AIBU to challenge the agent over the end of tenancy inventory?

[itsme50]

We have recently handed over the keys to the agent of a rented property. We still have the inventory from when we moved in. It was in a state and we had to spend a few days cleaning it and mowing the overgrown garden. We cleaned cobwebs and the oven was dirty, etc,

We have cleaned the whole house again for moving out. It still has the original carpets. In fact, hardly anything has been done in the house over the last 15 years we lived there.

The agent has sent us a report stating that the house needs further cleaning and is only in a 'fair' state, with cobwebs, etc, which we cleaned.

We showed them the original inventory and said that we were advised that the house should be handed over in the same condition as when we moved in. The agent said they are going to disregard the original inventory and it's now down to the landlord.

Is this fair? I don't know what to do next. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

I always scrutinised the move in report because I always relied on it at check out.

Several times I insisted on the move in report being amended to show small amounts of damage and dirt that weren’t recorded - the letting agent always said “oh we won’t change the moving in inventory , that’s not how it works” and I would say “then I’m moving straight out again, because I know you’ll hold me accountable at the end.” And I’d argue and argue until they agreed to insert MY photos and comments on the true state of the house.

They hated me.

Keep arguing - they rely on the fact you’ll roll over and cough up. All property agents seem to be sly - cheaters and liars as a rule!

Make sure, too, that no repairmen/contractors have been into the house between you cleaning and handing the keys back and the agent doing the inspection.

I'd ask them how is the landlord going to arrange for extra cleaning if the house has been sold.

iIs also illegal, you have 7 days from reciept of Inventory to make any amendments. They can't refuse

Someone I know is a not great landlord and didn’t put the deposit in a scheme. When the tenants left she tried keeping their deposit for damage. They realised it wasn’t in a scheme and took her to,court. They got the deposit and landlord had to pay extra due to the deposit not being in a scheme.

If yours isn’t in a scheme OP then your landlord is fucked and in their shoes I’d be giving you your deposit back and hoping you bugger off quickly as you could make things bad for them. And yes, point out they don’t need to clean the cobwebs, or carpets if they’ve sold it!

Tell your agent that you are going to report them to whichever industry body they belong to.
Also have a look at Shelter's website.

Try not to worry, you're entitled to yor money back, the inventory is clear evidence of the state the place was let to you in, but if they want to claim there is no inventory, that's fine too, because then they cant prove anything in order to retain your deposit - cleanliness, damage or anything else.

Speaking as a landlord, I can't see you have anything to worry about.

Citizens' Advice has useful advice on reclaiming your deposit: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/deposits/getting-your-tenancy-deposit-back/
Helpfully including an example of a dispute over cleaning!
The landlord needs to return the undisputed portion of the deposit even if some is disputed.
Keep an eye on time - if you need to use the disputes resolution process you normally need to register your issue within 3 months of moving out, so don't let the agent/landlord stall.
Given the length of your tenancy, the useful life of carpets, decoration etc passed long ago and you are correct, you only have to return the property to its standard of cleanliness when you moved in.
Legally your landlord/agent should have given you details of your Deposit Protection Scheme. If it doesn't appear in any of the three schemes when you search, your landlord is in trouble and I would expect will be rushing to return your money...

So what the agent is saying is incorrect. They cannot ignore the check in report. It’s a document that exists.
Explain that you would like you full deposit back. If they don’t give you that you can go to mediation. Shelter has a lot of good advice about this. A quick google and taking some notes is your friend. If when you moved in you checked the inventory, added to it and sent a copy back to either landlord or estate agents they are unlikely to to be successful.

I know this must be incredibly stressful for you, and trying to argue with organisations which are behaving badly is very unpleasant. But I think you are in a very strong position. You have a copy of the move-in checklist. If the landlord/agent tries to say it doesn't exist, they have no evidence of the condition of the property. And they are going to look stupid when you produce it. If they can't evidence the state of the property when it was handed over to you, how can they prove you left it in a worse state? And it reflects very badly on them as an organisation to have lost documentation.

It's not something I've dealt with personally but I've seen a lot of reports on here of people using the deposit scheme and it generally being fair and reasonable. It seems to be a system which usually works well.

I hope it's not a massive cashflow issue for you, but I think it will be a case of going through the process and getting your money back.

Landlords only have a set period to put the money in a deposit scheme AND inform you which one. If they haven’t already told you which scheme it’s in then they can be fined.

Ask for return of the undisputed portion of the deposited (assuming they're not trying to keep all of it). Then keep arguing and going back to them for return of the rest. Don't give up!