Zero deposit dispute with landlord

zebra7t4

I’m asking this for a family member. They rented a house on a zero deposit scheme, and moved out after 6 months. 

Now the zero deposit scheme have contacted them saying they want £250 for ‘damages’ to flooring and a blind. 

I’m assured there was no damage and they were model tenants paying the rent every month etc. 
The landlord was not very good, there was damp in the house and the landlord didn’t seem to want to do anything. Family member has heard landlord has a side hustle in drugs, so not good. 

They rented it through an agent. 

Just wondering if they can dispute this at all and if so how? What would happen if it wasn’t paid?

MEM62

There should have been a check-in condition report and another when they moved out.  What do those mention about the flooring and the blind.    

"The landlord was not very good, there was damp in the house and the landlord didn’t seem to want to do anything."  In my experience this is often caused by insufficient ventilation rather than an issue with the building.  I lived in my flat for almost 30 years without any damp issues yet every tenant I have had has complained about damp.  Fact is they are not ventilating the place sufficiently.

"Family member has heard landlord has a side hustle in drugs, so not good."  That's not relevant to anything.   

  

deannagone

I am afraid this is the problem with zero deposit schemes.  The normal way, the LL has a well established arbitration scheme to go through to get money for damages from a deposit.  With zero deposit schemes, the tenant is more vulnerable to less well run claims for damages.

Your relative will have to look at the paperwork they were given when they moved in and see what it says about disputing claims for damages.  And what will happen if they don't pay.  The obvious thing is the relative could be taken to court eventually for the money.  But they need to look at their paperwork in the first instance to see what they can do (or look on the website of the zero deposit scheme company).  Did they have check in and check out reports?  Do they have any emails reporting damage to the blinds or flooring or photos of the property on moving in that shows the flooring and blind damage?  Or was there no damage to either on moving out - do they have photos or a video showing this?

Doozergirl

MEM62 said:

There should have been a check-in condition report and another when they moved out.  What do those mention about the flooring and the blind.    

"The landlord was not very good, there was damp in the house and the landlord didn’t seem to want to do anything."  In my experience this is often caused by insufficient ventilation rather than an issue with the building.  I lived in my flat for almost 30 years without any damp issues yet every tenant I have had has complained about damp.  Fact is they are not ventilating the place sufficiently.

"Family member has heard landlord has a side hustle in drugs, so not good."  That's not relevant to anything.   

  

It is absolutely an issue with building fabric. 

The building regulations dictate these days that we need certain levels of insulation and background/mechanical/passive ventilation in our homes to avoid condensation. 

Houses used to be cold and draughty.  As people plug up the draughts and fit double glazing without trickle vents etc, ventilation does become an issue but it's background ventilation that is needed,  not windows opened periodically or allowing heat to escape through opened windows, cooling uninsulated walls down further and exacerbating the problem.  

We should all be able to live in our homes with the correct type of background and mechanical ventilation, plus adequate insulation.

Sweeping generalisation upcoming, but it's not coincidental that tenants seem to suffer the most with bad condensation when many landlords only upgrade what they absolutely have to.  If there's damp ingress as well then it's a losing battle from the start.  

canaldurhone

If the amount being claimed is not paid, then my understanding is that the LL and/or zero deposit company will have to take the tenant to court. The tenant can defend the claim.
But read the paperwork that was signed with the zero deposit company!
Obviously as in any court case, the claimant will have to present evidence to justify their claim. Usually this would be the inventory/condition report dated at the start of the tenancy and the check out inspection report. What do these say about the flooring and blind?
The defendant can also submit evidence for example photos of the flooring and blind taken at the ed of the tenancy
Other matters unrelated to the flooring and blind (eg the damp and drugs) are totally irrelevant and would only annoy the judge if brought up.

TripleH

I read that the landlord dabbled in drugs was an indication that they were 'an unsavoury character'.

But yes, read the contract and check if you received check-in and check-out reports that you signed off on.

TripleH

We were renting a zero deposit property (large residentialblock in City centre) but had no charges taken when we moved out. We were thorough in our clean and got on well with the staff who'd likely check the flat conditions.

I know others did get charged (from complaints in WhatsApp groups).

We didn't get a check-in or check-out report although as the first tenants in the property (when the building opened) it might have made complaints of 'preexisting damage' hard to justify by us.