to open a formal deposit dispute?

[MrsCK]

landlord is trying to claim £750 as two doors were scratched by our cat when we were living there. The doors are not damaged beyond repair but he wants to completely replace them and is only claiming for it because we initially disputed something else he wanted replaced. We are not disputing the damage merely the excessive cost and the fact he will benefit materially from it.

Did you have permission in your contract to keep a cat in the house?

Yes, as long as you've tried to resolve it. They aren't allowed to claim new for old, so you will win.

Dispute all the way. Our ex landlord tried to claim £500 to paint over two walls where our daughter had left pen marks. We offered to repaint ourselves but he declined. We should have disputed but eventually settled with him at £250. Our old neighbours later told us he got his dad in to paint! Go through the proper channels and ask for quotes/ invoices. I bet he changes his tune. Good luck!

Have you had permission to keep a pet?

Our dog has scratched the doors in a previous rental house, we sanded and painted before moving out so the landlord never knew (we had permission to keep a dog but obviously said we would repair/pay to repair any damage he caused).

They can't take money to replace old with new, they can only take a percentage of the cost so YANBU to open a dispute.

Yes we had permission to keep a cat and paid extra to have carpets professionally cleaned etc at the end of the tenancy

Is your deposit held by the DPS? Dispute all the way, our last landlord tried to keep half our deposit for a number of absolutely nonsense reasons. We disputed and got every penny back. I only wish there was a system for blacklisting horrible LL that try this on as we had to borrow our deposit for the new place while DPS reviewed the case. We were lucky we had someone to borrow from, otherwise we would have had to take what he was offering and swallow the rest of the cost.

In that case MrsCK definitely dispute.

If the doors aren't beyond repair, why haven't you repaired them before leaving the property?

I think YABU, if you wanted the damage you admit to causing to be repaired in the cheapest way possible, then you should have done it yourselves. I think it's fair enough for the LL to choose to replace the doors if that works better for him, he isn't obliged to do what works best for ex tenants that knowingly left damage.

I also agree that you should have repaired yourself, we always repair any damage rather than leave it to the landlord to sort out. They won't have the inclination to go out of their way find the best possible price for the work.

What is the overall standard of the property? £750 for two doors sounds a bit excessive if the property is of a regular standard. If, on the other hand, the property is very up-market and the damaged doors are the only blip on an otherwise perfect property, this amount might be reasonable.

Have you spoken to the agent? Perhaps you can agree on a more reasonable amount.

If the LL tries to insist and you think that new doors are not essential to preserve the standard of the property, then open a dispute.

Dispute dispute dispute!

My greedy bitch of a landlord tried to keep £2k of deposit!! (Including £800 for a soft stone floor in the kitchen, wtf)

We disputed and got back £1,900

It's actually very easy, if a bit intimidating but they favour the tenants as a general practice

Worth saying also, the landlord has to prove that he has "suffered a loss" to be able to claim money back from you

A scratched door wouldn't fit in to that definition so you'd get the money back

Oh and last thing, do NOT make an offer of something lower - shows that you admit liability then you're just arguing over the amount

Just dispute

The landlord is not allowed to profit via "betterment". There are legal precedents for this and the deposit schemes take account of this.

Generally something cosmetic like this can be repaired to the condition they were in at the start of your tenancy, you will be liable for these costs. If they are beyond repair, the scheme will order you to pay a compensation figure.

They will consider of it needs replacement, what condition the doors were in at start of tenancy, how old they were, how long you have lived there, the expected lifespan of the item. So, brand new doors when you moved in six months ago, total cost of replacement is yours. Or say the doors were seven years old when you moved in six months ago and the average lifespan of the door would be 14 years, the scheme would normally award costs to the landlord totalling 7/14ths, or half, of the cost of the doors.

I hope this makes sense. I have experience in this area, so whilst some people may have the opinion you should pay for total replacement, they are not necessarily right!

But OP is not disputing the damage, just the cost of the repair.

Thanks all. Doors were not in pristine condition when we moved in. It could be described as a shabby chic cottage where there are bumps and scratch marks throughout the property. I don't dispute at all that our cat caused the damage just the huge cost he has quoted. The reason he has quoted this is because originally he wanted to charge £100 for a replacement tap as he claimed it was broken by us. We refused providing evidence to which he had counterclaimed this. My further issue is the new tenant is already in the property so he hasn't lost rent due to the doors and I highly doubt he'll actually carry out any work if we do release funds! am I allowed to request receipts before releasing funds if we don't dispute officially? (I think we will dispute)

He'll find it very difficult to prove that an already scratched door was scratched so much worse that the doors weren't able to be used

I would refuse all together and just take it to dispute, in all likelihood he will be asked to return the full amount to you as he won't be able to prove he has suffered a financial loss

In the dispute process, the undisputed portion gets returned to you immediately, then the disputed bit remains in the deposit scheme and split between both parties as judged

May I barge in ?

Previously when I rented at uni my landlord just took the money before returning the rest if the deposit. I'm sure the DPS scheme was in place too.

How can I stop my landlord from doing it when I move out this time ? Do they and you have to agree before they can deduct any money ?

Notrevealing yes, you both have to agree before any funds are released. They are held by a third party and until you both give conformation, neither of you can access the money.

Excellent thank you.

Was an inventory/ condition report completed at the start of the tenancy? If not, landlord will automatically lose as he wont be able to prove previous condition. I'm not saying for a moment that you shouldn't/ won't repair or pay for the damage caused!

previous condition isn't commented on in the inventory so technically he can't prove it at all....I'm not that mean though and more than happy to give some compensation for it! Also happy for it to be sanded down etc...we couldn't do it ourselves as I was in labour