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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Landlord taken 50% of security deposit!

170 replies

lottsm · 20/06/2018 02:57

AIBU to ask for help I feel sick to my stomach! Any advice right now would be greatly appreciated- my heart is absolutely racing!

I've just finished third year at a university in London. I moved out of my rented flat on Wednesday and just received an email saying he will be deducting £890 to cover costs and damages. We left the flat in decent condition (gave it a hoover and wipe down) but he is claiming it was in a dilapidated state. I treated his flat with respect throughout the year. I know we should've taken pictures but we also hired a cleaner for 2 hours (not end of tenancy clean) who could possibly verify this.

I should note that I moved out on 4 months before my tenancy ended because my flatmate was so unbearable to live with. In the email, it stated he will need to repair the washing machine because my flatmate broke the handle and replace my flatmate's mattress for being dirty (I slept on airbed when I was there!).

A new microwave has also been quoted for, when I saw the microwave on Wednesday I was shocked at how bad my flatmate had let it become but a bit of kitchen spray and elbow grease would sort it out- it does not need replacing at all. He has also quoted £400 for end of tenancy cleaning whilst I was given estimates of around £160 (including carpet clean)

I really think he is trying it on and looking to kit out his (dated) flat with new items. What can I do? And is there any way I can make my flatmate cover the costs of the damage she is clearly responsible for. We have a joint tenancy so I honestly think I'm screwed.

The deposit was given to me by parents and they are expecting it back in full. My flatmate is loaded. We have a joint tenancy

OP posts:
StaySafe · 20/06/2018 09:03

The experience of my sons has been that landlords usually try it on to keep part of deposit and if challenged back down to reasonable charges. DS1 experienced this in Oxford and DS2 in Leeds, so it does seem to be common.

PrincessCuntsuelaVaginaHammock · 20/06/2018 09:05

OP is only liable for the damage caused after she moved out if the landlord has proof. As others have pointed out, the inventory is crucial. Yes, you should've taken photos... but that doesn't mean he did, or even that he kept records. I remember ages ago our LL trying to claim for the cost of some things in the 3rd bedroom. But the 3rd bedroom wasn't even mentioned on the inventory, much less any furniture in it! So he lost, obviously.

And as a pp pointed out, even if things are badly damaged enough to need replacing, which he will have to prove, you aren't necessarily liable for the full cost. If a carpet is assessed as having say 5 years lifespan, and it was 2 years old when you moved in and then you trash it, he's still had the first 2 years use out of it so you wouldn't be charged that 40%, if that makes sense.

helloworld178 · 20/06/2018 09:10

Hey happened to me at university when, quite frankly, we got the house in a terrible state. I asked for invoices of any work as evidence and disputed it and got my money back

DisturblinglyOrangeScrambleEgg · 20/06/2018 09:13

Challenge it. Always challenge it. They are very fair.

How was the flat rented to you and your flatmate? Did you rent a room each, separately, or rent the flat together?

Do you have an inventory? If he can't prove the state when you moved in, then he can't take any money anyway, and he cannot charge for improvement (as others have said) or new for old, only for the amount that the item was worth by the end of the tenancy, with the age of it taken into account.

JurassicDoris · 20/06/2018 09:20

He can't just take it. Your deposit should have been put into a protected in a deposit protection scheme at the beginning of you tenancy, so that the landlord cannot just take the deposit as he fancies. I would call Shelter straight away (0808 800 4444) and get them to tell you the process for getting your deposit back and the legal route.

There is arbitration precisely because so many rogue landlords think nothing of taking tenants deposit, even when they have done nothing wrong.

anklebitersmum · 20/06/2018 09:24

First thing to do is enlist a 'proper' adult's help and TELL YOUR PARENTS what is occuring. Trust me, they'll be on your side even if you think they're going to flip out because of the money. They won't well, I wouldn't, I'd be seething that you were potentially being done over especially when you show them receipts etc for cleaning.

Secondly, the landlord is legally required to have held the money in a protected deposit scheme, which you should have had a password for and can access online. If you don't have it INSIST on it with immediate effect and document all correspondence-details have to be registered as arriving with you, it's not as case of "well I popped it through the door". It should also be logged with any agent involved-potentially the university? This is paramount.

If the deposit is not where it should be then you're off to small claims court, where it won't end well for a landlord flouting the legalities of renting.

SamanthaH92 · 20/06/2018 09:25

You can challenge it but you have no proof of how you left it. If the flat mate was still living there they could of damaged things after you left. I always take photos of how we have left a property if we move out and videos of us handing keys back if possible.

NomNomNomNom · 20/06/2018 09:27

From your description it does sound like he'll need to pay for a proper end of tenancy clean which I would expect you to be charged for. (Whenever I've left properties I've either paid for an end of tenancy clean or spent a few days making the place absolutely immaculate) I can't comment on what your flatmate broke or how dirty her mattress was (bloody annoying for you though). It sounds like he is being a bit cheeky in charging for a new microwave and arguably the other issues do sound like wear and tear. You can always object to the charges if the deposit is held in a scheme. I assume you don't have legal insurance with your home insurance?

BlueEyedBengal · 20/06/2018 09:32

If you disagree then appeal. But myself as a landlord in the past( now getting out because past tenants take the piss) can think he wasn't happy with the state you left it in and perhaps your standards are not the same as his. But appeal as is your right Hmm

BlueEyedBengal · 20/06/2018 09:35

This is a lesson to tenants and landlords. Take lots of photos and dated video before you rent to and leave to prove the condition before and after. Evidence is everything.

Gazelda · 20/06/2018 09:35

Can you please clarify OP - you moved out a few months ago, but returned this week to give it a clean before the end of tenancy? Or are you referring to the state it was left in when you moved out a few months ago?

PonderLand · 20/06/2018 09:37

Did you see the flat on the last day of tenancy? If I'm correct you say you left 4 months before your flat mate did so that's easily enough time to cause damage and filthy conditions. I'm confused about the microwave - did you go back to help clean the house? If you did then why on earth did you leave the microwave?

The last time I rented we spent 3 days scrubbing every inch of the house and doing some maintenance on the garden, taking stuff to the tip, repairing small things. We still got an email from the EA asking us to pay for a cleaner, we refused and never heard about it again.

It's always more work than you think it is to remove your own existence from a house. I agree with a pp that you need to be talking to your ex flat mate.

My partner once lived with 2 other men and he put the deposit in and it was all in his name, but only one of them paid my partner the share of the lost deposit. Apart from writing the guy letters there was little else he could do.

nottinghillgrey · 20/06/2018 09:38

I'm confused, you say you moved out on Wednesday then go on to say you moved 4 months before the end of tenancy. I assumed that was Wednesday, but then you say 'when I saw the microwave on Wednesday' which leads me to believe you maybe left 4 months ago, your flat mate hasn't taken care of the place, and your tenancy ended on Wednesday. But I'm not really sure if that's right or not Confused

IIIustriousIyIIlogical · 20/06/2018 09:38

This is a lesson to tenants and landlords.

Another lesson is "don't rent to grotty bastards"...

PrincessCuntsuelaVaginaHammock · 20/06/2018 09:38

It's not for either the tenant or the landlord to impose their standards on the other wrt cleanliness, the adjudicator will decide.

hididdlyhoneighborino · 20/06/2018 09:39

I'm more concerned why you are terrified of your own family Sad

19lottie82 · 20/06/2018 09:41

We left the flat in decent condition (gave it
a hoover and wipe down)

If you’ve been in a flat a year, unless you’re giving the flat regular / proper cleans, then a hoover and a wipe down won’t really cut it. It needs a deep clean.

I’m a LL and my last tenants did this when they moved out. The kitchen and bathroom were rank despite a “wipe down”. It took me 5 hours to scrub them clean.

bakingdemon · 20/06/2018 09:42

Sounds like the problem is with your flatmate, not the LL - why don't you mention getting the flatmate to at least split the cost? Did they contribute to paying the cleaner?

NoSquirrels · 20/06/2018 09:42

It will all depend, OP. Some LLs try it on, but some genuinely do need to recover costs.

When did you move out?
When did the tenancy end?
When did you clean?
Was your deposit protected in a scheme as it should have been?
Does the LL have an inventory and photos of the damage?

blackteasplease · 20/06/2018 09:42

Challenge it. As others have said, the landlord doesn't get to decide unilaterally!

adaline · 20/06/2018 09:46

Sorry, but it doesn't sound like it was left in a great state. I appreciate you left early but that's not your landlords issue - the flat should have been cleaned - and that includes the microwave! Why on earth wasn't it cleaned? If that was left in a state, I'm not surprised he's charged you for an end of tenancy clean and carpet clean. What other cleaning needed doing if the microwave was left covered in grease?

You may have moved out early, but you were still a tenant there and therefore responsible for the state of the place.

LuMarie · 20/06/2018 09:47

A hoover and a wipe down is not an end of tenancy clean.

Lesson to learn here - take photos when you move in anywhere, take photos when you move out. Have a full professional end of tenancy clean or as pp said spend days making sure the place is immaculate. If it's not up to standard (microwave alone is too much, any LL would be bothered by that and look around for all other possible problems, rather than just letting one small thing go). If you are sharing you will always be jointly responsible, so if you aren't sure about person you are sharing with add clauses to contract saying individual responsibility for personal space.

That said, deposit should be in a secure scheme, ask for details, you should get list of costs and can have them looked at to make sure not new for old prices or overcharging. That might bring it down a bit, or have LL forget it if they haven't put it in a protected scheme when they were required to.

NoSquirrels · 20/06/2018 09:47

£400 end of tenancy clean isnot outrageous - but you could offer to source more quotes.

Washing machine repair - fair enough. If it hadn’t been flagged to the LL before the end of tenancy, you should expect to be charged for this. As a PP says, a whole new machine would be betterment, and not allowed, but a repair is claimable.

If the microwave was filthy then you’ll get charged.

Mattress replacement- as above, depends how long the mattress had been in place already, but expect to pay a proportion of the costs.

Your real issue is with getting your flat mate who is loaded and who left things filthy to pay more of the deductions than you have to.

In future, please take photos on check-in and on check-out.

hididdlyhoneighborino · 20/06/2018 09:50

Oh landlords definitely do try it on. Ours tried to charge us 300 for carpet cleaning, when my OH went over unexpectedly to look for his passport and found that they were ripping said carpets out...

Cuffuffle · 20/06/2018 09:56

Legally, the deposit HAS to be in a protection scheme. Check, there's only three I think so it's easy enough to check. If the deposit isn't protected, he can't make any deductions and you could actually sue him for 3x your deposit in compensation.

If your deposit is protected then you should have been notified within 30 days. LL sounds dodgy!!

PM me if you need help please.