Just finished tenancy - trouble getting deposit back

[JandLandG]

hello eveyone...infrequent visitor nowadays, but hope you can help me with a few queries.

ok, so just bought a house having rented a nice place for 18 months.

the end of tenancy inspection by the estate agents who are managing it says a few things that we don't agree with - all of which they want to charge money for, of course.

firstly, they want me to pay a gardener to do a garden tidy up and weeding. it was a nice garden and we kept it nice and tidy. i'm not an horticultural expert but we wanted to enjoy the garden so i kept it nice. this appears to be not good enough for them. any thoughts?

fridge shelves broken while we were there. they want us to pay for new ones. well, the fridge is a few years old and i was thinking this was just wear and tear. what do you reckon?

similarly, carpet was a few years old and they're not happy it was cleaned properly before we left.

garden mower cable damaged and fixed by us. they want a brand new one.

work surface marked in kitchen. they want 40 odd quick to fix.

any thoughts? i thought we'd agreed to live in their house and pay them rent. the one-sided view they seem to hold is that we were caretakers charged with preserving the place in aspic.

we had a few raised eyebrows about things they never mentioned before we took the place on, but didn't say anything because we just got on with things. they don't appear to take that attitude. is it too late to press them on these issues do you think?

dunno.

anyway, not too bothered about the money as such, but we know people who know the owners and don't want to appear rude/uncaring about their house etc, but at the same time don't want to be trodden all over.

advice welcome

many thanks as always

If it's in a tds then take it up with the ombudsman. If it's not in a tds check why.

Inventory clerks are independent. Have you seen both the check in and put reports, as opposed to an aren'ts letter telling them what you owe. If you haven't, ask for them.

Landlords are entitled to charge for cleaning carpets if they are dirty now and weren't when you moved in. Mower, likewise. Workshops.. nightmare for the landlord if you haven't treated them properly. You are lucky you aren't being asked to replace them.Ask for a receipt.

You should have reported the fridge when it happened, it is usually a duty under the lease.

As for the gardening, you might have a case with that. Check the inventories.

"check in and out reports as opposed to an agent's letter.."

You're welcome.

thanks for this.

what's a tds please?

any other thoughts/experience?

just feels like only one person is getting the benefit from this deal...glad am no longer renting tbh, but enjoyed the freedom for a while.

Well, having finished renting out our property to three different tenants, perhaps I could offer our experience as landlords.
If the property is fully managed, it is more than likely an independent inventory check out. This means the landlord is simply given a list of the issues and how much they would recommend is charged to fix them (via the managing agent).
I would imagine it is in your contract to keep the garden in good order, as it was probably serviced before you moved in, and will have to be in good condition for the next tenant.
Generally (and having been a good tenant myself) if I had broken something like a mower cable, I would replace it, not fix it, in case it wasn't safe.
In our standard contracts (the same when I was a tenant) cleaning the carpets before leaving is necessary and just good form anyway. Again, they were probably cleaned before you moved in. If you have stained them badly, they will need to be pro- cleaned. Regardless of age.
Put simply - wear and tear such as scratches on paint, small tears, minor damage such as dents or scrapes, are simply that- wear and tear. Broken items should have been reported, or replaced.
Having been a tenant for a large part of my life, losing some deposit is normal. The house is not expected to be perfect, just pretty much as it was.
No matter how lovely our tenants were, they all became nasty when it was recommended we kept back some deposit - even when they had defaced some property with writing.
Just because someone is a landlord, does not mean they are loaded - they can be normal people like you, who are just letting out their house and expecting it back in similar shape. And listening to what the independent review recommends. Repairs cost money.
Not being rude to you, as you probably did look after the property, don't let yourself be overcharged, but do be fair?

Well, having finished renting out our property to three different tenants, perhaps I could offer our experience as landlords.
If the property is fully managed, it is more than likely an independent inventory check out. This means the landlord is simply given a list of the issues and how much they would recommend is charged to fix them (via the managing agent).
I would imagine it is in your contract to keep the garden in good order, as it was probably serviced before you moved in, and will have to be in good condition for the next tenant.
Generally (and having been a good tenant myself) if I had broken something like a mower cable, I would replace it, not fix it, in case it wasn't safe.
In our standard contracts (the same when I was a tenant) cleaning the carpets before leaving is necessary and just good form anyway. Again, they were probably cleaned before you moved in. If you have stained them badly, they will need to be pro- cleaned. Regardless of age.
Put simply - wear and tear such as scratches on paint, small tears, minor damage such as dents or scrapes, are simply that- wear and tear. Broken items should have been reported, or replaced.
Having been a tenant for a large part of my life, losing some deposit is normal. The house is not expected to be perfect, just pretty much as it was.
No matter how lovely our tenants were, they all became nasty when it was recommended we kept back some deposit - even when they had defaced some property with writing.
Just because someone is a landlord, does not mean they are loaded - they can be normal people like you, who are just letting out their house and expecting it back in similar shape. And listening to what the independent review recommends. Repairs cost money.
Not being rude to you, as you probably did look after the property, don't let yourself be overcharged, but do be fair?

Apologies - computer crashed!

Tenancy deposit scheme.

Seriously, it isn't just up to the landlord to deduct whatever he fancies any more.

bump for early evening peeps

Yep, your deposit should be in a tenancy deposit scheme and if it isn't, the LL/agent has some serious explaining to do and could be liable to pay you a sum of 3x the deposit amount plus your deposit back in full. I successfully sued my ex-LL over this very thing a year ago.

Where is your deposit?

If it is not in a scheme I suggest you write and tell them they should return it to you immediately and with no deductions or you will bring a claim in county court for non-protection.

If it is in a scheme then use the arbitration process that the scheme will have and dispute the deductions you feel are unreasonable.

Sorry only skim-read - have you moved out? If they didn't tell you their issues within 14 days after the tenancy ended I don't think they can withhold the money. That used to be the case anyway, our landlord tried it on but we got them on that.

As far as I understand, nothing can be released from the deposit scheme until both sides are in agreement about any deduction. If either side is just trying it on casually, they will want something back rather than nothing (while it is tied up). However, nastier disputes can keep things tied up for a while.

Nevertheless, the idea is to prevent landlords from acting unilaterally to keep deposit if tenants want to fight for it.

We have lost the deposit every time before the tenancy deposit scheme was introduced, some landlords seem to see it as part of their income.
We even got taken to court once over a carpet which was ruined by a tea stain, but no kidding it was 15 years old, they admitted that but the court found in their favor, new for old, we were speechless.
Anyway I hope your deposit is in the scheme and keep fighting, I wish we'd done more.

Tbh most of those things I would expect to repair/replace if I was a tenant, sorry.

I would expect you to replace the shelves in the fridge; if you are handing back in the condition it was let out, then if there were fridge shelves there when you moved in, they should be there in working order when you move out. I would also expect as a landlord and a tenant to see all the carpets cleaned, the oven cleaned, and a contribution towards the work surface if you damaged it as it may have to be replaced.

hey everyone...thanks for all these bits of advice/wisdom...i think we are in the deposit scheme, but just astounded at the pettiness of their complaints when i compare it to the things they hid/didn't mention prior to us moving in.

nothing tremendously serious, but subtefuge nontheless.

we shall see

Not subterfuge, you had the chance to examine the property and ask for stuff to be done before you moved in.

Not pettiness either.. didn't you read your lease?

I've been v generous handing back deposits but tbh with more than half my tenants I could have taken the whole lot with justification. Not that many of them see it that way. There ARE certainly FWT allowances.. as complicated as a dent in a wooden floor being FWT and a scratch counting as damage / tenant to pay.

So don't upset yourself .. if you follow my advice and check the inventory reports and tds terms then you can relax knowing that it will all be fair and above board.