedroom property last year to two "professional tenant"s who Haarts recommended to me, I was told these two tenants were doctors and have rented with Haarts for over 5 years with no issues.

Within months of the tenants moving in the issues began.....I wasn't able to evict them as Haarts told me due to Covid we would have to wait...

Before the property was put on the market I spent £7,500 on a new kitchen, new bathroom, new flooring for the property and I had the property fully redecorated.

Issue 1

It started with the shower leaking through to the kitchen ceiling...I had someone come out three times to rectify this by re-sealing the shower tray as this was what the plumber believed was the source of the issue.  It turned out the tenants were showering their kids with the shower door open which led to water going all over the bathroom floor. This water then leaked through the floor causing the kitchen ceiling to leak.

Issue 2

The next issue we had was the shower ceiling was pitch black due to mold when I asked them about this, they told me 'In the UAE we never open our windows so we don't need to here", I took photos and showed Haarts this was a breach of their contract which clearly stated in black and white 'Tenants must ensure property has adequate ventilation to stop build up of mold' . Haarts advised when the tenants move out we can claim the deposit and get your property sorted.

Issue 3

Tenants advised the boiler wasn't working I told them they need to set the timer and it would work, I provided them with instructions  which they didn't bother to read. Haarts constantly rang me / threatening me that I would need to send someone out to 'fix the boiler' or I would face an £175 call out charge if they sent someone. I reluctantly sent someone who charged me £65 just to turn on the boiler!! As you can imagine I was fuming but Haarts didn't help

Issue 4

When I finally got the property back every single wall in the property was scuffed / heavily marked . I had a full inventory completed by Haarts before the tenants moved in which I was charged £250 for. This inventory contains photos and all the evidence required to show the property was 'in new' condition when the tenants moved in.

Haarts advised they thought the property was handed back in 'good condition with general wear and tear' I was pretty shocked! I had a few other estate agents come out and look at the property and they agreed this was not 'general wear and tear for 12 months'. I looked at the TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme) website and it provided numerous examples of a how to claim for a property that has had cosmetic damage.

I took my own photos of all the damage and obtained quotes to repair all the damage.

I advised Haarts to open a claim for the following;

1) Mold in Bathroom Ceiling

2) Misuse of Shower which led to damage of bathroom floor and kitchen ceiling

3) Scuffs / Heavily marked walls and ceilings throughout the property

The claim was opened in October 2021, I have been chasing Haarts since Nov 2021 for an update and was constantly told 'the claim is being processed'. Today I rang the TDS who told me the claim was shut within 3 days of being opened and I have lost, and the tenants have been given their deposit back in full.

If I am able to obtain the TDS report Haarts completed and I find its not completed correctly or contains sufficient evidence am I able to counter claim from Haarts?

I would also like to add I've had the worst possible service from Haarts Harborne you can imagine, they never answer their phones and they never get back to your emails!

I will supply photos of the damage shortly...

Renting can be a pain at times.
Feels like so much stress with not much return.

Without a bath, better off renting to adults that can bath themselves the fewer the people the better.

Were the tenants only 2? seems there could have been overcrowding. 

Appears not only were they not opening the windows but after having their shower they might have left the doors closed.

Does your boiler have a thermostat also, annoying when people fiddle around with things.

"£7,500 on a new kitchen, new bathroom, new flooring" that is a lot, can claim some money not sure will get close to that.
Some estate agents do not properly screen tenants, just want to take commission and hide away when there are problems. 

Check the extractor fan is strong enough for the space.

lookstraightahead

When we rented the shower was a very powerful one. Despite us having the windows open and the door (en-suite) the paint still peeled away on the windows.

when the landlord had the EICR done the guy told us the fan wasn't working properly (I was just inquisitive really).

We had a huge walk in shower fir just two of us. That shower will have been servicing 4, up to 8 showers a day. How big is the room, and is the fan working properly.

TheJP

london21 said:

SteveVy said:

Hi Folks,

I hope you can help me , I am very annoyed at the minute.

I rented out a fully refurbished 2 bedroom property last year to two "professional tenant"s who Haarts recommended to me, I was told these two tenants were doctors and have rented with Haarts for over 5 years with no issues.

Within months of the tenants moving in the issues began.....I wasn't able to evict them as Haarts told me due to Covid we would have to wait...

Before the property was put on the market I spent £7,500 on a new kitchen, new bathroom, new flooring for the property and I had the property fully redecorated.

Issue 1

It started with the shower leaking through to the kitchen ceiling...I had someone come out three times to rectify this by re-sealing the shower tray as this was what the plumber believed was the source of the issue.  It turned out the tenants were showering their kids with the shower door open which led to water going all over the bathroom floor. This water then leaked through the floor causing the kitchen ceiling to leak.

Issue 2

The next issue we had was the shower ceiling was pitch black due to mold when I asked them about this, they told me 'In the UAE we never open our windows so we don't need to here", I took photos and showed Haarts this was a breach of their contract which clearly stated in black and white 'Tenants must ensure property has adequate ventilation to stop build up of mold' . Haarts advised when the tenants move out we can claim the deposit and get your property sorted.

Issue 3

Tenants advised the boiler wasn't working I told them they need to set the timer and it would work, I provided them with instructions  which they didn't bother to read. Haarts constantly rang me / threatening me that I would need to send someone out to 'fix the boiler' or I would face an £175 call out charge if they sent someone. I reluctantly sent someone who charged me £65 just to turn on the boiler!! As you can imagine I was fuming but Haarts didn't help

Issue 4

When I finally got the property back every single wall in the property was scuffed / heavily marked . I had a full inventory completed by Haarts before the tenants moved in which I was charged £250 for. This inventory contains photos and all the evidence required to show the property was 'in new' condition when the tenants moved in.

Haarts advised they thought the property was handed back in 'good condition with general wear and tear' I was pretty shocked! I had a few other estate agents come out and look at the property and they agreed this was not 'general wear and tear for 12 months'. I looked at the TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme) website and it provided numerous examples of a how to claim for a property that has had cosmetic damage.

I took my own photos of all the damage and obtained quotes to repair all the damage.

I advised Haarts to open a claim for the following;

1) Mold in Bathroom Ceiling

2) Misuse of Shower which led to damage of bathroom floor and kitchen ceiling

3) Scuffs / Heavily marked walls and ceilings throughout the property

The claim was opened in October 2021, I have been chasing Haarts since Nov 2021 for an update and was constantly told 'the claim is being processed'. Today I rang the TDS who told me the claim was shut within 3 days of being opened and I have lost, and the tenants have been given their deposit back in full.

If I am able to obtain the TDS report Haarts completed and I find its not completed correctly or contains sufficient evidence am I able to counter claim from Haarts?

I would also like to add I've had the worst possible service from Haarts Harborne you can imagine, they never answer their phones and they never get back to your emails!

I will supply photos of the damage shortly...

Renting can be a pain at times.
Feels like so much stress with not much return.

Without a bath, better off renting to adults that can bath themselves the fewer the people the better.

Were the tenants only 2? seems there could have been overcrowding. 

Appears not only were they not opening the windows but after having their shower they might have left the doors closed.

Does your boiler have a thermostat also, annoying when people fiddle around with things.

"£7,500 on a new kitchen, new bathroom, new flooring" that is a lot, can claim some money not sure will get close to that.
Some estate agents do not properly screen tenants, just want to take commission and hide away when there are problems. 

Check the extractor fan is strong enough for the space.

I dont think the OP is saying he wants to claim £7.5k more highlighting what he has done in getting the house ready for tenants. 

SteveVy

fiveacre said:

SteveVy said:

The plug is for an outdoor PIR Floodlight...I didn't have this installed it came with the property.

Was that not flagged on the EICR, assuming it's flex in plaster without protection?

No the EICR was fine, they didn't flag this.

SteveVy

fiveacre said:

dil1976 said:

Are we snagging the whole house now? But out of curiosity what sort of "protection" would it need?

If you're proposing to pursue a deposit recovery in the courts contrary to the TDS decision it would make sense to ensure the usual boxes are ticked like gas cert, etc.

The flex buried in the wall like that raises the possibility that it may be a DIY job, and therefore might not buried at sufficient depth or within a prescribed zone, which perhaps suggests there may not be an up-to-date EICR. If that's the case, it might be best just to drop the damage issues rather than bring additional attention to this property.

The EICR was completed August 2020 only two issues were flagged these were;

1) Upgrade Fuse Box to bring up to current regulations & Standard

2) No heat detectorin Kitchen

Overall the house was scored 'Good' with overall assessment of the install 'Satisfactory'

Anyway we digress...

SteveVy

Folks in regards to the original thread the estate agents have finally sent me a copy of the TDS Report which says

"On 18 September 2021 TDS invited the agent/landlord to set out the basis of their claim against the tenant’s deposit and to provide evidence to support that claim by 14 October 2021. We wrote again to the agent/landlord on 10 October 2021 to remind them that we had not received any evidence from them before adjudication."

It then goes on to say as no evidence was received from the agent/landlord, we have therefore awarded the claim in the tenants favor!

As you can imagine I am quite annoyed as;

1) I paid extra to have a check-in inspection report created with photos etc

2) I paid extra to have a check-out inspection report created with photos etc.

3) I visited the property and took my own photos and shared these with the agents

4) I shared several quotes with the estate agents for having all the work repaired.

I was assured by the estate agent all of the above would be shared with the TDS for the claim.

It looks like someone has 'cocked-up' and not submitted the claim to the TDS correctly but even worse not responded to the claims for more evidence.

Do you think I am within my rights to ask the estate agents to refund me the deposit from their account?

I have been paying approx £90 a month for 'property management' which has been questionable!