AIBU re landlord’s notice dispute..

[PardonBeeOne]

Sorry its long but its an effort to give a clear picture…

I have been a tenant for over 10 yrs. Finally managed to buy.
Over the years LL has come if called out for something or another but would go for months without coming because they did not need to.
We looked after the property to the best of our ability, had a window cleaner, regular gardening, all bills and rent paid on time. Never missed a payment or asked for rent relief. Recently had driveway washed.
Before Covid 19, we had a regular cleaner. So the place was generally well looked after.

When we moved in, there was new wallpaper in the bathroom. Come winter, it turned out it was a mouldy spot that started to grow back. We removed wall paper and painted it with ant mould paint.. it became easier to maintain during winter months.

There was some wear and tear, having had to bring up 2 kids during that time. But LL was aware of them.
LL had always wanted to do the kitchen so problems in the kitchen were met with, ‘we plan to extend the kitchen anyway’

The boiler was replaced but the pipes were left exposed and we were left to live with that for a few years. We never complained.

Fast forward two months ago, we completed and exchanged. The day after we collected the keys, we gave a month’s notice to LL. up to this point, I thought we had a civil business relationship.
Few days after notice was sent, we got what I thought was a hostile email from LL complaining that we blindsided them. Notice was not sufficient… contract says one month’s notice. LL listed how they have been lenient over the years, not increasing rent but we return that by not being grateful. They demanded a spot check of the property within ASAP which we couldn’t do due to work commitments, but offered a day we could do.
LL said wants property the way it was when it was handed over to us… well not possible as its been lived in so general wear and tear is expected. Having said that, I expected them to be pleased because of the effort we have made over the years

Now LL is saying umpteen years ago when we moved in, we moved in 12 days early (I cant even remember). So they are saying our notice should be 12 days less and they set a date. No complaints, we are working towards leaving.

My AIBU is: Are we within our right to call LL on this because as its never been an issue before.
LL is blaming us for property not being maintained outside… I say outside is LL’s responsibility to paint and decorate, Is this U?

LL said they will get a quote for carpet cleaning and fixing things they knew about and send us the bill? I think LL does not want to give us our deposit… AIBU?

MadinMarch

Definitely, now that I know LL should not have pushed us out having pocketed the full month’s rent, I will mention it.
I looked at the conditions of the deposit scheme and it says it has to be paid within 10 days of moving out. If the 10th day comes and goes, I am writing to the deposit scheme.

I don't know which deposit scheme you're in or how your one works, but are you sure you don't need to contact the scheme yourself to activate the return of your deposit, and then your landlord has 10 days to return it or make a claim against it?
From what you've told us here, you should certainly get all your deposit back.

First thing to remember - a landlord is not entitled to have a house returned to him or her in the exact same condition it was let in. They certainly can not expect you to do exterior maintenance! That's all on the LL. It sounds as if you've really looked after the place and have actually done them a favour.

I wouldn't engage with the LL. Let the deposit scheme sort it.

MadinMarch

Its with DPS based in Bristol.
On their website, it says I have to tell them how the deposit will be split between LL and us
Then says, LL or letting agent will review my request and respond, lol

LL has hinted that we are not getting any (even though its for things that are their responsibility) so how are we to know what the split is? LL actually wants more!

You should get a query list, and I repeat my earlier point, if your LL hasn't provided you with an electrical safety certificate before July of this year they are on very thin ice legally should you choose to raise that.

The landlord can't control how much you get ( until recently I was a landlord).
The landlord can object to you getting your full deposit returned and then it would go to arbitration.
The arbitration team would decide how much was returned to you, not the landlord.

I agree the ll can't control the amount you get back.
I've used the DPS many times (although not very recently).
I think you've slightly misunderstood how it works. My understanding of how it works is that when the tenancy ends the ll contacts the DPS to inform them that the tenancy has ended and whether they want to return the whole of the deposit to the tenant, and if not what they want to claim for with an estimate of costs. The DPS will then contact you with these details, and you merely need to state you don't agree with the ll and state your reasons why, with any evidence you can provide.
The DPS may ask for further info from you and from the LL, and then they will make their decision about how much of the deposit should be returned.
I've not got much experience of the dispute side of things really, as mainly I return tenants deposits in full, but when I have used it, it seemed slightly biased in the tenant's favour imho.
I don't think you have much to worry about and should get your deposit back.
I second what another poster has said about the electrical installation condition report (eicr) which had to be obtained in rental properties by 1 April 2021. If you had gas in the property, was an annual landlords safety certifcate done anuually.
There are very serious fines if these weren't done and your landlord should be very worried that they will be reported.

Thank you very much, very helpful suggestions and certainly things I was not aware of.

Yesitsbess…The electrical certificate is def added onto my list of things to raise as I was not aware of it!

MadinMarch… I will go through the DPS website properly over the weekend and get a better understanding of it and how to go about implementing the process.

Good stuff, it became mandatory for existing tenancies in April 2021 (I double checked) and it's a five grand fine for a first offence, there is no ignorance defence on this one same as gas safety.

I imagine 5k is probably a bit more than they were going to spend on carpets...