Landlord withholding deposit - court costs?

cinereus · 19 April 2017 at 10:55AM

My landlord charged me £150 for "cleaning costs" even though I cleaned the property to a professional level after leaving. I was there for less than 6 months and the tenancy agreement I signed only allows for £80. Even so, I believe I have a case Indeed, the government’s own guidance from the Office of Fair Trading states in Guidance on unfair terms in tenancy agreements September 2005:

4.4 Cleaning charges – a requirement to pay for cleaning at the end of the tenancy may be unfair if it is vague or unclear about the basis on which money will be demanded, or the extent of the cleaning involved. Such a term is more likely to be fair if the amount of the charge is expressly limited to reasonable compensation for a failure to take care of the property (see also our views below on excessive charges).

4.8 Excessive cleaning charges – as a matter of normal practice in short lets, reflecting the common law, tenants are expected to return the property in as good and clean a condition as it was when they received it, with fair wear and tear excepted. We therefore commonly object to terms that could be used to make the tenant pay for the property to be cleaned to a higher standard than it was in at the start of the tenancy, or that require cleaning regardless of whether or not this is necessary for the tenant to comply with their normal obligations with regard to the state of the property.

My argument is that demanding a “professional cleaning” when the property is already clean or has been returned in a superior condition is unfair in law.

I am unable to go through mydeposits because they failed to issue the Prescribed Information at the start of the contract (I've asked for deposit guarantee certificate numerous times)and did not give the required information about how disputes should be made as well as the timescale. They then ignored my dispute for over three months so I can no longer go to mydeposits for adjudication. In fact, they kept the whole deposit the whole time for months after the tenancy!

After a lot of begging, I finally got this back but I want to go to small claims to get the £150 back. Do you think I have a strong case? And do they have any right to claim legal costs from me?

saajan_12 · 19 April 2017 at 11:38AM

I would write a final Letter Before Action to the LL requesting the £150 to be paid within 7 days and very briefly outlining that the property was left in the same or better level of cleanliness (pen, paper, keep a copy). This will show that you have made every effort to resolve it outside the courts. After 7 days if you receive no response, file a Money Claim. If you win, the LL should also be liable for YOUR court costs (e.g. filing fee, not solicitors or anything). Their failure to respond to your LBA will show these court fees were unavoidable for you to recover your remaining deposit.

cinereus · 19 April 2017 at 4:36PM

Do you think my case is pretty watertight? They've just responded to my LBA by saying they aim to take it to court!

I obviously think I must win but my understanding is they could claim up to £200 in costs if I lose?

Arleen · 19 April 2017 at 4:43PM

cinereus wrote: »

Do you think my case is pretty watertight? They've just responded to my LBA by saying they aim to take it to court!

I obviously think I must win but my understanding is they could claim up to £200 in costs if I lose?

We don't know as we didn't read your contract or see before and after photos of the property. And you are correct that if you lose then, LL can claim even more money from you, for example for travel expenses.

So make sure that the juice is worth the squeeze, letter before action is a good time for both sides to contemplate that.

G_M · 19 April 2017 at 5:58PM

cinereus wrote: »

I am unable to go through mydeposits because they failed to issue the Prescribed Information at the start of the contract
so claim the penalty.

(I've asked for deposit guarantee certificate numerous times)and did not give the required information about how disputes should be made as well as the timescale. They then ignored my dispute for over three months so I can no longer go to mydeposits for adjudication.
if the depot was registered, why did you not raise a dispute?
if not registered, why not claim the penalty?

In fact, they kept the whole deposit the whole time for months after the tenancy!
Who? Mydeposits or the landlord?

After a lot of begging, I finally got this back but I want to go to small claims to get the £150 back. Do you think I have a strong case? And do they have any right to claim legal costs from me?

So you got the deposit back yes?

So why are you £150 out of pocket....?

Read:

* Deposits: payment, protection and return

cinereus · 4 May 2017 at 5:58PM

G_M wrote: »

So you got the deposit back yes?

So why are you £150 out of pocket....?

This is why.

My landlord charged me £150 for "cleaning costs" even though I cleaned the property to a professional level after leaving.

I was there for less than 6 months and the tenancy agreement I signed only allows for £80.

Even so, I believe I have a case Indeed, the government’s own guidance from the Office of Fair Trading states in Guidance on unfair terms in tenancy agreements September 2005:

4.4 Cleaning charges – a requirement to pay for cleaning at the end of the tenancy may be unfair if it is vague or unclear about the basis on which money will be demanded, or the extent of the cleaning involved. Such a term is more likely to be fair if the amount of the charge is expressly limited to reasonable compensation for a failure to take care of the property (see also our views below on excessive charges).

4.8 Excessive cleaning charges – as a matter of normal practice in short lets, reflecting the common law, tenants are expected to return the property in as good and clean a condition as it was when they received it, with fair wear and tear excepted. We therefore commonly object to terms that could be used to make the tenant pay for the property to be cleaned to a higher standard than it was in at the start of the tenancy, or that require cleaning regardless of whether or not this is necessary for the tenant to comply with their normal obligations with regard to the state of the property.

My argument is that demanding a “professional cleaning” when the property is already clean or has been returned in a superior condition is unfair in law.

AdrianC · 4 May 2017 at 6:23PM

I think you miss G_M's point.

When you left, you claimed the deposit back from the protection service, right...?

The landlord could not legally have claimed any deductions, because they failed in their legal duty by not providing you the prescribed information as required. The deposit scheme would have just paid up.

G_M · 4 May 2017 at 7:27PM

There are various things I still don't understand

cinereus wrote: »

My landlord charged me £150 for "cleaning costs"
....
they kept the whole deposit the whole time for months after the tenancy! After a lot of begging, I finally got this back

So you say you got the deposit back.

In that case, ignore the LL's claim for the £150 and move on with your life.

Alternatively, claim 3 times the deposit for failure o issue the PI, and for late protection of the deposit. Yes, you can add the court fees to your claim.

I was there for less than 6 months and the tenancy agreement I signed only allows for £80.

What were the terms of the tenancy agreement you signed? Was it a 6 month contract? If so, you may owe rent.

I have no idea what the £80 relates to: is this a fee for ending the tenancy early? A cleaning charge? Rent? :question:

cinereus · 4 May 2017 at 8:23PM

AdrianC wrote: »

I think you miss G_M's point.

When you left, you claimed the deposit back from the protection service, right...?

The landlord could not legally have claimed any deductions, because they failed in their legal duty by not providing you the prescribed information as required. The deposit scheme would have just paid up.

No, I claimed it back from the landlord. They refused to pay. I asked to appeal. They ignored me until I was no longer protected by the deposit scheme.

G_M wrote: »

There are various things I still don't understand

So you say you got the deposit back.

In that case, ignore the LL's claim for the £150 and move on with your life.

As I said, they have the £150. Which is why I need to take action to get it back.

I got the deposit back minus £190 which they refuse to release.

What were the terms of the tenancy agreement you signed? Was it a 6 month contract? If so, you may owe rent.

I have no idea what the £80 relates to: is this a fee for ending the tenancy early? A cleaning charge? Rent? :question:

It was 4 months later extended. The £80 is their contractual cleaning fee for rental terms <6 months. I'm arguing even £80 is unlawful. They in fact took £150.

EDIT: Have just seen the red text within the quotation:

if the depot was registered, why did you not raise a dispute?
if not registered, why not claim the penalty?

I raised a dispute with landlord. I was never informed it would stop being protected after 3 months! As above, they stalled until it was too late.

Who? Mydeposits or the landlord?

No idea. I think mydeposits return it after 3 months for some reason. I was never informed about the protection scheme and I have no idea what the point of a protection scheme that stops protecting without informing or consulting you is...

AdrianC · 4 May 2017 at 8:24PM

cinereus wrote: »

No, I claimed it back from the landlord.

Ah. There's your problem.

G_M · 4 May 2017 at 9:27PM

The deposit scheme is there to help and protect tenants.

If you chose not to use it, and spent 3 months getting nowhere with the landlord, that is not a fault with the system, but they way it was used. Or rather, not used.

You still have a perfectly straight-forward solution, all laid out in the link provided..

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Landlord withholding deposit - court costs?

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