Taking money from deposite at end of tenancy

[TryAgainAnotherDay]

LL sold house. DH and myself have been really accommodating allowing for viewings and surveys whilst still living there. Moved out last week and had to move in with family.

House was a quite dirty when we moved in and it took a long time to get this cleaned, did the garden nice. Carpet was very old, grubby and frayed on the stairs asked numerous time for new carpet as unsafe due to being slippy, but never happened.

Had an email today from estate agents saying after speaking to LL they will be getting quotes for a general clean and carpet clean and will let us know once they have obtained the quotes.

I'm livid, the house was generally clean when we left, not immaculate but better state then when we moved in.

Do I just have to accept this as apparently its in the contract we should have a professional clean when we move or should we fight it, if so how??

I take it the deposit is held, as it should be, in a deposit scheme?

Any deductions must be requested through there; do you have photos of what it was like when you moved in?

I'd reply to EA saying the house was left in cleaner condition than when you moved in, no damage was caused, and you don't consent to any deductions.

They should have taken pictures when you moved in and these would be used by the deposit scheme to assess how much/if any you would pay. Did they do an inventory?

It states on the inventory that most areas where dirty. I've emailed back stating about this and we also have email trail of numerous request for new carpet. As far as I believe the deposit is in a scheme.

I wouldn't bother liaising with the landlord. Just login to your deposit scheme and request all the funds back. The landlord will say what they want. If it's in dispute the funds will be held while they look at the inventory. I wouldn't worry if there's an inventory and it's filthy

The EA emailed at 16.56.

Automated reply to my email to state EA is now on leave.

It's not up to the estate agent how much deposit you get back so it doesn't matter they're not there to reply. You just need to login to your deposit scheme and request the whole amount back. The estate agent (or whoever the account is managed by) will get a message advising them of this so they can put what they say should be held back

How do I know my log in details to my deposite scheme??

You should have got an email when you took on the tenancy from the deposit company. If not contact the agency. It’s illegal for them not to hold you deposit in a scheme.

There are 3 deposit schemes so check which one you are with. More information here:

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/check_your_tenancy_deposit_is_protected

If its not protected then you could sue your landlord for up to 3x your deposit. There is no defence in law so you would be awarded at least one times (not sure if worth the hassle but you could use it as leverage).

The deposit scheme should have a dispute resolution service where you request your deposit back and they will act as an independent arbitrator as to whether your landlords request is suitable. They will ask for evidence from them of the condition before and after you moved in. A profession clean just means to a professional standard I don't believe it means a professional has done it.

I'm a landlord and use an agent.
I wouldn't dream of trying to keep your deposit, especially as the property has been sold!
What you describe sounds to me like wear and tear.
Cheeky bleeders

What's the betting the buyers are insisting on a deep clean and your ex landlord is trying to scam the cost out of you?

Did you have photos of the house at the beginning and end of your tenancy?

I wouldn't worry. I am a LL and when one tenant left a huge mess and rent areas I had go prove with the inventory how the property was left.
If it states dirty then you're fine.

I
Also you should details of your scheme

Plus I'm sure cleaning is not considered reasonable deduction. As long you have proof

You should have been sent details of the deposit scheme your money was placed with when you signed the contract.

if they haven’t protected your deposit they have to repay the deposit in full (in multiples? Been a while since I went through the process so open to correction)

It is unfortunately. A friend of mine was recently deducted £50 from hers.

They do need to prove it was clean when you moved in though. And they can’t insist of a professional clean unless they can prove they had it professionally cleaned before you moved in.

When I rented I had this happen to me a few times. My favourite was the landlady who before I moved in used to foster cats. At one point she had 15. The house was GRUBBY. She also left us a note saying that the oven was dirty as she gave up cleaning it because she ‘lost the will to
live’ 🤣 needless to say we got our deposit back!

Have a look through your emails, the deposit scheme usually emails you the details a a week or two after you move in

Hi OP, I also think that unless the LL had HAD it professionally cleaned before you moved in then you don't have to pay for one when you move out.

Just say this to the agents and ask them at the same time for your deposit protection scheme info. If the EA you deal with is on leave then call the office and ask who is covering their desk.

The landlord will be in deep trouble if your deposit is not in a protection scheme. You can sue him for 3x amount.

Get your deposit details, log on, claim your deposit back and let them argue back. The decision isn't solely the LLs. Any deductions have to be agreed by BOTH of you. If an agreement can't be reached, then you utilize the deposit scheme's arbitration service. We had to do this when we left our last rental. We got every penny back.

I've recently had a fight about my deposit. I was like you an excellent tenant and helped him out with stuff. Despite the apartment being spotless he tried to keep £200 for a "deep clean". The deposit scheme let him keep £50 which I didn't agree with.

But they told me that you don't have to use a professional cleaner (I did as well as going alot myself) so you need to check your contract.

And apparently alot of landlords just get big cleaning quotes to use as evidence.

Fight this!

Indeed - as per the Tenancy Act 2019, LLs CANNOT compel a tenant to engage in any 3rd party contract. This includes professional cleaning services. The property only has to be to the same standard as it was upon commencing the lease. Just because the property was 'professionally' cleaned before you moved in, it doesn't mean you have to have it professionally cleaned when you move out. It just has to be cleaned to the same standards.

I've found my details for the deposite scheme and have requested the full amount back. What happens now??

As far as I remember they have 14 days to pay you back. It’s up to the landlord to prove that any deductions are reasonable and they have to allow a certain percentage for wear and tear. For example if a carpet is expected to last 10 years and it needs replacing after 5, you can only be charged 50%. The landlord also has to prove the condition when you moved in and moved out so if they haven’t got good photographic evidence or receipts for purchases they are unlikely to be allowed to make deductions. I’ve fought, and won, a couple of these on behalf of my daughter and fellow student tenants against landlords who seemed to think it was ok to simply keep the deposit at the end of the tenancy. It’s a bit of a pain to do it but definitely worth the effort if you know you are being overcharged.

@TryAgainAnotherDay recently went through similar ourselves! Took forever to sort out unfortunately!
We requested our deposit back, the LL then had 30 days (I think!) to give evidence for any deductions. The ‘undisputed amount’ was then given back to us and the deposit scheme just held the ‘disputed amount’. We then had 30 days to counter with any evidence against etc. It still wasn’t resolved so had to go to a panel who looked at all the evidence. We then had to wait for the outcome and then the rest of the money to be sent to us.

In our case, the LL was a nightmare from the start. Day 1 of us paying rent and meant to be collecting our keys our LL was still living in the property 😳 finally allowed the EA in to do the inventory the following afternoon. We got our keys on the 3rd instead of the 1st. Turned up to a furnished property instead of unfurnished. Had to wait for it to be cleared before we could move in. House was FILTHY! Splashes up the front of cupboards, mouldy appliances, nothing dusted or hoovered (for what looked like a year 😭). Garden completely overgrown to the point of unusable! 5 wheelie bins all filled with random mixed crap. Council refused to uplift them because they were all contaminated.

We gave notice after 4 months and left at the end of our 6m contract as LL kept turning up at the property and just letting herself in 😳 I had neighbours texting me while I was at work like “do you know LL is at your house?” 😅 she tried to keep £600 of a £1200 deposit for “deep clean, garden clearance & repainting hallway”. We’d had the garden fully cleared on moving in (at our expense!) but because we hadn’t freshly trimmed the hedges on moving out, she wanted us billed for a hedge cut 🤯 I’d had to get a cleaning company in at the start of the tenancy because she said she could get one in for us but it would be 2 weeks after we moved in. Her “deep clean” that was needed at the end of our tenancy was because there was bubbles left in the shower plug hole 😅 the rest was genuinely immaculate I’d be mortified to leave it any other way! And the painting was for marks that were all over the hallway walls that were listed on the inventory at the start of our tenancy 😅

I had to provide time & date stamped photos of all evidence, copies of tenancy agreement, copies of inventory etc.