Please, Please advise

icameclean

Hi

I posted a while ago about our LL and LA being a bit of a nightmare to deal with. I have now received a letter stating that due to 'vandalism' - a part of our bedroom door rotted away (the last time we actually got a result maintenance wise, was with regards to a leaking shower that was affecting downstairs. The LL solution was not to get a new shower cubicle, but to get some plywood bonded to the side of the shower) The rotting door, damp and subsidence have all been reported to no effect! - Oh I forgot the rat problem - this was 'being taken care of by the LL', his wife seemed quite proud that he'd caught five all by himself - yet wouldn't call a pest control company.

They are also charging us for cleaning the carpets, even though they were disgusting when we moved in.

My queries is - our deposit is protected by DPS, yet the LA claims to have already made deductions for the 'vandalism' and cleaning. I didn't think that this could happen anymore? Also we have no inventory, the flat was unfurnished when we moved in.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

maninthestreet

Do you have photos of the rotten door? Otherwise, it's may be difficult to refute his claim.

icameclean

We didn't take photos, given that the flat was not exactly a show piece when we moved in, and was certainly in no worse a state when we left.

We have been sent a photo by the LA clearly showing the areas where the screws that held the one side of the door on, have just come out. Through the door (and flat) being as old as the hills and rotting away.

To try and be a bit more detailed. The door itself, now that the the one side has fallen off, is made up of a solid piece of wood with two bits of very thin plywood on either side with gaps in between to make up a door that looks like a 'normal' door. The 'vandalism' in question is the fact that one of the plywood sheets gave up the ghost and came off, when we opened the door one morning. This is after us reporting that a corner of the door was looking a bit shaky.

I know this sounds nuts, but if the rest of the flat is fine - why would we have 'vandalised' one bit of half a door?

I understand what you're saying about refuting his claim, but surely vandalism can't be a half a door falling off, when it was reported? The LA even threatened to get the police involved for a 'random act of vandalism' that has caused great distress to the LL. We are being caused great distress by the fact that they are acting like a bunch of cowboys.

Surely with the DPS in place, they can't now randomly quote a figure for apparent damage and repairs carried out without proof? With no inventory recording the state of the flat when we moved in.

Thanks

tbs624

icameclean wrote: »

our deposit is protected by DPS, yet the LA claims to have already made deductions for the 'vandalism' and cleaning. I didn't think that this could happen anymore? Also we have no inventory, the flat was unfurnished when we moved in.

In your original post you said that you hadn't been told anything about your deposit during your tenancy - when did you find out it was with DPS, and on what date was it originally lodged with the scheme? Did you receive independent notification from the LL and DPS?

You should have been given info on what happens in the event of a dispute over the deposit. Where there is a dispute, the scheme continues to hold the disputed amount until the ADR service (Alternative Dispute Resolution ) or a court decides what is fair. For ADR to be used my understanding is that both parties have to agree to that, and if the LL doesn't then you'd have to go via the courts. The scheme administrator will then divide and return the disputed amount based on the decision of the ADR service, or of the court. Get your LL to confirm *in writing* what is happening about your deposit -s/he must give you a breakdown of any amounts that s/he wants to deduct and why. If there is no inventory the LL will struggle on this one. You should also contact the DPS and let them know that you are disputing the LLs account of the situation.

icameclean

Hi tbs624

I rang up the scheme the LA quoted they would be using on the AST contract. The chap I spoke to confirmed that the deposit was protected and it had been registered 5 days after we signed our contract. We have never received anything from the LA and I don't think the LL would even be aware such a thing exists.

Am I correct in thinking that if either party wants to dispute any deductions they have to go through the courts or the dispute system you mention. If the LA is intending to make these deductions doesn't he also have to provide receipts or invoices for work carried out? All I have is 'work carried out by Mr X £175 and Carpet Cleaning carried out by Mr Y £105.


Would I be right in thinking that my next step should be to write to both the DPS and the LA & LL. I'm willing to let them have the money for the carpet cleaning as a goodwill gesture, even though the carpets / flat were not cleaned before we moved in.

Any other advice on either this thread or my previous one would be great. Thank you for the replies so far.

:T

tbs624

Yes your LL/LA has to have invoices.

1.Try to get an agreement with the LL first.
If you can't agree then:

2. Tell him you want to use the dispute system at DPS. You have to agree to be
bound by the decision, without recourse to the Court
If he won't agree to that then:

3. Send him a letter before Action and do it through the Small claims court

My suggestion would be to write to the DPS and tell them that you weren't given the required information by your LL regarding the Deposit, and that you are in dispute with the LL over deductions from your deposit, but hoping to reach agreement, and will keep them notified.

clutton_2

if there was no inventory the LL / LA is not allowed to deduct anything at all - as there is no proof of the state of the condition of the property when you moved in.

tbs624

Agreed, Clutton - from the first thread the OP started on this issue:

tbs624 wrote: »

If there is no inventory that will work in your favour in terms of getting your deposit back - the LL has no proof of the state of the property.[FONT=&quot]
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and above:

tbs624 wrote: »

s/he must give you a breakdown of any amounts that s/he wants to deduct and why. If there is no inventory the LL will struggle on this one.

but the OP was asking for specific help on what their next step was.....

clutton_2

ask for the deposit back in full within 7 days - if no response - issued court proceedings.

jaype

Thought this might be of interest - something my oh received about a similar scheme. Looks like the rogue landlords aren't getting a sympathetic ear from the regulators when they try it on...


mydeposits.co.uk, a Government-authorised insurance-based tenancy deposit protection scheme protecting over £177 million of deposits, has published its figures marking the first anniversary of the legislation.

Out of 200,000 individual deposits protected throughout the year by over 31,000 landlords and letting agents, there were only 341 actual disputes notified to the scheme.

From these 341 disputes, only 20% (64 cases) of the more intractable cases needed to be adjudicated through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). This process relies on evidence provided by all parties in order to reach a final and binding decision on how much, if any, of the deposit should be returned to the tenant.

In 86% of these more serious disputes, the ADR has found in favour of the tenant: 45% will have received their full deposit and 41% will have received a proportion of their deposit as determined by the adjudicator. In 11% of these cases landlords and letting agents have been able to withhold the total deposit.

icameclean

Thank you for the advice so far guys

I'm going to write to the LL and the LA, stating that unless they return the depost in full within the next seven days I will start court proceedings.

I'm also going to write yet another letter to them with regards to two rent payments they are trying to extort from us. In my first post, I mentioned that we had stupidly paid the second months rent in the form of 2/3 cash and a cheque. They are still trying to claim that we didn't pay this even though we have bank statements and a copy of the cheque - proving that the cash was withdrawn from both accounts on the same day (and paid to the LL's wife in person)and a copy of the cheque that they cashed some three days later. We have also given three, yes three copies of the bank statements showing the fulfilled standing orders. The second rental payment they claim to have never received.

I'm not a cynical person, but I really do think they are trying to rip us off - the LL appear to be such nice old people though, and the LA is a large respectable looking firm. One of my arguements is going to be that, IF they hadn't recieved the payments - bearing in mind these go back to Sep and Dec now. Had we not made these payments could we not have expected to have received telephone calls and certainly letters with regards to these arrears. We have never had any contact with the LA until we moved out and now they are claiming we owe almost two months arrears and have suddenly become vandals?

I understand from reading threads on here that it starts with telephone calls at 7, 14 & 21 days then on the 28th day a letter is issued and then the letters keep coming until you get served with a possesion notice. I can't see how if we go to court the fact that apparently 'they have only just realised we haven't paid' AND the fact that we have proof of payment is going to stand up? or am I way off here?

Thank you again for the advice, any more words of wisdom would be fab
:T