Rental deposit

[Phunene]

I just moved out of a property which has alot of damage and mould before I moved in, garden not cleaned, the house was stinking upon entry and I reported everything to the agency(Blundells) using the moving in inventory report.
Upon moving out, I painted the house, mowed the garden and cleaned the kitchen and the rooms.
The landlord is requesting for all my deposit as he stated rugs needs to be replaced and I have to contribute 25% of my deposit. He quoted £395 for painting of the house(its a small house) cleaning, and all. I told the agents I don't mind giving LL £400 but rejected
How can I raise dispute please?

Who is the deposit held with, usually TDS or DPS
Ask for a copy of the certificate and that will have a reference on it you can raise a dispute with them on

I was told my deposits. I will send an email to request for the certificates.
Thanks for your response.

Talk to the letting agent and tell them you want to dispute the deposit deductions. They are in the middle here and should liaise fairly with you and the Landlord. They will also be able provide copies of the deposit reference and info on how to appeal.

They should also provide you with a copy of the check out report.
Hunt out the emails you sent to the letting agency when you moved in regarding the issues and their response. These will be really useful in supporting your claim.

In order for the landlord to get anything, the landlord has to prove you caused damage - you don't have to prove anything. Ask for your deposit back in full in writing.

If you are in England see this for how to dispute it: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/renting-privately/ending-your-tenancy/getting-your-tenancy-deposit-back/

Raise it with the Deposit Protection Service. Unless you've done actual damage to the rugs, beyond normal wear and tear, your LL can't charge for them. And it sounds like he's being cheeky about the walls too.

DPS usually come down on the side of the tenant so are great if an LL is taking the piss.

Thank you everyone.

I only took pictures when moving in, not when I moved out.

Pictures when you moved in if indeed was in the state you describe are much more valuable. The onus is on the LL to prove worse state at check out.

If the house condition was so bad when you moved in and better when moved out, why would you agree to hand over £400?

I was wondering why you had agreed to
Pay £400 too.

Do you have copies of the report you made about the house when you moved in?

Unfortunately it was a digital form sent to me via a link and all pictures of issues raised before moving in were attached. Only the agents can access the form as it says the link as expired.
I have sent an email requesting for that inventory report but they are yet to reply me.

Landlords are cheeky bastards who will usually try and fuck you over for your sweet sweet deposit money. Make sure its registered in the DPS, pictures before and after moving, and dispute it heavily when they overcharge you hundreds for painting a single scratch.

Agree about getting the reports from when you moved in and when you moved out. It sounds like the carpets were crap to start with and it's all reasonable wear and tear. The landlord is trying it on in a big way.

I've been in this situation before and my advice is, don't give up!

A few years ago a landlord did a similar thing to us. They kept adding issues and in the end we said we were happy for them to open an official dispute. They didn't have sufficient proof and they knew it, and as soon as it was clear we were prepared to fight them they gave up, and we got our whole deposit back.

I think some landlords (not all of them - I've known some really good ones) rely on their ex-tenants being scared to lose more money, or they think you'll want your deposit back quickly and agree to anything.

Thanks for your response. I am not in a hurry and I won't give up. Thank you.

I had nearly the exact same situation last month!

When we moved in the place was a shit hole- I was 9 months pregnant and my amazing SIL and sister insisted on cleaning it before I moved in as it was so gross. They took photos and sent them to me.

During our tenancy, the v reasonable letting agent employee pointed out it was fairly obvious when we took over the place that it hadn’t been professionally cleaned and that we wouldn’t be expected to do that when we left ourselves. Brilliant.

Cue three years later- we moved out and suddenly the LL wanted £125 for a professional clean, the cheeky bastard!

I got on to a housing charity who said that legally the LL cannot use any part of the deposit to improve the property beyond its condition from when we took over the tenancy.

I went back to the Letting agent, made it clear I’d taken advice and was willing to take it further if we couldn’t come to a reasonable agreement. All done via email so I didn’t need to worry about stuttering or making my point.

I suggested I’d pay half of the clean as a goodwill gesture, but if this wasn’t agreed I’d be happy to raise it with the tenancy deposit protection scheme.

When we moved out of our last rented our landlord tried to say that we had left the place in a disgusting state because he’d found the grand total of ONE crisp packet behind a wardrobe For that indiscretion he Wanted a full house deep clean costing 80% of our deposit. We contested and were awarded it back. You’ll be fine as long as you’ve genuinely taken care of the place.