Landlords, please advise

[happy97]

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.

@FAQs I don't mean a ceiling rose as in the type you have in old houses, I mean a white plastic pendant light you can attach a lampshade to, rather than the 3 pronged lights they had previously.

@ohwheniknow our last house also rented had a quite new bosch freezer which had a broken drawer, they were incredibly brittle, clear plastic things. i was very, very light handed with them as i could see how you could easily crack one and didn't want to have to buy any new ones! our house now which we own had an absolutely ancient built in f/f with white plastic drawers, this thing must have been 30 years old, but still running and no cracks in the drawers. they don't make em like they used to!

@MerryDeath Exactly!!! It was a cheap, standard new build, Electrolux fridge freezer. I'm not heavy handed. They're just not fit for purpose.

He probably wouldn’t have been that bothered about freezer drawers if it wasn’t for everything else you damaged.

But if its a brand new house, that had been newly decorated then why would the landlord need to pay towards the house? The landlord isn't obliged to spend money on the house if everything is working properly. When you rent a house, you take it as seen. You can't rent a house and then demand he puts trees in the garden and change all the light fittings (if the existing ones are working perfectly ok).
Now, if the landlord is refusing to fix things like the heating that aren't working, thats a different matter entirely and they have a legal responsibility to ensure the house is liveable. The amount of money "he's had out of you" is irrelevant. Presumably, you knew the rent before you moved in and agreed to it. How much profit the landlord is making on the house has got absolutely nothing to do with his legal responsibilities as a landlord.

Tbh from what you are saying I think your LL is right.

You were given a brand new house. After 3 years you seem to have caused damage, knowingly or not.

A chipped floor tile doesn’t happen for no reason.

As for the walls, “make good” means return it as you found it.

@Nicknacky That's a bit harsh. I didn't neglect the house at all. I looked after it as if it was mine.

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

By your own admission the drawers didn't break because they were fragile they broke because you couldn't be arsed to defrost the freezer and just yanked on them until they broke.

Most Landlords will return your deposit unless they have to pay someone to do repairs to the property because you did damage. You need to move on if you did some damage because you don't want to get a bad reference from him if you need to rent again.

It’s not harsh at all. You didn’t even know what “make good” meant and were expecting new tenants to want to put up pictures and shelves where you had yours.

You looked after it as if it was yours, except for the part where you admitted if it was yours you would have painted the whole wall not patches.

This isn't Snapchat.

I didn't neglect the house at all. I looked after it as if it was mine.

No you didn't. I am pretty sure you would defrost your freezer and made sure it's done whenever needed. You would not just paint patches on the wall and have stained curtains. Like everyone else.

I thought I saw it all today on another thread, but now I am considering if this one "I broke it, but ll is being surely unreasonable to charge me" is the actual winner🤔

Replacement freezer drawers are surprisingly expensive. Freezers don't just seize up unless left ajar or pushed up against the wall so there is no room for air to circulate behind - both are your responsibility as is the occasional defrost.

He's had a lot of money out of me and has not paid a penny towards the house

He's had his rent that he was entitled to. Hadn't paid a penny towards it?? Except actually buying it of course.

Did you get permission to change the lights? You should have put them back. Did you leave the original lights?

Curtains, tiles and freezer draw all need fixing and/or replacing so that should be taken from your deposit.

You made holes in the walls that you filled and sanded then patched paint - meaning walls will needs complete repaint. Tbh this wouldnt bother me as landlord as I'd be expecting to paint the house anyway after 3 years but suppose they can charge you for that

Did you get permission to change the lights? You should have put them back. Did you leave the original lights?
And refitted by a qualified electrician. LL has an obligation to ensure safety regulations are complied with.

The house needs to be back to the state that it was rented in.

Locks - if you were given 3 keys you need to return 3 keys. You gave them 3 keys and then returned 1 but I’m guessing the 3 you gave them is the back ups they hold.

Light fitting should have gone back to the original one.

The stain on the curtain is not wear and tear - it’s damage. Same as the draws to the freezer. As the tenant you are responsible for defrosting to be able to use the freezer.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember how the tile broke, it happened during the duration you lived there.

If you were a landlord you would do the same with the patchy walls where pictures have been hung. If everyone didn’t repair/repaint it properly then think how bad it will be after say 5 tenants.

It does suck losing money you were hoping for but the things you listed are not normal wear and tear. Wear and tear is things like fading on curtains/carpets due to the sun or the grouting needing redoing

Woah woah woah!! Not paid a penny towards the house?!

Where did the thousands of £ of deposit come from? The legal costs, the cost of of advertising, the gas etc certificates needed, the insurance, the mortgage payment, the large % of tax paid?!

I can assure you that the vast majority of what you pay monthly goes into the costs of the house, not cash in the bank.

When my last tenants moved out they had damaged the kitchen floor, I got it replaced & took it out of the deposit, no arguments from them.
If I hadn’t been able to claim it I would have been paying the cash out of my bank account. I would have lost money (cash in the bank) that month as the rent did not equal mortgage payment + new kitchen floor.
The month after the rent payment didn’t equal estate agents fee & mortgage payment so again lost ‘cash in the bank’

It’s not fair for him to have to find the money to replace things you have damaged.

After 3 years I'd expect to give it a quick coat of paint to freshen up, so if it was that alone from an otherwise good tenant, I wouldn't bother charging for a few nail holes.

Freezer drawers I'd give them the opportunity to find replacements cheaper before charging. Ditto sorting the curtains or the floor if it was the one problem.

However I'd be fuming if someone changed the locks or fucked about with the light fittings, so along with the other list of damages I'd just assume the tenant was taking the piss.

Freezer drawers I'd give them the opportunity to find replacements cheaper before charging.

Tbf there was n opportunity. When they broke...

I know you've recognised it, but I am still laughing at

in my tenancy agreement it said to make good any picture holes. Not to make invisible.

Is it a Zanussi freezer by any chance? I have a built in fridge freezer with my rented new build and they are flimsy as fuck. All 3 drawers have cracked/split/chunks of plastic broken off.

@HamsterInSpecs No, Electrolux. But all equally as rubbish. Same issue with all of my neighbours so not me being destructive.

My issue is that by doing what I have done to the house I actually improved it. It's not the stark white canvas it was with just turf for a back garden.

Allergic yes, but if an otherwise good tenant was a bit clueless about just how much it would cost them via me, I'd give them a chance first. Eg they might not realise me replacing in the easiest way from the supplier would be significantly more expensive.

My issue is that by doing what I have done to the house I actually improved it. It's not the stark white canvas it was with just turf for a back garden.

I don't know why you keep going back to this. You think you improved it. The landlord didn't ask you to make any of those changes. You have broken things and they need to be fixed. Why do you not think you should pay?