Getting Deposit back

carolineckc

Hello,
Just afer abit of advice. We rented a property and we where there for 3.5 years, always paid rent on time, anyway when we moved out we hired a carpet cleaner and cleaned the whole house. Now the landlord is saying that the carpets are stained (there was some staining before we moved in its on the invertry) and that he wants us to pay for half the price of a new carpet. There are bigs of damage done to fittings like the light above the mirror, one socket which i agreed to pay for. But my bigest issue is he the gasfire, the coals wore out along time ago and he did ofter to replace them but i told him not to worry about it as i didn't use it, now he is trying to get me to pay fot the fire to be serviced and new coals off the manafacture costing £115!!! Surely after three and half years this would be wear and tear, also the part in the fire burned out and needed replacing twice. I'm not sure where to go from here and we really could do with the money back asap?

Tori_Bellatrix

Hi OP, All I can do is sympathise with you ... I'm going through the same sort of thing myself - It sounds like your landlord is making unlawful deductions the same as mine. You can get advice from CAB, advice fom solicitors or maybe phone Shelter ... they are always very helpful.

I think your first step is to send a letter demanding your money back ... Consumeractiongroup have a good letter you can edit and send .. http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/residential-commercial-lettings/117572-unfair-deposit-deductions.html

Good Luck x

carolineckc

isn't it a nightmare, surely after three and half years he doesn't expect the place to be spotless! I've offered him £200 to be deducted from the deposit, and i've said in a previous letter that if thats not enough to settle the matter that i will seek legal advice hoping that this will speed the matter up. I'm just so frustrated, its through a letting agent and i feel like they are siding with the landlord. There was so much work never done on the house, jobs i reported and i gave up in the end.

Johnnystone

Hi caroline,

Worth pointing out that I am a LL and whenever i have ANY gas work/serviving carried out be ot to the boiler, fire, cooker or the gas safety certificate this is a cost I HAVE TO BEAR as the LL.

I would suugest you point out to your LL that as hew was prepared to replace the coals at on point in the past what is the differnce now? Your initial reson for declining was to SAVE your LL money.

Re the carpets. There are all kinds of calculations re percentages each year for wear and tear against new price of carpet/liability but IMHO as a landlord if you have lived there over 3 years I would expect some wear and tear and be gratefull that you had tried to remedy this with a cleaner. Also realistically the carpets should be replaced now anyway as they were stained when you moved in.

PLEASE talk to your LL and get them to try and see that you have been a good tenant, rent paid on time, looked after hous etc BEFORE you send any demanding letters.

I have had some brilliant tenants and also some not so brilliant, if you spell it out to your LL it may hit home. Obvioussly if this fails CAB are fantastic at helping you FOC and again IMO you have a good case for getting your deposit back as long as you remedy the other damge you mention or allow a reduction for it.

I know this is no help to you now but as a LL now any deposit I take is NOW held in a government backed scheme to avoid unreasonable witholdings. I know lots of LLs resent this but again if you are fair and reasonable there is no cause for concern.

Also it is worth trying to go through a letting agent (preferably an Arla registered one ) in future as there are codes of conduct re deposits etc.

Hope this helps and good luck

Johnnystone

clutton_2

""now he is trying to get me to pay fot the fire to be serviced and new coals off the manafacture costing £115!!! ""

this bit worries me the most

did you ever receive a "Landlords Gas Safety Certificate"

Lavendyr

Essential reading for anyone struggling to get their deposit back is EagerLearner's thread:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=227606

Your landlord is asking for a lot of unfair things and you can fight him on this. Have a look at EagerLearner's thread for lots of helpful advice. Also do speak to Shelter and your CAB. Your LL is not entitled to take your deposit for the things you have described (especially getting the fire serviced!! What a cheek, that's his responsibility) and you may have to use the small claims courts ultimately, but don't give up on it. Good luck

carolineckc

Thankyou all for you advice, its reasuring that others agree with me. Seems from what i've read that i've got a good chance so i shall fight him but hopfully it won't come to that and we can settle it between us,
kind regards
Caroline

clutton_2

"" did you ever receive a "Landlords Gas Safety Certificate"

if you did not - he has committed a criminal offence

carolineckc

Yes someone did come out yearly to expect all appliences, but there was no coals on the fire so he put a sticker on it saying it can't be used unless these where replaced, so now the landloard wants me to pay for new coals and for the fire to be serviced so its deamed safe to use. Think is he knew about the fire my little boy was young at the time and the fire was uneconimal so i choose not to use it, in the inventry theres no mention of the coals so i don't see how he can claim for them according to other things i've read of links people have kindly posted