DPS and Rental Agency

Floopy2009

Hi there,

Need a bit of advice so apparently my landlord is going to claim for 1 missing window key and have all the carpets cleaned which is laughable due to the age of them problems of leaks etc which have damaged most of the carpet, all been recorded on the fault system of the rental companies system landlord did nothing.

Anyway because i have been there for over 9 years there is quite alot of history on the fault system which i will require to set my evidence together to defend the landlords claim.

I tried to log onto the rental system and  now i cant access it. I contacted them and they said yes as you are not a tennant now we have removed your account but we have all your records let me know which ones you want.

I have responded with i would like access to them all with comments as i am within my rights too. Heard nothing, contacted them again, and again they say please let me know which ones and we i will retrive them for you.

Obviously they want to vet them first so they get an upper hand how to respond as they are working for the landlord.

Surley i am entitled to have them all, and if they dont provide me with my request surley i can refuse the claim through the dps until this is done ? And why have they removed my account when dps process is still ongoing ?

Thoughts please as i am going round in circles with them.

Thanks

Grumpy_chap

Have you submitted your request as a formal Subject Access Request under GDPR?

Floopy2009

Grumpy_chap said:

Have you submitted your request as a formal Subject Access Request under GDPR?

That was my next stage but wasnt sure if estate agents fell under that bracket ?

BarelySentientAI

Floopy2009 said:

 And why have they removed my account when dps process is still ongoing ?

Because you're not a tenant.  There's no obligation for them to provide access.  Given the type of data, they could probably delete it all today if they chose to do so.  A DPS claim doesn't change this.

Floopy2009 said:

Surley i am entitled to have them all, and if they dont provide me with my request surley i can refuse the claim through the dps until this is done ?

Why do you think you are entitled to them?  It often seems that when a question starts with "surely" it's because there isn't actually anything more than sentiment behind it.  Is there something in this case that actually gives you the right to see it?  It's not personal information, so GDPR isn't going to do a whole lot for you.

Obviously, you have the check-in and check-out inventories which give you all the evidence you need to claim the full deposit back from DPS.  Because you kept a copy of those, as you knew they would be important.  Yes?

Stop trying to deal with the LL and the agency.  Deal with the DPS.

RHemmings

Agreed. Deal with the DPS. 

Carpets will only have an expected lifespan over eight years if they are high quality carpets. See: https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/A-Guide-to-product-lifespans.pdf  

For the missing window key, I would offer £5 for the cost of a replacement key. (Through the DPS). 

If these are the only two deductions, if I were in your position I would contact the letting agents pointing out the expected lifespan of the carpets, and asking for evidence that the carpets were of high quality, and evidence of exactly when the carpets were first installed new. (Were they brand new when you moved in?) Making it very clear that the information you need is the date of installation, if new on installation, and evidence that the carpets were of high quality. Not regular (or low) quality.

If the letting agents don't give you that information, then I would include that failure to provide information in the DPS claim, include photos of the carpets, and say that these are clearly not high quality carpets. And, if true, that they weren't new when you moved in nine years ago. 

If the LA gives you a non-answer (e.g. 'the carpets were in new condition when you moved in' - not saying if they were high quality), then I would also mention in your claim through the DPS that you asked the LA to provide evidence that the carpets were high quality carpets, and they didn't do so. 

What other deductions, if any, are there? 

Floopy2009

RHemmings said:

Agreed. Deal with the DPS. 

Carpets will only have an expected lifespan over eight years if they are high quality carpets. See: https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/A-Guide-to-product-lifespans.pdf  

For the missing window key, I would offer £5 for the cost of a replacement key. (Through the DPS). 

If these are the only two deductions, if I were in your position I would contact the letting agents pointing out the expected lifespan of the carpets, and asking for evidence that the carpets were of high quality, and evidence of exactly when the carpets were first installed new. (Were they brand new when you moved in?) Making it very clear that the information you need is the date of installation, if new on installation, and evidence that the carpets were of high quality. Not regular (or low) quality.

If the letting agents don't give you that information, then I would include that failure to provide information in the DPS claim, include photos of the carpets, and say that these are clearly not high quality carpets. And, if true, that they weren't new when you moved in nine years ago. 

If the LA gives you a non-answer (e.g. 'the carpets were in new condition when you moved in' - not saying if they were high quality), then I would also mention in your claim through the DPS that you asked the LA to provide evidence that the carpets were high quality carpets, and they didn't do so. 

What other deductions, if any, are there? 

Hi there 

Sorry it's more the cleaning of the carpets. But they were dirty and old before I moved in. I got they pro cleaned when I moved in due to the condition and also a cat you had a party there and left some reminders. Have the invoice still to say they couldnt clean them properly due to marks that were to old. Did clean them again when I left but still due to age could remove some of the worn old marks 

The carpets must by 15 years old and the landlord has not been back for 14 years as he lives abroad so how can he judge the condition 

The other is a slight rip in a old roller blind the reason for that is the window was old and damp but the landlord would not replace it. So we were constantly cleaning the mound off the blinds 

propertyrental

Just to clarify the excellent comments above. The issue regarding the carpets is 'betterment'. The LL cannot expect to end up in a better position than if no deposit deduction were justified/made.

A carpet (subject to quality) has a lifespan of 8 years. Since your tenancy was 9 years, the carpets had already reached the end of their life and would need replacing irrespective of any damage/dirt you may be responsible for. The LL cannot expect you to provide brand new carpets in place of 9 (or more) year old ones.

Floopy2009

BarelySentientAI said:

Floopy2009 said:

 And why have they removed my account when dps process is still ongoing ?

Because you're not a tenant.  There's no obligation for them to provide access.  Given the type of data, they could probably delete it all today if they chose to do so.  A DPS claim doesn't change this.

Floopy2009 said:

Surley i am entitled to have them all, and if they dont provide me with my request surley i can refuse the claim through the dps until this is done ?

Why do you think you are entitled to them?  It often seems that when a question starts with "surely" it's because there isn't actually anything more than sentiment behind it.  Is there something in this case that actually gives you the right to see it?  It's not personal information, so GDPR isn't going to do a whole lot for you.

Obviously, you have the check-in and check-out inventories which give you all the evidence you need to claim the full deposit back from DPS.  Because you kept a copy of those, as you knew they would be important.  Yes?

Stop trying to deal with the LL and the agency.  Deal with the DPS.

Yes have all the inventory and check ins but there was 10 pages of issues that were raised which were ignored or not sorted so I need to add these to my case. 

BarelySentientAI

Floopy2009 said:

BarelySentientAI said:

Floopy2009 said:

 And why have they removed my account when dps process is still ongoing ?

Because you're not a tenant.  There's no obligation for them to provide access.  Given the type of data, they could probably delete it all today if they chose to do so.  A DPS claim doesn't change this.

Floopy2009 said:

Surley i am entitled to have them all, and if they dont provide me with my request surley i can refuse the claim through the dps until this is done ?

Why do you think you are entitled to them?  It often seems that when a question starts with "surely" it's because there isn't actually anything more than sentiment behind it.  Is there something in this case that actually gives you the right to see it?  It's not personal information, so GDPR isn't going to do a whole lot for you.

Obviously, you have the check-in and check-out inventories which give you all the evidence you need to claim the full deposit back from DPS.  Because you kept a copy of those, as you knew they would be important.  Yes?

Stop trying to deal with the LL and the agency.  Deal with the DPS.

Yes have all the inventory and check ins but there was 10 pages of issues that were raised which were ignored or not sorted so I need to add these to my case. 

You don't.  Not addressing maintenance issues isn't a deposit thing.

As the others have pointed out - the carpet was effectively valueless (unless it was premium quality and brand new, which your inventory will prove that it wasn't) so no deduction available there.

Similar your roller blind - even if it was brand new when you moved in, it's probably likely to be end-of-life now and have no value - so no deduction.

Claim the entire deposit from the DPS and let the LL prove why there should be any deductions.

RHemmings

Floopy2009 said:

RHemmings said:

Agreed. Deal with the DPS. 

Carpets will only have an expected lifespan over eight years if they are high quality carpets. See: https://www.tenancydepositscheme.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/A-Guide-to-product-lifespans.pdf  

For the missing window key, I would offer £5 for the cost of a replacement key. (Through the DPS). 

If these are the only two deductions, if I were in your position I would contact the letting agents pointing out the expected lifespan of the carpets, and asking for evidence that the carpets were of high quality, and evidence of exactly when the carpets were first installed new. (Were they brand new when you moved in?) Making it very clear that the information you need is the date of installation, if new on installation, and evidence that the carpets were of high quality. Not regular (or low) quality.

If the letting agents don't give you that information, then I would include that failure to provide information in the DPS claim, include photos of the carpets, and say that these are clearly not high quality carpets. And, if true, that they weren't new when you moved in nine years ago. 

If the LA gives you a non-answer (e.g. 'the carpets were in new condition when you moved in' - not saying if they were high quality), then I would also mention in your claim through the DPS that you asked the LA to provide evidence that the carpets were high quality carpets, and they didn't do so. 

What other deductions, if any, are there? 

Hi there 

Sorry it's more the cleaning of the carpets. But they were dirty and old before I moved in. I got they pro cleaned when I moved in due to the condition and also a cat you had a party there and left some reminders. Have the invoice still to say they couldnt clean them properly due to marks that were to old. 

The carpets must by 15 years old and the landlord has not been back for 14 years as he lives abroad so how can he judge the condition 

The other is a slight rip in a old roller blind the reason for that is the window was old and damp but the landlord would not replace it. So we were constantly cleaning the mound off the blinds 

That invoice should - if the DPS is on the ball - completely counter any claim for the carpets. Both in that the carpets were old, and that they were dirty when you moved in. Scan it for more evidence for the DPS. 

For the roller blind, I would simply say in my claim (or counter-claim) to the DPS that this is normal wear and tear, and mention the frequent cleaning that was necessary because the landlord wouldn't fix the window. (Do you have a paper trail for that?) The DPS isn't clear on how long roller blinds are expected to last. Curtains are from 5 to 20 years depending on quality (see the above link). Again, I would ask the letting agent to give evidence of how old the blind was and that it was a high quality blind when it was installed.

In my opinion it's clear that the landlord is aiming for betterment at your expense. 

saajan_12

I'd focus on the actual damages claimed and your evidence to refute those. The LL or LA doesn't have to help you by sharing their evidence outside the DPS process. 

For each charge, challenge if it doesn't account for the age, as even if you were a model tenant, the LL has to expect there will be 'fair' wear and tear, so items being 9 years older than they were at the start, so many areas will have little to no remaining value. If there's still a non-negligible value after accounting for age, then go through your pictures before and after. 

You can negotiate with them or when it gets unproductive then just go to the DPS and raise a claim.