Deposit return after first year house -help!

[CherryChatsworth]

I wouldn't normally wade in with this but feel I have to

My DD was in a house with four other students for her first year. They'd made the house into accommodation to suit 5 of them. I saw the house when my dd moved in - it was as I expected it to be. Shabby and sparse but fine

Anyway today my DD has received the inventory back and I'm absolutely astonished! It's 51 pages long and initially I laughed and told my daughter I didn't want to get involved in cleaning jobs that they clearly hadn't performed properly but then out of curiosity I looked at it ...

Points listed - here's a few examples

Slight scuff marks to wall - action required - charge to make good

Outside door mat has some debris on it - action required - charge to replace

Cobweb in corner - action required - cleaning charge

Dust on light bulb
Dust on skirting board
Slight scuff on skirting board
Dust on two slats under bed
Table needs wiping in one corner
Iron left by someone - needs removal charge to make good
One shirt left in tumble drier - needs removal charge to make good

And on and on and on - all the same . Dust, crumbs, ' small mark on desk chair - there were four marks last year and now additional mark - charge to make good '

51 pages!!!!!

They did clean before they left and clearly it was a shit job so I understand if they want to charge for a professional cleaner. But they hold 3.5K (in total from all of them ) and they're gunning to keep the lot

Any suggestions for me? I've emailed the agency and told them to loop me in on all correspondence so that'll probably give them a good laugh at mummy getting involved I'm sure but A I normally never would and B I can't let her lose all this deposit.

Is this normal? It's my first one at uni so I honestly don't know what I can do

Thanks in advance

Have they actually stated they want to retain the total amount? Much sounds like wear and tear against which the ll can reclaim tax. Ds' household was charged £360 plus vat for a clean, which sounds bargainous in comparison.

She should have a certificate saying where the deposit is being help. (It is illegal not to.) She should tell the agent that they plan to dispute all the deductions. She should look up the process on the deposit holders website. She has about 10 days to do so.

The landlord has to provide quotes/invoices to prove each deduction. Bet they can’t! The dispute process is seen as taking tenants side unless the landlord can prove otherwise.

Did they comment on the inventory when they moved in? It would have helped if they did.

BTW I don’t understand why it is seen as wrong for parents to mentor 18/19 year olds in new areas where they are out of their depth.

My daughter's second year house (halls in first year) had so many marks on the walls, as did the final year house and they got full deposits back. They're chancing their arm!

The uni CITY my dd attended wouldn’t allow students to sign anything, including electric. It had to be parents and credit card info kept on file. Everyone scammed held deposits horrid horrid experience.

My son has just challenged his end of tenancy charges and got most of them back.
Admittedly him and his flatmates did that together but he is a few years older than your dd, and in view of the amount it’s well worth helping her to challenge it.
Here’s what I would do.
I assume the 51 pages cover 5 bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, hall landing and stairs, lounge (if there was one) plus any other communal areas, plus possibly exterior front and or back yards etc.
So I would break the list down into rooms - she can do that.
Then I would go back to her tenancy documents find out where the deposit is registered. If it’s not in the tenancy ask the agency. She can do that too.
Check the inventory, and any photos etc when they took on the house. If she doesn’t have them ask the agency to provide. It should be dated.
Register a dispute on the charges - I think there’s time limit so do that ASAP. If agency don’t give you details of who holds the money you can claim 3x back automatically, so if the agency play silly buggers tell them that you are going to claim.

So assuming you have a comencement inventory you/ needs to go through it line by line.
Eg - bedroom 1 scuff mark to wall - you comment please supply photographs dated 2017 and 2918, wall allready scuffed, no evidence of fresh redecoration, or superficial mark fair wear and tear not damage etc or whatever.
Dust on lightbulbs - depends on how much and when this was done after they moved out but you could say - dust fell during moving out date and inspection etc or dust dues not impair function of light bulbs. Please supply detailed invoice from professional cleaning company, similar bed slats skirtings etc - superficial dust and dirt please supply detailed phographs 2017 and 2018 and invoice from professional cleaning company.
External mat - superficial debris does not impair function or damage it, no need to replace reject charge. Also fair wear and tear will apply .
Iron disposal - please supply invoice to cover disposal charges otherwise reject charges.
Shirt disposal- please supply invoice to cover disposal charges otherwise reject charges.
An so on for each item line by line.

If they paid a professional cleaning company they will be able to supply invoice, but there’s no way it would cost that to deep clean a student house.

Also bear in mind they claim wear and tear on their taxable profits and they cannot get betterment out of their tenants either eg in the case of the mat even if you accepted it , if the mat was 3 (say) years old and you agreed to the cost the most you can be charged for is a three year old mat and not a brand new one.

Berthatydfil - i agree but they can't actually claim wear and tear anymore.

If the deposit ia protected whixh it should be raise a dispute. They tend to side with tenants.

"Is this normal"?

No but it did happen to a friends daughter in Manchester. Her parents threatened to report to the Uni and have the house removed from its approved housing list. They also threatened small claims court.

In the end they negotiated with the landlord and ended up paying a few hundred but that was a vast reduction on the thousands they wanted. They even tried to charge window cleaning charges for bird poo on a second floor window

Next year you will photograph any damage to the room when you arrive.

Super helpful thank you

We are waiting to hear back now. The agency advised me that they're speaking to the landlady and from there they make their recommendations as to what should be charged - so I am poised to get my metaphorical red pen out!

The house was ... shabby. That's by my admittedly high standards though. No communal area like a lounge so they all hung out in bedrooms and the kitchen.

I'll do all you suggest and see what happens when they email again. I'm hoping the very fact I've jumped in will make the agency think twice

And my favourite so far has been ..

Iron left behind by tenant. Action required - removal charge

Two tops left behind in timber dryer. Action required - removal charge

I added to my email that I'd be fascinated to hear the charge they propose to make for picking up and iron and chucking it out

Please challenge the costs. Get a quote for a professional house clean to back up your case.

DC1 had a similar issue wishbone of their lls at university. Basically, as a pp said, go through every charge and ask for proof-reject the charge. Even better if you have pictures taken at the start of the tenancy. DC1 and their housemates successfully took their case to arbitration and won, didn't lose a penny of their deposit.
When dc2 moved into a property I considered 'shabby', I took pictures of every single 'issue's, however slight and e mailed them to the letting agent with a request that they were added to the moving in inventory. I was so glad when dc2 moved out and was being asked to forfeit the deposit and pay extra for the LL to rectify all the same problems I'd notified to them at the start of the tenancy. Dc2 won their adjudication case as well, getting 100% of the deposit back.
I would definitely advise you to fight this and take it to the deposit service adjudication service if necessary.
Good luck.