Question about our deposit - can you help

matthewking26

Hi,
Some background info:
Our lease is up in March and we plan to move out.We've been in since June 2005.
The deposit was £625.
We repainted the rooms to brighten up the house as the magnolia was looking very dull and scuffed. We were given verbal consent for this but told to have it put back to a neutral colour to a "professional standard" when we move out.
The contract we signed has a clause about having the carpets professionally cleaned when we leave.
The carpets have gradually become dirty and stained in places over the duration of the lease (who puts carpet in a kitchen, honestly!?)
Carpet is only in the kitchen and living room, bare floorboards upstairs.

What would you do?:
Do we at our expense, repaint the walls to a neutral colour and have a professional carpet cleaning done when we leave (or replace the carpet) or just write off the deposit?
If we pay for painting and carpets we still have no guarantee of seeing any of the deposit back and may be down £625+the cost of cleaning, especially as the repainting permission wasn't given in writing.
But...
If we don't clean and repaint could the letting agency justifiably keep all the deposit?

We're not trying to be bad tenants but the carpets are poor quality and need replacing anyway in our opinion(worn through/torn in places). They were stained and worn in places when we moved in but are on the inventory as "clean". The walls aren't magnolia but aren't garish colours.

Also at the last house inspection we pointed out the unopenable front room window and broken sash window in the bedroom. Could they keep part of the deposit for these and blame us for the damage as we aren't given copies of the inspection forms?
I was thinking of writing to them nowish and listing the things wrong with the house so we have some written evidence we told them of the problems in advance of moving out. Would that make any difference?

Any advice much appreciated.
Sorry this is a long one! You can wake up now!

JohnInDebt

Is there a signed inventory detailing the condition of the property when you moved in?

clutton_2

""They were stained and worn in places when we moved in but are on the inventory as "clean

matthewking26

Hi, the inventory says the carpets are clean and details 2 specific marks on the carpet near the oven (presumably caused by hot trays scorching the carpet after being dropped by previous tenants) The other stains are caused by us dropping food over the course of the tenancy and the time the washing machine leaked.
We know we are responsible for cleaning the carpets, its just is it worth the extra expense with no guarantee of getting the deposit back at all anyway.
In my past renting experience they will find any reason at all to keep the deposit. When I was a student they kept our full deposit to deflea the house as they said there was evidence we had kept a cat (we hadn't but how could we prove that?)

JohnInDebt

matthewking26 wrote: »

Hi,
What would you do?:
Do we at our expense, repaint the walls to a neutral colour and have a professional carpet cleaning done when we leave (or replace the carpet) or just write off the deposit?
If we pay for painting and carpets we still have no guarantee of seeing any of the deposit back and may be down £625+the cost of cleaning, especially as the repainting permission wasn't given in writing.
But...
If we don't clean and repaint could the letting agency justifiably keep all the deposit?

Assuming that the inventory is signed by both parties you may need to return the property back to the way it was when you moved in (magnolia walls etc). However if the colours are neutral and not bright green/yellow you may be ok.

If they carpets were professionally cleaned before you moved in you will have to get them professionally cleaned when you move out, however as there are only 2 carpets this shouldn't cost much. However if they feel that the carpet needs replacing you won't be expected to pay for 100% of the costs as they will have to allow for fair wear and tear.

I'm not sure how long carpets are expected to last (probably 10 years, maybe less for a cheap carpet) so assuming that they were 5 years old when you moved in, you have had a further 3 years wear and tear out of them so the most they could expect would be 20% of the cost (2 years remaining on the 10 years life expectancy). I'm not sure of the age of carpet etc. but this will give you an idea on how much they can reasonably charge. They cannot charge you 100% of the cost.

The key word here is 'betterment', they can expect the place to be returned to it's original state (plus 3 years wear and tear) and nothing better.

I would get the carpets professionally cleaned and would also request them to confirm if the walls need to be re-painted back to it's original state. Also list the problems with the windows and request that they are fixed soon, maybe say they are causing a problem with condensation etc.. They may charge you if they were damaged through negligence on your part and not through fair wear and tear. I have always found it to be easier to sort things out when you are still living in the property.

speedtwin

Talk to the agent if they do the check out inventory check ask if someone could come out and give advice, they can only say no. If i was asked i would come out because it could make for a smoother less hassel check out. The bigger agents may be less incliened to do this.

Just remember the deposit is legally yours and a deposit is not a new for old insurance policy that the agent or Landlord just helps themselves to (though a lot think this way)

Tori_Bellatrix

Sorry to hijack this thread ... I'm moving out soon and I don't have an inventory with my AST .... The only thing I have with it is a First Schedule which lists 3 items that were left in the property ... Without an inventory, can my LL still withhold my deposit if they are unhappy with something?

dearbarbie

^ I'd like to know that too!

Loretta

matthewking26 wrote: »

Hi,
Some background info:
Our lease is up in March and we plan to move out.We've been in since June 2005.
The deposit was £625.
We repainted the rooms to brighten up the house as the magnolia was looking very dull and scuffed. We were given verbal consent for this but told to have it put back to a neutral colour to a "professional standard" when we move out.
The contract we signed has a clause about having the carpets professionally cleaned when we leave.
The carpets have gradually become dirty and stained in places over the duration of the lease (who puts carpet in a kitchen, honestly!?)
Carpet is only in the kitchen and living room, bare floorboards upstairs.

What would you do?:
Do we at our expense, repaint the walls to a neutral colour and have a professional carpet cleaning done when we leave (or replace the carpet) or just write off the deposit?
If we pay for painting and carpets we still have no guarantee of seeing any of the deposit back and may be down £625+the cost of cleaning, especially as the repainting permission wasn't given in writing.
But...
If we don't clean and repaint could the letting agency justifiably keep all the deposit?

We're not trying to be bad tenants but the carpets are poor quality and need replacing anyway in our opinion(worn through/torn in places). They were stained and worn in places when we moved in but are on the inventory as "clean". The walls aren't magnolia but aren't garish colours.

Also at the last house inspection we pointed out the unopenable front room window and broken sash window in the bedroom. Could they keep part of the deposit for these and blame us for the damage as we aren't given copies of the inspection forms?
I was thinking of writing to them nowish and listing the things wrong with the house so we have some written evidence we told them of the problems in advance of moving out. Would that make any difference?

Any advice much appreciated.
Sorry this is a long one! You can wake up now!

First of all the carpets, they were old a tatty when you moved in and are now dirtier, you only have 2 carpets, hire one of those machines and clean them yourselves, keep the receipt for the hire charge, it doesn't cost much and saves an argument.

The walls, could you phone or better still email your letting agent and say that you are getting the house in order before you move out, you have been given permission verbally to paint the walls in a neutral colour and ask if they could come out and have a look to see if the colour is acceptable as a neutral colour as you are very keen to leave the house in good order. They will think you are being helpful and will probably come out and when you have them there you could ask any other questions.

I always think that for you do things yourself you are in control of the cost. If you have to paint the walls a tin of paint and, say a day and a roller, doesn't cost much.

Have a good look at your inventory and anything that doesn't match make it match. Any small bit of damage you may have done can be traded against the repairs that they didn't do perhaps.

Remember they are trying to keep your deposit and you are trying to get it back, talk and negotiate and do anything that you are able.

JohnInDebt

Tori_Bellatrix wrote: »

Sorry to hijack this thread ... I'm moving out soon and I don't have an inventory with my AST .... The only thing I have with it is a First Schedule which lists 3 items that were left in the property ... Without an inventory, can my LL still withhold my deposit if they are unhappy with something?

The simple answer is no, they would need proof of the condition of the property prior to you moving in.

merlinthehappypig

JohnInDebt wrote: »

I'm not sure how long carpets are expected to last (probably 10 years, maybe less for a cheap carpet) so assuming that they were 5 years old when you moved in, you have had a further 3 years wear and tear out of them so the most they could expect would be 20% of the cost (2 years remaining on the 10 years life expectancy). I'm not sure of the age of carpet etc. but this will give you an idea on how much they can reasonably charge. They cannot charge you 100% of the cost.

It's an interesting question and must depend hugely on the type of carpet and how the carpets were fitted in the first place.

We moved into our rented property in March 2007. The carpets had been replaced throughout the house, but they are a mid-beige colour and the cheapest you can get. There is no underlay and, downstairs, they are laid directly on a stone floor with no damp-proof.

Unsurprisingly they are already pretty much worn out and their is no possibility of me cleaning them with any sort of fluid as they would simply get even damper and more stained.

Luckily we have no inventory at all, signed or otherwise, but I might have had difficulty arguing against any deposit retention if that wasn't the case, even though we have been careful. It's the way they have been fitted that has caused the problems.