Landlord witholding bond

calculatethis

So what is the next step for her? £250 sound like too "round" a figure!

The work involved would probably just be cleaning (which Im sure she did before she moved out as I know she hates muck) and slapping a bit of emulsion on the 2 walls...surely not £250 for this???

Can she ask for a breakdown?

Debt_Free_Chick

Definitely don't "slap emulsion" on the walls of a stone house.

I don't think that £250 is too bad to professionally clean a house with mould.

I think this is going to be very difficult to dispute. It does rather sound like the property was not ventilated. All properties need to be ventilated. These days, we are obsessed with heating and insulation, but those issues alone lead to condensation and then mould. Moisture is naturally present in the air and we create more simply by breathing - then there's the shower/bath, cooking, drying clothes etc. The problem is exacerbated in a period home.

One to chalk up to experience I think. Keeping warm is one thing, but if we do this by firing up the heating, we then need to increase ventilation. As you say, this means the heat pours out of the open windows. But it really is essential to increase the ventilation if the heat is increased.

More clothes and less heating is the answer - but you still need to ventilate the property. More so, with a period property.

Difficult to find a way to dispute this - what do others think?

jo1967

If she moved in last summer surely her deposit must be registered with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme? The dispute needs to be taken up with them immediately - whoever is right or wrong they should take a neutral stand.

Try this for info http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TenancyDeposit/index.htm

Good luck.

clutton_2

i had one tenant who would not open her bedroom windows and who kept wardrobe furniture tight up against the walls - she complained constantly about black mould and damp - but she would not heat the bedrooms - when she left, i cleaned it all off with - i then got a new tenant who opened windows and kept the bedroom door open and heated it - and no mould has ever been seen since.

did she dry her clothes indoor after washing ? - thats another factor in black mould

calculatethis

Hi, the outside walls are stone, inside it is just normal plastered walls so I didnt mean putting emulsion directly onto stone!

Thanks for all the replies so far, I will pass on the info. It lookks like she doesnt have much of a case for getting it back, but should she try and get some sort of breakdown? she said the mould was not widespread, it was just mottling on some of the walls (which she cleaned with antibacterial cleaner apparently but it kept coming back)...she just e mailled me to say that she had kept the spare bedroom velux vent open anyway as no one was sleeping in there so it sounds like it wasnt totally unventilated.

Anyway Ive told her that whatever she argues they have her money and she is going to find it hard to get it back if she fights! But it looks like they are keeping the rest of her bond as well as she hasnt had ANYTHING back from them yet apparently, just a snotty letter.

What could be put down to "fair wear and tear"? Wouldnt a landlord expect to touch up paintwork in a property every year anyway, especially if a tenant moves out? I rented my house out temporarily (many years ago when I had to go on secondment with work) and I used to spruce up the paintwork with fresh white emulsion whenever a tenant moved out.

Moral: dont rent period properties!!

olly300

calculatethis wrote: »

What could be put down to "fair wear and tear"? Wouldnt a landlord expect to touch up paintwork in a property every year anyway, especially if a tenant moves out? I rented my house out temporarily (many years ago when I had to go on secondment with work) and I used to spruce up the paintwork with fresh white emulsion whenever a tenant moved out.

I've rented a place after a family with children lived there for 18 months. There were no marks on the walls and the walls hadn't been repainted.

One landlord I've rented from use to paint the rooms in turn after tenants moved out. So the kitchen, hall, living room and bathroom would at least see a coat of paint every 3 years. While the bedrooms would see a coat of paint every 4-5 years.

calculatethis wrote: »

Moral: dont rent period properties!!

All properties will have mould problems if you don't ventilate them properly and dry clothes in doors.

Lots of modern bathrooms are build without windows and just have a fan for ventilation. If you turn the fan off because it is noisy or the fan fails, then you can end up with mould all over the ceiling.

SquatNow

Detol mould and mildew remover. c£4 from all good supermarkets.

It's in a flourescent green spray bottle and usually well hidden near the bathroon cleaners

Loretta

Everyone seems to have got caught up on the mould thing.

She should ask the LA which scheme her deposit is held in, check that it is and give the TDS notice of a dispute and see what they say, that is what they are there for.

If her deposit is not in a scheme that is a different story.

She should get the undisputed £250 back immediately

jo1967

Loretta wrote: »

Everyone seems to have got caught up on the mould thing.

She should ask the LA which scheme her deposit is held in, check that it is and give the TDS notice of a dispute and see what they say, that is what they are there for.

If her deposit is not in a scheme that is a different story.

She should get the undisputed £250 back immediately

Thats what I said! Isnt it law that all deposits are to be held that way? Cant remember from what date it started though - but I did put a link in my last post for info.

clutton_2

April 6th last year