Landlord deposit return - does he need to do the work?

[thecatsthecats]

Question for landlords/people in the know!

We are in the process of disputing our deposit return. The landlord has requested about £400, and we are yet to have an itemised breakdown for this, but from the report, it looks like it covers (not exhaustive list):

• lightbulbs that need replacing (but we did replace them! the flat has serious wiring issues, so a lot of spotlights didn't work)
• 'broken' furniture - but we didn't break it! It's down in the inspection report as broken (a chest and chairs), and we happen to have the checkout inspection report of the previous tenants. We also raised discrepancies with the midterm report labeling them as 'newly' broken, when they were in fact unusable the entire time we lived there.
• a very light amount of cleaning and a couple of small missing items (fine)
• some very small discrepancies noted that are inaccurate - e.g. wall hooks that were there when we arrived - not such a big deal, but definitely nothing to do with us, and just adding to the picture of incompetency
• something we unfortunately didn't notice - two cracks in the window instead of one in our inventory, but that is present in the previous inventory (hard to prove though).

Furthermore, the windows did not keep the rain out, and some of our possessions were damaged, and we intend to use that as a bargaining chip.

My question is - we have evidence that these works needed doing when we moved in. If a landlord claims money for repairs, are they obliged to perform the repairs? Or can they claim the money and not do them? If he's already taken £400 to replace the chairs and chest, then he can use that, not claim it off us, surely!

It seems to me that he's been pocketing the cash and not replacing all sorts of dilapidations over the years - cracked mirror, useless chest of drawers, cracked coffee pot etc. Things that would actually be better off just thrown away than sitting there!

Is £400 your entire deposit or part of it? If it's part of it your LL must return the undisputed part of the deposit without delay. Never mind the check out reports - do you have an inventory showing the condition when you moved in? If not then the LL can't claim your deposit at all as there's just no proof.

We do have an inventory report, yes, which states the poor condition, but not quite as explicitly as the check out (both by the same company).

For example the chest was 'drawers don't sit on runners', now they 'have collapsed from runners, not possible to pull in or out' - we agreed with the first description as well as the second, but the second makes it seem worse! Because it's in such poor condition, we've just left it idle in the spare room.

It's about 1/3rd of the deposit. We've had a submission from DPS stating:

'If you reject the proposal, we will notify the agent/landlord, and either party may then request a further repayment request online to agree how the deposit should be repaid. If there is a disputed amount, both parties will need to resolve the dispute either via our Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Service or via the Courts.'

I understood that to mean that we'll have to agree the full distribution? We can wait on the money to be honest, we don't need it for anything immediate, but I'm not paying to replace furniture he's just going to let out the same stuff again!

The LL doesn't have to use the money deducted from your deposit to do anything. The onus is on LL and tenant being satisfied that the inventory is correct at the time the tenancy agreement is entered into. I don't know enough to advise you further now, but you are well within your rights to request the undisputed portion of the deposit is returned to you now.

In future, if anything such as items of furniture are in poor condition, request they are removed and this is noted against the inventory.

I think you could let the LL know you have the previous tenant's check out report and will show it to the deposit scheme if he persists in claiming damage was caused by you.

Thanks - we've bought now, so inventories are hopefully a thing of the past.

We're waiting for the itemisation of the £400, as I am perfectly happy to pay the deductions for actual losses/damage.

I think it's actually pretty unfair that someone further back down the line had money taken off for damage if those items weren't subsequently replaced! But then again, not my direct issue, since we didn't cause the damage in question.