MY previous landlord wants to detuct £40 from my deposit because there was dust on the skirting boards.

[TurtleyAmazing]

I have just recieved an email from my property manager regarding my deposit for the flat we moved out of a few months ago. now i was expecting SOME deductions of my deposit as i did scuff and mark the walls a little, not a lot just everyday wear and tear sort of thing.

I can't say i was expecting her to deduct a total of £210 though!

this is the email i recieved...

vacuum all carpets £40
skirtings were dusty £40
oven and extractor fan to be cleaned £60
clean the grout in the shower £40
scuffs on walls £10
small dent to the kitchen door £20

now, i have many issues with this. i used to hoover or sweep my carpet every single day without fail. it was a horrible carpet which just collected dust and grit and i couldnt stand the feeling of walking on it barefoot without giving it a good vacuum first. the very last thing i did before walking out of the door the final time was vacuum the whole flat. so i can say with 100% certainty that this is total BS.

£40 for some dust on a skirting board is fucking disgusting! how anyone can justify that i don't know!! it doesn't need painting just simply dusting.

I have never ever used the oven extractor. i opened it when i first moved in saw the dirty grimmy muck behind it and never opened it again. as for the oven itself when we moved in the glass door was so caked in shit you couldn't see into the oven through it. i scrubbed and scrubbed that thing for hours until the glass became clear so if anything the oven is in a better state now than it was when we moved in.

grout in the shower £40 the flat had a bad mould issue, the shower cubicle was damp and mouldy when we moved in the grout was possibly a bit worse when we left so i sort of understand that deduction although that was not our fault.

scuffs and dent to the door £30 yes, i scuffed the wall and supposedly dented the door thats fine i will glady pay the money for that.

she has also sent me the inventory for the flat with pictures of all the damage we had supposedly done. we didn't recieve one at the beggining of our tenancy though so she is swearing blind that all these problems were caused by us yet they truly was there when we moved in, we just have no way of proving it.

if you have made it this far thankyou
what would you do in this situation?

I would have to use the handle to open the door so why would I then kick it?

My Hoover is my own and if you had read the thread instead of barging in all guns blazing you would see I explained that I hoovered daily because I couldn't stand the feel of the dust and crap the carpet collected under my bare feet.

Oh and the scuffs are actually on the walls. Let me guess I've been kicking those too?

The problem with white walls is if anything brushes against them, my headboard for my bed for example they create a scuff.

I would have to use the handle to open the door so why would I then kick it?

So its a self-denting, self-scuffing door then? Amazing.

I read your OP, I just didn't believe it.

Anyway, if it was that bad, I'm sure you noted it on your inventory. If you weren't given an inventory, I'm sure you drew one up yourself and sent it to the agency, with photos. Everyone has mobile phones which take photos now and you don't exactly need to be some kind of mastermind in tenancies to do this. Particularly if, as you say, you noticed how bad the flat was as soon as you moved in.

I would have to use the handle to open the door so why would I then kick it?

My Hoover is my own and if you had read the thread instead of barging in all guns blazing you would see I explained that I hoovered daily because I couldn't stand the feel of the dust and crap the carpet collected under my bare feet.

You read the thread yet missed the numerous posts about NOT being given an inventory. That's some 'eye' you have there chelsy.

"So its a self-denting, self-scuffing door then? Amazing.

I read your OP, I just didn't believe it."

Who gives a fuck what you believe? The landlord needs to prove damage in order to claim from the tenant's deposit. No proof, no pay.

"Anyway, if it was that bad, I'm sure you noted it on your inventory. If you weren't given an inventory, I'm sure you drew one up yourself and sent it to the agency, with photos. Everyone has mobile phones which take photos now and you don't exactly need to be some kind of mastermind in tenancies to do this. Particularly if, as you say, you noticed how bad the flat was as soon as you moved in."

Is this how you screw over your tenants? Again, it is not the tenant's responsibility to take photos, if the landlord doesn't have evidence of condition at both the beginning AND end he gets fuck all from the deposit. Simple. Nothing for the tenant to worry about.

You wouldn't fuck with me though, I'd sue you and I'd win, just like every other arsehole landlord who has tried it on with me.

Invariably most tenants phone to complain their hoover has broken, you go round to fix it and its simply needing the bag changed or is blocked

Why don't you tell them to buy their own Hoover like most tenants have to?

Even if there are scuffs and small dents I'm sorry but that's normal wear and tear. My family has rentals and you expect a certain amount of cleaning and touch up. You sound like a fucking nightmare LL Chelsy

We rented once and the LL took £150 from our deposit for a flipping pot plant that died!. They had gone to Australia to live. Hated it so evicted us to get their house back within the year, I never wanted a bloody pot plant!

right im off out for dinner. To everyone bar one i hope you have a lovely evening, thankyou for all your help and advice i will try to check back later

Why don't you tell them to buy their own Hoover like most tenants have to?

Are you kidding me Ehric? With "most tenants" you're lucky if they pick up a hoover three times during the course of a year! Most tenants would never manage something like buying their own hoover!

They will say to you they hoover weekly or daily or whatever, and then when you inspect, you will go to the carpet and run your hand over it and the dirt will literally bounce out. So then you will say show me the hoover and you will switch it on and it doesn't seem to be sucking. You take it apart and its blocked or needs a new bag.

Its as inevitable as cold weather in winter. I've dealt with many tenants, both my own and other peoples, and the above is standard. Occasionally, I have got a really clean tenant and it is just wonderful. But it is the exception to the rule. People just do not look after stuff which isn't their own. However, rented properties usually do not come with free concierge services where other people clean up your dirt for you, free of charge, so disputes over deductions from deposits tend to be the result.

My landlord kept all my deposit. When I pointed out I was covered by the Deposit Scheme laws, he said it wasn't a deposit, it was two month's rent in advance, which was what was actually written down in the tenancy agreement. I had scrubbed the entire place and washed the carpets with a carpet cleaner, too. I really needed that money. I am an idiot

ChelsyHandy

What do you think "fair wear and tear" means?

You sound like a fucking nightmare LL Chelsy

I doubt it. I've just had two emails today from tenants who moved out who thanked me for being so helpful and saying they will recommend me to friends moving to the area.

Not that I have to advertise my properties anyway.

Eviction is actually quite expensive and time consuming to do so if you got evicted after a year, your landlord must have thought spending that money to do so was worth it.

However, if people damage or destroy things, then they have to realise it will come off their deposits. That's what deposits are for. A lot of damage is caused by people simply failing to clean for months. And denting doors is not normal, sorry whatever way you look at it, that's quite expensive damage and troublesome to sort out.

Would you want to move into a property with dented doors? Really? So who do you expect to pay for the door that's been dented? and just how do these doors dent themselves

Believe me, I have actually heard it all.

The tenant's hoovering practices are irrelevant if the landlord hasn't organised a check in inventory. As noted up thread if the landlord hasn't done this they will have difficulty withholding money on the basis that the carpet needs hoovering. This thread is not about somebody arguing the toss over a landlord who has ticked all the boxes and followed best practice.

Chelsy would you really deduct money for scuffs on a wall? I'd laugh if that wasn't so appalling! There have been many lovely Landlords on this thread full of advice and unfortunately you are the one most will remember!

In my case I never dealt with the ll directly. It was through an agency. The agency always claimed they could not contact the ll when work needed doing. I ultimately discovered that the ll actually OWNS the agency

I've had many wonderful private lls in the past. This was my only experience of an agency... Be Dr again! Thankfully we Own now!

Are you kidding me Ehric? With "most tenants" you're lucky if they pick up a hoover three times during the course of a year! Most tenants would never manage something like buying their own hoover!

Do you rent to students or something? Most tenants I know (myself included) are adults and as such as capable of doing housework and purchasing our own household appliances as people who have mortgages

Never again!

Do you really believe that the fact of renting rather than owning makes you a slob by definition? You nasty snob.

Sounds like chelsy buys cheap, decorates cheap and rents cheap! One of those!

We own our own home. The house was fully repainted 2.5 years ago. Every single ground floor door is scuffed, three of the first floor doors are, and two of the top floor. There are three dented doors, including the front door. There's a chip out of an architrave. All normal wear and tear. (I've been doing my own inventory prior to putting our house on the market otherwise I wouldn't have noticed - none of the estate agents did and all friends have described it as 'beautifully finished'). It's not kicking, it's moving furniture, carrying a bag, standing back to let someone pass, etc.

Seriously, Chelsy, if you need to repaint to get rid of dust, you're using the wrong cleaning products. Try a Magic Eraser and rubbing a bit harder. Got rid of several months of builders' dust/grime for us and I can't imagine your tenants can build up as much dust in a year or two as having a 120-year-old roof taken off, walls knocked down and chimneys removed creates...

Dont you have to agreed to a condition report before you move in?

That way they cant add or remove anything.

Chelsy do you talk to people in RL the way you talk to people here? As in, you don't listen to anything other than LL and wrong? Then take it upon yourself to decide that "because you are a LL" the OP must be wrong? Wtf?? Have some perspective!!

I am a LL to, to several properties and I can certify that you are full of shit. All my tenants look after the properties they are in, and I have some long term tenants. Not only do they look after the place, but they also take it upon themselves to improve it to their liking! Of course that could be because I'm not a total bitch unreasonable and treat tenants with respect that wins me their respect in return.

OP you are in the right, but I've already said that once

Don't LLs have an opportunity to claim back the cost of wear and tear in their tax returns, and reasonable renovation, why should a tenant cough up for dust and small dings?

Anyway I don't understand why they only chased OP up months' later, they could have rented it or lent the property out in the meantime, who's to say who left what..

Sounds like chelsy buys cheap, decorates cheap and rents cheap! One of those!

There really are a lot of people on here who don't have a clue what they're talking about or make up things as they go along, aren't there?

If you can tell me where to buy a period townhouse in one of the most expensive cities in Britain, do tell me, and I'll bung them a quick 60 grand and see what they say. I will admit the kitchens are from B&Q, if that isn't grand enough for you then tough because I tend to replace kitchens after 10 years. Some things are bought relatively cheaply (I don't have an unlimited budget) some are expensive. The curtains for instance, because they are 150 inches or so long, tend to cost £700 or £800 a pair to be made, but I hope they will last many years. Some things are false economy, some you simply know are going to be destroyed. Such as carpets. Sadly I don't live in a cheap area so I have no idea how to do what you are suggesting, not my market.

I do rent to students and also to single tenants. Students and single male professionals tend to cause far less damage than families with children.

You do actually get damage though if someone does not clean. It can be horrendous, and people will argue with you on the phone or the internet until they are blue in the face until you go round the property in person with them, physically pointing out and picking up the dirt.

Hoover nozzles always go missing, and this means the carpet next to the skirting boards never gets hovered, so after a year or so its no longer possible to get the dirt off properly. Ditto if someone spills candlewax or wine or just food and then tramples it in.

I don't dent doors in my own house, I have no idea why people would find that acceptable as I'd want them replaced, but I have probably developed such high standards because tenants will complain about every little thing that isn't perfect, which is why I always present rental properties very clean and redecorated if necessary. I do not think though that if you have to replace new carpets and redecorate an entire property after a one year rental, that is fair wear and tear. And the Tenancy Deposit Schemes don't either.

Don't LLs have an opportunity to claim back the cost of wear and tear in their tax returns, and reasonable renovation

You choose a standard percentage deduction, or alternatively the costs of the actual items, supported by receipts.

allisgood1 but they also take it upon themselves to improve it to their liking I appreciate you're obviously operating in an entirely different market from me, but letting tenants "improve" your property is a recipe for disaster. Most standard leases prohibit it anyway.