Tenant's deposit

[purpleme12]

Letting agent/landlord says they want to keep all my deposit

Not asking for more from me but are saying they have had to pay out a lot more than the deposit.

£430 for cleaning it says. Because it needed a deep clean she said. I did clean the property but did not pay for a professional clean? Can they do this?
Even the end of tenancy quotes have not been that much so I'm confused about the price.

They claim redecorating cost £1200. I thought they couldn't claim for that when I lived there for 5 years?

OP, no one can advise you if don't want to give more details.

£430 for cleaning is entirely feasible, it can add up. The agency I use charges £112 to clean a single oven, hob and extractor. End of tenancy packages don't usually include things like carpet or upholstery shampooing/stain removing (rather than steaming), which may have been needed if you have pets, external window cleaning, defrosting, curtain/blind cleaning. There are often extra charges if the property is dirtier than average eg large amounts of limescale or the walls need cleaning.

If you don't give any information, it's impossible to advise though 🤷‍♀️

I know that none of those things were needed (they were also never mentioned in any comments either).
I have done quotes and none of of all the ones I did were that high. And yes my quotes did include the oven.
I don't know what information people need. I thought I'd given enough.
I don't need people to believe me
I came to get advice and opinions and have had that so thank you to the useful advice and comments.

@purpleme12 - it's not a question of people not believing you! But your responses are vague. We need to know the precise details of the issues resulting in potential deductions from your deposit, i.e. condition on check-in and check-out.

Can you look at the 2 inventories and spell out what exactly they are claiming for? How are they justifying the need for a professional deep-clean? What exactly was the state of the carpeting at the beginning and end if the tenancy? How are they justifying charging you for repainting - which would be highly unusual after 5 years since any reasonable LL would accept the need for this at deter such a long let.

You will certainly need this information if you are to raise a dispute with the deposit scheme. They cannot make a decision without these details.

... after such a long let

Ok I will take all of this onboard

I'm confused about the redecoration though. I'm not disputing that it needed redecorating, it definitely did. Not because we'd drawn on walls etc etc but just scuffs, smudges on walls nothing deliberate. I didn't redecorate in the time I was there. The paint wasn't done very well to start with and definitely not professionally. It even says in the inventory paint patchy etc. I just didn't think they could claim for that if you've lived there that long

I know it can be daunting OP but if you go to the website of the scheme your deposit is in, there will be case studies showing the process and rationales they use to make the decisions. You can also read case studies from any of the other deposit schemes. It really helps to become familiar with the language and terms.

The onus is in the LL to provide detailed evidence to support their claim.

If you cannot manage it yourself, don’t give up but please go to the CAB who will help you.

Did the end of tenancy cleaners actually come out and view the property when they gave the quotes or did they just give you their standard price? If it was the standard price, it will usually come with the disclaimer "from £XXX". They will usually charge extra for anything other than the lightest of cleans eg if there is a build up of limescale, ingrained dirt on textured tiles, stains that need removing.

If (and it is a big if), the cleaning was necessary and the prices the agency charged were reasonable/in line with market prices, you would have to pay the £430, even if you could have got it done for less. The agency I use charge £16 per hour for one off cleaning. They charge 30 mins per appliance for deep cleaning, 1 hour for deep cleaning a fridge or freezer. So £168 just to clean the basic appliances in a kitchen - a washing machine, tumble dryer, dishwasher, fridge, freezer, oven, hob and extractor. See how it can add up? Carpet cleaning is "from" £46 for 12 x 12 foot room, £46 for a staircase...

Usually the inventories will have a description of the overall cleanliness eg professional clean, good domestic standard etc. Then there will be details of individual items that were dirty eg limescale stained toilet, grease stains, mould on bathroom tiles etc

Decorating isn't necessarily just repainting. I gave examples of things that would come under decorating that you could be liable for earlier eg broken tiles, damaged skirting/plaster, mould/grease/damp stains (that will need treating before painting), peeling paint from humidity. Is there anything other than scuffed/chipped paint in the inventory?

The checkout didn't mention anything about those things you've said about broken tiles or damp etc
Anyway I'll query it with TDS and we'll see what happens either way

@OP I think you're getting some key harsh replies here. It's irrelevant if someone think the cost of cleaning adds up and could come to £430

The only relevant point is your landlord didn't include a photo check-in. Therefore you're pretty guaranteed to get all your deposit back. So dispute and ask for it all back, and see what happens.

IMO from what you've said your ll sounds like a bit of an arsehole so I'd have no hesitation whatsoever claiming it all back regardless of whether I thought it was fair enough to pay £100 towards cleaning, or the carpet.

Renting a house from a landlord is a business transaction. If they wanted any chance of being able to claim some of your deposit for the condition of the house they should have given you a proper check in.

If they didn't then boo hoo, no keeping the deposit unfairly

You can choose to given them some cash out of the goodness of your heart if you want to, but I'd be inclined to get the full deposit back, take it out the bank in notes and have a good look at it, and if you still feel inclined to give someone £200 just because then choose a more worthy cause. I'm sure you can find one.

And @OP ffs keep it simple!

Don't mention tiles or carpets or weeds. Just dispute it and ask for the full lot back.

The TDS will ask you questions if they have any, but don't offer loads of info which will potentially confuse things and give excuses for them to deduct something.

A good rule of thumb with anything landlord related is do not say a word more than you need to. Just don't. Let silence fill the air.

If they want to keep some of your money let them tell you why and give their evidence. Unless they can do this then the default is it all goes back to you. And I think you deserve it more than the landlord

The only relevant point is your landlord didn't include a photo check-in. Therefore you're pretty guaranteed to get all your deposit back. So dispute and ask for it all back, and see what happens.

That's not strictly true eg if there was a professional written inventory signed by the tenant that states that the oven was clean and the check out inventory says it is dirty and has a photo of dirty oven, that would be considered proof enough without needing photos from the check in inventory, @Mum2021askingquestion.

OP is getting a hard time because people are trying to help her and she is being vague. @purpleme12, the examples I gave are just a few things that could be charged for, there are literally thousands of reasons, you need to tell us what the check out inventory says isn't perfect ie anything they said was dirty or damaged and what the check in inventory says about the same items.

The TDS will try to help by asking questions but you need to specify what you are disputing. You will have to say exactly what you disagree with. You can't just say you think the cleaning is too much or you thought it was okay.

Ok I wasn't aware I was being vague. Sorry if I was. But I feel that I've got the message about it all now.
Thank you everyone

Skimmed through posts at the end, if he’s selling up and accepts and offer on how it was when you left then there is no requirement for him to reinstate anything, there’s no loss for him as he’s achieved the sale

He’s trying to take YOUR money, the dps won’t let him.