Advice on leaving our current property please

janegresty

Firstly I really hope you can understand what I post as I am absolutely terrible at trying to explain myself. I will also give you a little background on why we are moving out, and the current state of the property... in hopes that will help you be able to give me the advice I need.
I'm a lurker of the forums, so I know you are all excellent with your advice :T

Ok where to start... we moved in here in September 2006. Paid 1 months deposit and 1 months rent ahead. The house looked great when we accepted it and moved in. 3 months later we started to notice damp on the walls in the bedroom and bathroom (from the chimney stack). This then got worse as mould started to grow on the damp and all the walls also. We called the LL several times, and he did not send anyone out to look until January.
Anyway... long story short we got environmental health involved as LL was useless... and February this year builders finally came out to fix the problem (after 6 months of us sleeping downstairs on a sofa bed - part of which with me being pregnant). We got married and went on our honeymoon end of Feb and that is when the builders went in to do the work.
Back from honeymoon at first glance it looked like they have cleaned the mould off the walls and painted over the damp... but we didn't say anything and got environmental health to come and have a look at the repairs that had been fixed. He said all seemed fine, no sign of damp or mould anymore and closed the case. 1 month later and the damp is back... with the bad weather we have had lately the water has been slowly dribbling down the wall. And the mould has started to come back. Since us sleeping back upstairs in the bedroom, my breathing has gotten worse again and I do not feel as healthy as I did when we slept downstairs.
I spoke to LL again and he dismissed the problem. So with me being nearly 6 months pregnant I got fed up and me and my husband looked at finding somewhere else to live.
We have found a bigger, nicer, damp and mould free house to rent privately for only £25 extra per month. We move in on Sunday.

I have SPD and hubby is working all hours.. so I am struggling with packing and cleaning the house. But how much do I actually bother doing? The LL has already kept our deposit due to rent arrears.
We started painting upstairs, but did not finish due to the damp and mould... do we need to carry on and finish it? As the LL will probably redecorate anyway to cover all damages so that he can get another tenant in asap.
Also the laminated flooring downstairs in the kitchen near the back door is ruined due to water leaking under the back door in bad rain... this was also mentioned to the LL and nothing was done.
Also now I have moved furniture from each room EVERY room has mould round the walls that have been covered. Is it my job to clean these walls or best to leave for LL seeing as his fault for not having a decent house?
I have informed environmental health, and they will get in contact with the LL... so at least maybe they will be forced to fix everything before renting out again (I hope).

But obviously the house has signs of wear and tear from how long we have lived there. But how far do we go with the cleaning and the replacing etc etc?

Sorry it was a bit long winded! x

Snooze

If he's taken your deposit like you say then I don't understand why you are repairing/decorating his house for free. Are you off your rocker?

Not your problem, you're not going to see your deposit again so just walk away from it, although if it were me I would be doing some "decorating" of my own before moving out :rotfl: .

Rob

janegresty

Snooze I am just worried he will try and charge me for damages I haven't done. What would you do then just clean as much as you could?
When notice was given in total I was told we owed the LL £582.77 so they said they would keep my £400 deposit and that arrears owed are then £182.77 and to try and pay it before vacating the property. That was the woman who answers the phones who looked on our account and told us that.
Then the next day someone else from accounts phoned and said after taking the deposit for arrears we still owe them £582.77 and have I already cancelled my direct debit.. to which I said "yes" so he told me to phone the bank and tell them to put my firect debit back on.. and to then phone the LL to arrange repayments per week. His explaination for us owing this much is that we have been paying our rent "in arrears" which I don't understand.
Also I emailed asking for proof of all payments they have recieved and indication the arrears and how they occured.
He wants me to phone him once we move to make an appointment to be at the property to give the keys back and go round the house with him. Can I not just send them back by special delivery by post? or post through the letter box of property and tell them seeing as they have a spare set?
I am 6 months preg and really dont want greif off him at this moment lol. Plus I cannot take time off work unless unpaid which isnt good right now

Snooze

Are you winding me up or are you seriously this naive?

YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GET ANY MONEY BACK.

As for "would I clean it?" - :rotfl: I suppose destroying the interior of his house could be called many things, but "cleaning" wasn't one of the descriptions that sprung to my mind.

Face the facts - you've been living in a soggy house for God-knows-how-long and he hasn't done anything about it except fob you off and put a lick of paint over the top of it, and now he's told you that you own hundreds in arrears. Pack your stuff up, walk away and forget about it. It really is that simple.

Rob

janegresty

Nooooooooooooooooooo of course I don't expect any money back. We worked our !!!!!! off and found 1 month upfront and 1 month deposit for our new rented house. Didn't even entertain asking our old LL for anything back as I know what he is like lol.
Just wanted to know where I stood on how I need to leave the property etc. He won't be getting a forwarding address, but he has my works phone number. Don't want him harrassing me for money at work for the next 6 weeks until I finish for maternity leave.
Think I will def post the keys to him though, rather than see him. I will clean the house... but we were going to have the carpets professionally cleaned and was going to clean all floors, walls, cupoards and everything... but might not bother now. As your right. We have still paid full rent even when we spent 6 months sleeping downstairs. So why should I make my SPD pains worse and knacker myself out big time for him?

seabiscuit_2

I would take photos of the mould and the leaky door and any other faults you can find "just in case" and keep any correspondence with the EH, so even if they do decide worse case scenario to try to take you to court, you have proof.

But just move out and dont worry about him, and look forward to having your new baby safely

janegresty

environmental health have notes on damp and mould etc. and he is planning on a visit once we have moved out. but im a worrier lol... so cant help worry he will try something dodgey. he seems the type to do anything for a bit more cash in his pocket.

janegresty

oh just another quick question... do LL's have to change the carpets by law? When we moved in was cream carpet... we have 2 dogs, so obv its got wear in it. Was going to pay for professional cleaning. But workmen left dirt on it also. So should I clean the carpets? Or will they just dirty it again?

brummybloke

seabiscuit wrote: »

I would take photos of the mould and the leaky door and any other faults you can find "just in case" and keep any correspondence with the EH, so even if they do decide worse case scenario to try to take you to court, you have proof.

But just move out and dont worry about him, and look forward to having your new baby safely

indeed, photo it all on a digital camera on the day you leave, hopefully you have or can get a digital camera which has the date and time stamp on the photos as an option.

take piccys of each room and closer piccys of the damage so a general overview of each room and the damage is clearly shown.

paint nothing, clean nothing, damage nothing.

and what ever you do, dont redo your direct debit, looks through all your receipts for each set of payments and workout for yourself if you owe any money, it isnt difficult to do, you either paid or you didnt. if you later find you do owe the money, try saving as much as you can to pay it off, and dont just wait for the bill, contact the landlord and explain how much you owe, how you come to this and how you will pay it back otherwise just watch out for dodgy solicitors letters from the landlords friends charging you an extra £50 for each threatening letter.

janegresty

ok brummy bloke i will do that thanks. and he def cannot charge me for the carpets if i do not clean them? they are dirty. but once hoovered wont be too bad. just normal wear and tear really.

brummybloke

janegresty wrote: »

ok brummy bloke i will do that thanks. and he def cannot charge me for the carpets if i do not clean them? they are dirty. but once hoovered wont be too bad. just normal wear and tear really.

unless there are ciggy burns in them and they look like freddy kruger has stroked them, no, that is what your deposit was for, to cover any expences or accidental damage as well as offering the LL assurance that they have at least 2 months rent in advance incase of problems.

wear and tear is part of renting out a house, most student lets that i know of get recarpetted each summer time or every other summer as the students get a little enthusiastic with food and drink from time to time.

i wouldnt leave the place looking like a bomb had hit it or a poo in the middle of the floor as he may then call in 'professional cleaners' and try and charge you for it, a quick whip around with the vac will clear the floor and your concience.

im not a namby pamby person but you have more important things to concern yourself with now, your child to be, your other half and yourself.