Deductions from tenancy deposit - advice needed

[ASuitableGirl]

I have moved out of my rented house although tenancy has not yet ended (will end on Friday 17th April). Have been there almost 5 years. Whilst I was still living there the letting agent and landlord came round and I was told it would be completely redecorated once I had left.

Letting agent went there on 2nd April with the contractors to discuss what is needed. I was called on 9th April and told that of my £925 deposit, £900 is going to be kept. This is due to grease marks from having used blue tack. The total cost of redecorating is £1,700. I have been told it is unfair for the landlord to pay for my damage.

I realise I shouldn't have used it (never will again) but feel the charge is disproportionate. Have spoken to shelter who agree the amount does seem large. Having looked at various websites, it seems that the deposit can be taken where landlord has suffered costs they would not have otherwise incurred and so I have asked for a breakdown of how the £900 is made up.

I have been summonsed to a meeting at the old house on Tuesday with the letting agent so I can be shown the marks. I have been in over the weekend and used various methods I have read about and feel it is now in better condition than it was but am worried about this meeting.

The contractors are coming in on Wednesday with my check out on Friday so I am uncertain whether the letting agent is going to count the condition as being on 2nd April, 14th April or 17th April (when I expect some marks will have been painted over?) as the condition at check out. I have done a thorough clean as I was told this had to be done before the contractors came but once they have started I am unsure how I can make sure it is spotless.

I am going to take photos showing the condition tomorrow and going to be firm that I need to see the precise breakdown. And will also not sign anything agreeing to the deductions tomorrow.

I feel the date of checkout seems a slightly grey area. When I was told a few weeks ago that the contractors were likely to start work earlier I said that if I had checked out sooner than the 17th April that I would be looking to get some of the rent back. I am slightly concerned mentioning this means they are being harsh with the deductions.

If there has been an additional cost of £900 that is what should he thane but I honestly don't feel it should be that much.

Any advice greatfully received.

I can't decide what to do about the date of check out.

And I know I shouldn't have used blue tack (was in 3 rooms). Some walls have scuff marks as well as grease marks so I think they would have been painted anyway.

Council tax know I've moved out but as the tenancy hasn't ended I'm being charged the full rate instead of single person discount as I don't live there any more. I was worried the landlord Woukd have to pay the council tax for that period and would charge me anyway iyswim.

I think I need to phone today clarifying date of check out don't i? I hate however when I see it is them calling I feel physically sick :(

They don't have a fucking chance op. Good luck and thank god for the deposit scheme!

Thank you everyone by the way :)

It's good to know I'm not completely in the wrong.

If anyone has advice on whether it's better to try and end the tenancy tomorrow or leave it until Friday (with the chance of mess from contractors but potentially no marks left) I would be grateful.

if you have anything in writing go for it. and the moment the tennancy ends claim the deposit in full.

Can you take someone with you to support you?

I don't know the answer to your latest question OP. We had a hideous experience when we rented a house. Two working professionals, pre DC, DH was actually away for 7 months of our 12 month tenancy.

£2.3k deposit. Huge house, we barely used 1/3 of it. Had cleaners in for 3 hours a week because we were never there enough to spend our time there cleaning.

LL alleged all sorts of things - like we had taken off doors upstairs to get large items of furniture in (our large wardrobes were built in in the house we had just sold). 2 months after we left they alleged we had blocked the kitchen sink with fat - lamb fat was their exact claim ... we didn't eat lamb.

We went to the deposit scheme dispute service, guess who was on the panel, two people from the (posh nationwide) estate agent we rented through and who was receiving an income from our LL.

We eventually got £1,300 of our deposit back but it left a very bad taste, we couldn't have been better tenants. I hoped that karma would bring them a family of five with two scruffy dogs and a cat that peed everywhere.

Part of the problem was that the LL had invested in it emotionally and done it up before moving overseas, we learned that it was his dream house - big mistake, we have rented out houses and are not precious about it at all.

Income = fair wear and tear, it isn't going to look like it hasn't been lived in if you are earning ££ from it.

Lots of good advice here that I won't duplicate. However, make sure that the check out is on whatever the last day of your tenancy and don't let anyone in the place (unless for viewings) until the tenancy has ended/check out completed.

Sorry, what I was getting at was that we found the deposit scheme a bit rubbish .. v longwinded way of getting there though.

My sister had a similar experience, her Landlord had been a pain from day one so we expected he'd be difficult so I read up on her rights. Your inventory is your bible. The more vague it is the more that's in your favour. In DS's case shed lived there for five years with three dc's and the inventory said there were some black scratches and imperfect paintwork on her check in. The LL used a different set of criteria for the check out which was way more thorough and said that the whole place needed to be redecorated. It did and prospective new tenants were all saying so, but the LL tried to get DS to pay for the lot.

The same with the carpets, not new in the beginning.

The letting agent did the check out and finally tried to charge over £3000 for decoration and carpet so she went through the dispute process, which I did for her (more my thing).

The disputed service agreed with us and in the end she was deducted £50. You cannot be expected to live somewhere for five years without wear and tear, if it wasn't freshly decorated in the beginning even more so. The same with carpers. Also having the letting agent do the check in/out goes against them as they are biased and not properly trained.

Don't let the bastards grind you down. Photo everything with dates.

End of tenancy is the date on your contract. You can't change that.

Check out date is agreed. Usually the final day but you can agree earlier.

So, either agree an earlier checkout, or, if they won't commit to that, say you won't allow the contractors in while you're the tenant.

What is the disadvantage to me of letting the contractors in before the tenancy ends (apart from them making a mess of course which is considered my fault?) I am really not sure I have the strength to argue that point with them as well as stand my ground on the deposit (and I'd rather do the latter iyswim).

Haven't got anyone to come with me tomorrow - DP is working away this week and XH has meetings he can't get out of. Am too embarrassed to ask anyone else I know as then it would be known by other people about this.

I would just make sure any photos you take are done before the contractors arrive-if they do damage anything you then have proof.

Mostly, having the contractors there before check out could be an advantage. The blu tac marks may be painted over. Also, your landlord will look an idiot if they try to claim from you for damage caused after they let contractors in - they won't be able to prove it was your damage.

Take pictures. Confirm checkout date.

The concern is lack of clarity about check out date - which you need clear for your own sake, not really about the contractors.

Stop stressing. Easy to say I know but really, it's your money, you don't have to engage in discussion, just listen and take note. They're not going to bite you!

In your position I would demand an earlier tenancy end date if they are letting contractors in when you legally still have the right to quiet enjoyment of the property. That wording is deliberate btw. If they agree to end it the day before the contractors go in 1) get it in writing 2) ensure you are present when they do the inventory check out 3) request a rent refund for the days after the new tenancy end date 4) advise the council of the agreed tenancy end date.

I just wouldn't trust the agents - if the painters spill paint on the carpet will they try to pin it on you?

You have a strong case for minimal deductions from your deposit for the Blu tack marks, however intimidating the agents are. It is financially in your interests to agree an earlier tenancy end date (rent refund, less council tax to pay; what about utility bills?). If they won't end the tenancy early then I would get evidence of the contractors being there before the tenancy has ended because this will go against the agents in your dispute raised with the deposit protection organisation. They have no right to do this.

I wish I had one of you lot here to encourage me even more . I am paying utility bills at the moment as well. Initially when I was told the contractors would be coming in before the tenancy ended (ie 2 or 3 weeks before) I said that I would obviously need the contract to end sooner and would need a refund of the rent for those weeks. Letting agent was going to ask the landlord (we provisionally agreed a new check out date) but unsurprisingly the contractors were delayed.

You're right wowfudge that the agents can't be trusted. I will take photos of everything to show how it was before the contractors came in.

What sort of evidence would be best to show presence of contractors? I still live nearby so am able to go there - I would be able to take pictures showing they are working there I suppose.

If they're there within you contract, you let yourself in to your home with your key, say hello and take some pictures!

Go round on the afternoon of the final day of your tenancy if you can.

You can't be excluded from a home you're still paying rent for!

Or evening - then contractors won't be present, no awkward conversations, just go in and take pictures.

I'll go round Wednesday and/or Thursday evening I think.

I know I sound pathetic but have been rather ground down by this.

Gosh I wish I had known they couldn't send contractors in until I had left.

I refused to have them inside the house as they were utter arseholes and swore at me till I cried, in front of my children, also they broke some windows and made a hell of a mess in the garden.

I had to clear up their sodding broken glass and dust, they fitted glass that was too small and then filled the gap with a bit of wood that also didn't fit - they used my timber and tools and ladder without asking.

So if I'd known I didn't have to let them onto the premises I would have refused to entirely. Bastards. And it was a source of immense stress to me to worry that the agents might think it was ME who broke the windows, me who left the coffee cups and plastic bags and general shite all around the garden. Luckily they did not deduct anything from my deposit as I was insanely angry about it and wrote a lot of emails, plus the manager at the agents liked me so he was on my side.

OP - DO take photos before anyone starts work. Of as many things/rooms as you can. OR arrange to check out sooner before they start.

Also had a v bad experience from renting. We left the house better and cleaner than it was when we moved in, but they tried to fleece us for almost all the deposit.

I produced a very lengthy document citing each "problem", with their before inventory photos and my after photos, pointing out the blatant discrepancies. It was obviously a try on and they got quite flustered and backed down.

I also agree with all the points about fair wear and tear. If there were no original photos to compare, they have no case anyway as they have no proof of the original condition.

It was very stressful at the time. You have my sympathies!

agents aren't regulated (asleep at the wheel governments) - but landlords and deposits are. Get in touch with your deposit scheme TODAY to find out procedures.

whether you live there or not, the tenancy is still in place and no-one goes in without your permission unless it is an emergency, so state that.

the deposit schemes are national and the odds on getting the arbitration panel full of the agent's pals seems very low.

wear and tear is NOT a reason for deduction. Example: I rented out a property with a brand new carpet. Eight years later it was a worn carpet from being walked on, but I get nothing back because tenants are not expected to levitate. However when they let their elderly cat excrete all over another new carpet, (replaced a year before the incident) that's damage and I do get a bit of compensation.

if the place hasn't been painted in 5 years, it needs doing as a rental. The damage deduction is pro-rated according to the age of the item damaged, so marks on walls not painted in 5 years comes out almost nothing.

know your rights and use them.

Whereabouts are you OP? If I'm nearby I'm willing to help. I have been a LL btw. Take a time stamped photo of them going in to the house or the van outside.

Don't give your keys back. I am willing to bet that they will change the locks you know.

Don't let them grind you down, get angry because they rely on intimidating you. It's simple: no early termination of tenancy, no contractors as no quiet enjoyment.

Take meter readings and tell the utility firms you've moved out - bollocks to waiting until the official tenancy end date. When the workmen run up water and electricity bills doing work for the LL: why the hell would you pay them?