tenancy deposit

[hparkins]

hi all,

I have recently had check out report and I'm just wondering if anyone has any idea whether I will loose majority of my deposit (1000 pound).

they have said there is some dust around door frames and skirting boards/radiators/plug sockets.

there is a chip in the paint on one of the banisters where our baby gate was.

bathroom there is some slight dirt smudges in tbe bath and under the toilet seat.

kitchen they said has some light debris in one of the cupboard and a few splash stains behind the sink. claiming that the light in the extractor fan doesn't work but it is a very very old fan and it didnt work when we moved in.

based on the above I'm assuming we will be charged for some cleaning but my partner is saying he reckons we will loose most of our grand.

I'm a bit gutted because him and his friends did the cleaning and said they did a good job and I didn't need to go round myself but based on the above evidently not that good a job :(

thanks

You shouldn’t lose a grand for a bit of cleaning and if they claim it you should definitely dispute

Most of that comes under wear and tear. The only thing is the chip from the stair gate maybe. The condition of the extractor fan should be in the check in report. I think you should get the majority back.

yeah they'll probably take all your deposit. Might as well have left it looking like a shithole to be honest.

Surely if they tried to take the bulk of your deposit you would contest it? You sound very resigned to it.

As a very recent ex landlord you shouldn't lose very much of your deposit for this.

The agent will have to itemize the deductions they want to make. If you don't agree to the amount you can ask for it to go to arbitration. These usually settle heavily in the tenants favor.

Most of this sounds fixable with some elbow grease. Can you clean the areas highlighted in the report? Do you have any evidence the extractor fan stopped working eg email to landlord/ agent?

its first rental place and I've heard some real horror stories. it's just when i write it down it seems like quite a few things, not sure I can contest on the cleaning front because I acknowledge based on their photos that there were a few marks in the bath and under the toilet sink and that there probably was a bit of dust.

just feeling a bit stressed out by it all and obviously a grand is a significant amount of money.

it's just the light in the extractor fan not the actual fan.

tbh, because we didnt ever need the light I think I tried it once and it didnt work, didn't really bother me because it's not something I ever used. naive perhaps looking back.

Rules on deposits have changed massively OP. it is your money and they are the ones that need to prove that they require parts to put things right. At the end of my tenancy I paid for an end of tenancy clean. They then wanted to charge me £200 for blu tac stains. I refused and argued that I am allowed to enjoy the property and in two years minor wall wear is to be expected. I offered them £40 otherwise I would take it to arbitration (which is free).

They agreed so I got my whole £2500 back, minus the £40. And of course the end of tenancy clean did cost me £250.

Don't accept their offer. There are many tenant and landlord forums that should help you get to a counter offer.

We have just gone through this, we contested it and because the landlord didn’t have any photos or inventory from when we moved in 12 years ago, hadn’t painted in that time nor replace many broken things it was ruled in our favour and things like walls need painting are expected after 5 years so they couldn’t claim for that either. Our landlord moaned that the gas fire didn’t work - no it didn’t as about 6 years prior the old back boiler and by association the attached gas fire was condemned and a new boiler had to be put in - he never bothered to do anything with the fire.

well, as a bit of an update I found the original inventory from when we moved in. bit pissed off but not altogether shocked.

it states there is dust around the light fixtures and radiators, that the hob is marked and smeary and the radiator is stained. can I just ask if it was professionally cleaned before we moved in would they leave a smeary hob and dusty radiators? this is just incase they try and charge us for a professional clean.

inventory itself states that only some of the lights in the extractor fan were working so I am presuming that this holds weight to my claim that the light didnt work whilst we have lived there.

a few other comments about marks etc. on the wall they were claiming we were responsible for but fortunately it says in the original that pretty much every wall was scuffed and marked.

I feel a bit upset because I feel that they have tried to take the piss but also feel a bit validated on what I have found. I was worrying so much when they first sent the report.

If they try to withhold any deposit that you disagree with - and from what you've listed it could only be a small percentage - you should formally dispute it with the deposit scheme. It's an easy process.

The original check-in inventory is invaluable in case it goes to a dispute, it's brilliant that you found it. I've had several landlords back down immediately on their false claims of damage, because the check-in report and photos were proof of the original condition.

Contest it OP! We recently took our ex-landlord to arbitration (via the Tenancy Deposit Scheme) and got most of it back. They were intending to keep almost all of it - £2600! Claiming for ridiculous stuff like redecoration throughout, as well as cleaning (we spent hours cleaning the place, including steam cleaning all the carpets). The process took several weeks but was totally worth it. As stated above, this is YOUR money and by law it is stored with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, NOT in their bank accounts! You will be entitled to it back unless they can definitively prove unreasonable damage.

If they do you can dispute. Sounds like mainly wear and tear.

I have been a landlord. If I had a new tenant moving in as soon as you had left I would charge for 4 hours cleaning.

If I was going to have a gap and redecorate etc I would return the full deposit as I would have to clean after that anyway.

The little bits of damage are fair wear and tear.

I'm hopeful they wouldnt be able to charge for anywhere near that amount of cleaning - not only would it be entirely unjustified in our case as we are talking a slight stain under the toilet lid and some dust around door frames/radiators but based on what I've just found in the original inventory the work tops/hobs were smeary and there was already dust on all radiators. I'd be surprised if that had been done at a professional level.

thanks for comments, I'm feeling a lot more positive after finding the original inventory.

is it protected? just contact the relevant scheme and raise a dispute.

your husband needs to read the Guardian a bit less.