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Original poster

Landlords, please advise

130 replies

happy97 · 15/12/2019 19:16

I moved out of a rental house 3 weeks ago. I still haven't received my deposit back as they're getting quotes to repair the damage I did. Their justification of damage is a chip on a ceramic floor tile in the kitchen, broken freezer drawers, marks where I have put up pictures (but have filled, sanded and painted), Laura Ashley curtains that I have had dry cleaned still have some marks on the bottom where a drink must have spilled and absorbed up into the fabric.

The house was brand new when I moved in 3 years ago. I did a huge amount to the house and garden but I'm being held responsible for so many things. I think the LL wants to get the house back as it was 3 years ago but it's been lived in!

Am I being unreasonable to think that as a landlord you do have to do a degree of upkeep to a property after 3 years? I'm not prepared to pay for the house to be fully repainted, carpets replaced, locks replaced etc!

I'm prepared to be flamed as I know the whole LL/tenant topics are contentious on MN but any advise would be appreciated.

OP posts:
ShirleyPhallus · 15/12/2019 19:41

The freezer was awful and frosted over dreadfully. You couldn't get the drawers out!

How so if the house was new? Why didn’t you defrost the freezer ever?

VBT2 · 15/12/2019 19:44

This all sounds like damage to me, not wear and tear. I’d expect to be charged for all this. I can’t believe you just painted the patches - if you’d have done the whole wall, they likely wouldn’t be charging you.

Original poster
happy97 · 15/12/2019 19:44

@itgetshardereveryday I had an electrician remove the chandelier type lights and put pendant lights up with a ceiling rose. In my opinion it looked better but I'm aware that I should have put their lights back.

The locks - I had to change the front door lock as it wouldn't lock any more. I gave them 3 keys but I only gave them one key back when I moved out. Essentially they've had 4 keys but apparently I should have handed 3 back when I'm moved out, on top of the 3 I gave them when the lock was changed.

OP posts:
HideYourBabiesAndYourBeadwork · 15/12/2019 19:45

Did you get an inventory to sign? Do they have before and after pictures? Did you take before and after pictures? (The day you moved in and the day you moved out)

Previous LL of mine tried to pull a fast one but without a signed (by me) inventory, photographic evidence of the condition of the property before I moved in and the day I moved out, LL lost the case.

Original poster
happy97 · 15/12/2019 19:46

@VBT2 In that case I hold my hands up and admit I should have painted all the walls.

OP posts:
itgetshardereveryday · 15/12/2019 19:47

The locks - I had an electrician remove the chandelier type lights and put pendant lights up with a ceiling rose. In my opinion it looked better but I'm aware that I should have put their lights back.

Is this actually a reverse?

Original poster
happy97 · 15/12/2019 19:48

@itgetshardereveryday No

OP posts:
itgetshardereveryday · 15/12/2019 19:50

I don't understand why the lock stopped working within 3 years either. That's bizarre. Why didn't you just ask your landlord to fix it? Or did you break it?

Nicknacky · 15/12/2019 19:51

I don’t blame the landlord at all. You changed their lights, damaged the freezer drawers and the curtains and left the walls patchy.

You can’t think that’s a great way to return the house, surely?

Original poster
happy97 · 15/12/2019 19:53

It was more hassle than it was worth at the time.

Imagine a Barratt new build. It's not great quality, the walls are painted in Matt white trade paint, the garden turf was laid over rubble etc.

OP posts:
Nicknacky · 15/12/2019 19:54

So accept that losing the deposit was worth having the house look like you wanted it to.

IndecentFeminist · 15/12/2019 19:54

You broke the drawers, presumably from tugging them having not defrosted the freezer.

You changed light fittings including a ceiling rose

You broke a tile

Stained a curtain

Left patches all over the walls.

Yeah, they're going to want that fixed.

Original poster
happy97 · 15/12/2019 19:54

@Nicknacky Thank you for your reply, I do understand where you're coming from. I do think I would behave very differently if I was a landlord though.

OP posts:
JasonPollack · 15/12/2019 19:55

They should have fixed the lock for you anyway. All you can really do is dispute with the deposit people, I think it's unlikely they'll be able to replace the whole floor etc.

beautifulstranger101 · 15/12/2019 20:01

I do think I would behave very differently if I was a landlord though.

Why? Asking for things to be returned to the same state they were when you moved in isn't unreasonable at all. Thats the entire point of having a deposit. Its to cover damage. I rented out a property that I inherited from my nan. The tenants kids drew all over the walls, they left a pile of cigarette butts in the garden, one of the doors was missing, they hadn't cleaned anything (said they didnt have time) and I had to get professional cleaners in (the property had of course, been cleaned professionally before THEY moved in). It was hard to see the property that meant so much to my nana left in such an awful state. Your landlord is NOT being unreasonable and I think when/if you do become a landlord you'll likely change your mind about this.

BritInUS1 · 15/12/2019 20:01

I am a landlord and the list you have provided I would absolutely expect you to pay for.

Nobody is expecting you to pay for whole floors, etc but you have damaged items that are not 'wear and tear

Original poster
happy97 · 15/12/2019 20:03

@beautifulstranger101 But that's my point? I did look after the house, it was in no way anywhere close to what you have described.

OP posts:
Nicknacky · 15/12/2019 20:04

What would you have done differently if you were the landlord?

Lulualla · 15/12/2019 20:06

You damaged it. You cant now say that you looked after it. You need to pay for the damage. And you need to pay for them to return the lights to as they were. Cant believe you didn't do that yourself.

I would dispute the changing the locks; just offer to pay for getting keys cut.

beautifulstranger101 · 15/12/2019 20:08

@happy97 For sure, of course not and I'm certainly not saying you left it in the same state as my tenants. I'm trying to express that when you are a landlord, it is perfectly reasonable to want damaged things to be repaired.

You said that some things were damaged and broken. So they will take that out of your deposit. Not sure why you feel this is unreasonable? By saying you'd act differently as a landlord it sounds like you'll expect tenants to damage stuff and you won't expect them to compensate you for them- why?

Knittedfairies · 15/12/2019 20:11

Lesson learned OP; you can't treat a rental house (and garden) as you would if it was yours.

FAQs · 15/12/2019 20:16

I think you’re going to struggle here op as people have said, did you ask for permission to add a ceiling rose, they must have looked out of place in a new build house?

Original poster
happy97 · 15/12/2019 20:16

I fully accept that I should be charged for the freezer drawers. And for the chipped kitchen tile (even though I've got no idea how it happened and it wasn't due to neglect).

He's had a lot of money out of me and has not paid a penny towards the house. I wouldn't care about ceiling roses and marks on walls where the next tenant will probably put pictures or shelves up, or the towel rail that I kept trying to reattach and it kept falling off. But the house is a lot more appealing as a home now.

OP posts:
Quizacabusi · 15/12/2019 20:17

First of all - was there an inventory done with photographs when you moved in?

Were you the first ever tenant?

If there was an inventory and photos and you were first tenants in a brand new property it would be fair to state that the house was in perfect order.

The landlord could charge you for -
New freezer drawers - that is damage not wear and tear. They will charge you to replace them.

The broken tile - The landlord can charge you to purchase and replace a damaged tile including cost of a tiler to do the work.

The curtains - this is damage so you can be charged for a like for like pair of curtains.

The walls - the walls should have been filled and the whole wall painted not just a small area. The small area will stand out a mile off. It’s not wear and tear. The landlord could charge you for the cost of the paint and a painter to do the work.

The garden - did you have written permission to landscape it? If not and the landlord was a jerk they could charge you to return the garden to how it was when you moved in. Unlikely but it could happen.

If for example you damaged carpets the landlord could have reasonably expected the carpet to last 10 years. They could not charge you for a new carpet, they could charge you for 7/10th Of the cost as you would have deprived them for 7 years of use. Any more than that would be classed as “betterment”

dreichXmas · 15/12/2019 20:18

The landlord will only get money to replace broken drawers, replace the chipped tile itself and repaint the walls involved.
They I expect be given an amount of money for the curtains but at their three year old value, you can't charge new for old.
I actually think the system favors tenants in the UK.

It will take time to get quotes for this work. Honestly given the amount of money they are likely to get I'm not sure I could be bothered as a landlord.
But they do have the right to do so.

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