Advice on what to do about the huge bill the lettings agency has given us after check out inspection

[TammisTwap]

Has anyone successfully disputed their bill after moving out of a rented property? Or unsuccessfully? If anyone has any advice I'd be grateful..

We moved out of a rented house in November after renting it for 2 years 7 months for £1295 pcm.
Today we got an email with the details of the checkout inspection.

The management agency wants a total of £2125, so they are keeping our deposit of £1295 and want an additional £830. The bulk of it is for "a full clean of the property" for £340, and "redecorating due to excessive wear and tear" £1170.

Apparently the garden/yard needs £100 spent on it.. it's no more than 4 square metres and the grass was cut and hedges trimmed before we moved. I just don't see what needs doing in it - one photo shows a close up of a weed the size of my palm.

We are appalled at the amount, and the notes the woman took, saying that the house was left in a bad condition and was dirty throughout.
The report says there was "debris" on the floor of every room, and every surface. We cleaned it perfectly well, well enough to move into (although I did miss the inside of kitchen drawers) and I can't believe that a cleaner (if paid approximately £10 per hour) could spend the best part of a working week there. None of the cleaning or decorating has been done, it's just estimates.

We took photographs - of each room as a whole, the agency also took photos - close ups of scuffs to the walls etc. I could post them if it would be any use?

There are some things we accept we are liable for, one of the children smashed a lamp that was purchased at the same time the property was 10 years ago (it's an ex show home) but we are being charged £75 for the broken shade.
Yes there are scuffs to the walls, I don't know if they count as fair wear and tear or not..

When we were in the property, the back door stopped opening one day, maintainance repaired it but we were billed over £1000, when we refused to pay (as we didn't do anything other than use it as a door) the agency woman who does our inspections said she would take us to court over it.. she never did, but I believe this hugely inappropriate bill is her attempt to recoup some of the cost of the door - although it is not mentioned on the list of things we are being charged for.

We have said we don't agree with the inspection results, and have been told to email them.. but I don't know where to start... or if there is even any point... we do have photos of the state the place was in when we moved in, which was grubby, with tat under beds etc. Not a big deal but my point is that it was never immaculate to begin with.

Is there any point in laboriously noting down our objections ? Or will they just keep the lot anyway? What about the extra £830 ? What happens if we don't pay it? Would we go to court?
I genuinely believe we only owe for a few things that were accidentally damaged by the 3 children; a hole in the plasterboard which happened when it was opened too hard, and the broken lampshade.
I am worried the agency are trying to cash in on us. We bought a new house so we don't urgently need the deposit in order to put it down on the next rental, but we'd obviously like some back if possible

Your deposit should have been protected in an official gvt scheme (I think there are three of them, could be wrong) and your landlord/agency should have told you which one it's in. The administrators of the scheme can arbitrate between you and the agency. Dispute their claims, provide your photographic evidence, I reckon you have a strong case.

Yes!!! There is every point! Ring the TDS and talk it all through. They are fantastic. I disputed through them and got almost everything back!
You need to get your game face on as it’s a long form and you need all evidence and paper work but basically if you’ve been in for ten years the fair wear and tear will be pretty substantial.
You may want to concede on the cleaning as you should have had it professionally cleaned but get a quote from a local company or someone in writing for a house your size and use that as evidence of the amount you agree you should pay.
I’ll post more if you like and please ask any questions. I’m headed to bed now so have rushed a little

I’ve not rented for a few years now but it used to be that your deposit was held in a scheme and you would need to dispute it with them. You can provide your own photos and reasons why you are disputing each part. It will then be considered by the legal people who run the deposit holding company and they will determine how much is due. I’ve had the misfortune of having to do this twice but successfully got the bill reduced considerably each time. It’s a real pain in the neck and takes a lot of time to appeal properly and I guess a lot of people don’t bother and the letting agencies know this so chance their arm.

Good luck!

Was there a professional check out report done (and one done at check in?). If so, that should refer to any problems as either T, L or FWT (fair wear & tear). You are only responsible for "tenant" items. It's then a case of you and the landlord pricing up what the tenant items should reasonably (ie reasonably to both of you) cost.

Is the deposit protected under DPS or similar? If so, the LL/agents can't simply take the money because they feel like it.

On the flip side, if you didn't get the house professionally cleaned (including carpets), you are likely to have the costs of that deducted.

in UK?
deposit protection scheme?
independent check in & check out report?

a bit late now...

was your deposit in a scheme?

Yes! Dispute with the deposit protection scheme. Just go straight to them.

One thing I remember was that my landlord was trying to 'seek betterment' of a damaged blind. I got back much more by going to them. It can take a while but so worth it. Good luck.

Is your deposit with a deposit protection scheme? It should be. We had issues when we moved out of our rented flat - similar to you in that the prices quoted were astronomical and things broken were definitely fair wear and tear or already damaged when we moved in.
Firstly we rang around a few places for alternative quotes and submitted them to the agent. They said the landlord wouldn’t budge so we opened a dispute with the DPS who held our deposit. The onus is on the LL (Or agent perhaps in your case) to prove that the work and repairs will cost the amount of money they say not to you to prove they won’t. In the end our landlord didn’t even reply to the dispute and we had all of our deposit returned.
Definitely don’t pay them anything extra until you have done a bit of research.

Sounds a bit extreme. However, we moved out of a rental a couple of months ago and I had a professional cleaning company come in to do a proper clean. It was pristine when they left, far better than anything either I or my cleaner could have done. It cost a fortune but much less than losing my deposit. Might be worth it next time

I had a similar thing with letting agency who wanted to keep £900 out of my £925 deposit. The ended up taking £160 which was reasonable. Shelter were very useful.

We're going to be moving out of this rented property soon and I am worrying a bit about the deposit already.

If you took out the tenancy only two and a half years ago, that would have been well after deposit protection schemes became mandatory.

If your deposit wasn't put into one of these schemes then I'm sure they're on very shaky ground already.

I agree with others.

But a really common issue is agents/landlords wanting something old replaced with something new. This is betterment and it's not allowed. Your contribution to the smashed lamp, for example would be the equivalent of the cost of a second hand 10yo lamp, not a new one from John Lewis.

You should have been given details of any proposed deductions within 10 days of checking out as well.

As others have said, deposit should be protected in a TDS and you can challenge deductions via the scheme. The onus is on the LL in case of dispute to show the deductions are legitimate and provide evidence.

If the deposit isn't protected you have a claim against the LL for return of the deposit plus penalty sum of between one and three times the desposit.

Really ?! That's great news, thank you. It's held by TDS, (tenants deposit scheme) I will call them tomorrow.. I will happily fill out forms if it means we will get something knocked off

Your tenancy agreement probably stipulates the property be cleaned to a professional standard (not ordinary domestic standard) and the carpets professionally cleaned. My TA states this must be done and receipts provided as proof. Some scuffing of the walls by furniture is acceptable but whether it is excessive is tricky. Actually it sounds as though you didn't leave the property in a good clean state. T always forget about things like cleaning under the appliances, shower screens are often neglected and sink traps not cleaned, sills and doors are not washed and cupboards not vacuumed, curtains not cleaned. Who do you think is going to clean the kitchen drawers then and why dont you think you should have to pay for this? It takes me around 15 hours to prepare a 2 bedroom property to be let not including decorating, and that's after the tenant has cleaned for the day after moving, but not cleaned to a good enough standard to let. How long did your cleaning last?

You are under no obligation to leave the house in a better or cleaner condition then when you moved in. I refused to pay for the professional clean at the end of my tenancy on that basis.

I negotiated what I thought was a fair amount for other stuff (clean of carpets and garden which was a bit overgrown) and made an offer via the agency which was accepted by the landlord.

I let my house through an agent a few years ago. We had a very detailed inspection report before and after the tenants moved in. Detailed enough that you could see that the inspectors thought I should have used three coats of paint rather than two as an example. My tenants did a huge amount of damage (I spent thousands of pounds making good for the next letting) but still got most of the deposit back when they appealed. In my case it was because the agents didn't submit any paperwork supporting the costs (not even the evidence that the tenants had asked for professional cleaning before they moved in and so the house should have been in the same state when they moved out) unfortunately I was out of the country and couldn't do it myself. What I learned is that it's all about the paper trail, so the agency will need to prove that any damage was over and above wear and tear and that their costs are reasonable. Before and after photos will be useful for that but only if you can prove when they were taken. Usually the check in report has photos, and you both have to sign it - did you sign the check out report or challenge it?

You request the deposit back from the deposit scheme, if the letting agent wishes to make deductions they apply for it. If you wish to dispute it you send your dispute back and the deposit scheme mediates.

Simply put I would list:
-Scuffs constitute fair daily wear and tear of a property that has been lived in for X years
-Charge for cleaning is an estimate
-charge for garden is an estimate
Etc

Cross reference all your points with your tenancy agreement and check in inventory.

I did it years ago when I was renting, the letting agency tried to charge me for redecorating a communal hallway but the hallway wasn't mentioned in my tenancy agreement so I disputed it and won.

Raise a dispute via the TDs with the landlord. You have no contract with the agency.

It is your money and for the landlord to prove damage via a checkin inventory .there is no such thing as ' excessive wear and tear'

Agents are unregulated and these crooks are playing on your lack of knowledge .

It's a recurring problem. Basically, the more you can thoroughly document, the better your position.

I wouldn't be surprised if the agency were trying to keep the money for itself; do try to get in touch with the landlord and make sure he is in the loop.

I have had loads of terrible experiences in the past. An agent once tried to charge me £75 (yes!) for a small bathroom bin. I had lost it, so it was fair for me to pay for it, but it most certainly was not worth £75; what I did at the time was to show that a new bin at Argos cost £8, and, unless they could show that the bin I had lost was really worth £75, £8 was all they were gonna get from me.

I've just spent hours reading the TDS website about how they make their decisions when they adjudicate. It's such a revelation.. I can't help agree with the above poster who says that some agents play on the ignorance of people like myself.
I emailed the agency and asked for the landlords details, which they refused to give to me. Is there any other way I have of getting hold of them? I know his name, it's not very commom, but neither is it very unusual.
We are prepared to be reasonable, and I'm sure that any reasonable landlord would be able to come to an agreement with us.
Interestingly - TDS can only award the Landlord a maximum of the deposit held, so we have already saved at least £830 - we were on the verge of paying to keep our credit rating. I am SO glad I didn't now!
To the people who said I should fork out for a professional clean to the cost of over £300, that would mean that the house would be in a far better condition than we found it in. It was really grubby, with junk under all the beds and dirty surfaces. We took photographs of the mess and the colour of the cloths we used to wipe down the surfaces on the day we moved in, which were acknowledged by the agency.
There is no mention of a professional clean being done before check in, and our tenancy agreement simply says we should leave the house in the condition we found it in (save for wear and tear - and as far as that goes TDS take into account the length of tenancy, and the number and age of occupants! We have 3 small children, so I hope that goes in our favour.
Thanks again for all your help, I'll let you know the outcome and I vowe to put some of it to a good cause!

I would be amazed if you didn't get most of your deposit back after going through the dispute resolution.

As to the landlord's details, the letting agents are legally obliged to provide these:

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/how_to_find_your_landlord

Check your original contract - the LL's name and address should be shown on it.

I've been both tenant and LL, and they are trying to charge you for ludicrous things. After almost 2.5 years in a property, it will mostly be considered that the LL should expect to repaint it anyway, so that redecoration fee is probably going to get wiped off anyway. Good news you have photos to prove how you found it and how you left it - make sure you provide as comprehensive a summary as possible to the deposit scheme.

Very dodgy agency - as mentioned above, you are legally entitled to landlord contact details. Write a letter with proof of posting demanding them.

Raise a complaint if they have a higher boss, head office or trade association.

The landlord name and address should be on the front of the TA.