Tenant has changed carpet, door and curtains!!

[Member786488]

He’s leaving tomorrow as was served a s.21 in July, my daughter is moving in.

he’s just told me how much he’s ‘improved’ the flat - he’s put in a horrible cheap grey fluffy carpet over a lovely, hard wearing, (expensive) and neutral one, he’s put a couple of doors in because he ‘doesn’t like open plan’, and my (again, neutral) blinds and curtains have been replaced with dark red things.

his deposit is £860. I don’t want to have an uncomfortable conversation but I think I’m going to have to. What’s reasonable here?

I can’t believe he did all that without asking!

Bloody hell, that's well over the line.. I didn't know those corrugated plastic doors still existed! My nan had one for her kitchen, and I used one from Argos on my kitchen temporarily when re-doing it, but they're hideous things!

It doesn't matter that he "couldn't get hold of you" (or the agent presumably) - you don't get to change perfectly good stuff about, and then almost hilariously, try to charge for your replacements.

Make sure you have the paperwork for your carpet/curtains, and for the difference in what he's laid - because the TDS will need that if he contests - and they won't pay you new for old, you get the cost, less the existing wear/depreciation when he moved in.

How much did you pay for the carpet and curtains, OP? Do you still have receipts?

Oh, and the TDS (or whoever) appeals process really isn't complicated - I've done it both as a tenant and as a landlord, and each time it was fairly painless, and I think the decision was fair.

What a CF he is!
I bet the old bugger's dog trashed your carpet so he got a cheap replacement.

Submit the claim to the deposit scheme backing up that he's disposed of your possessions (illegally) and quotes to make good the removal of the naff doors.

Getting old doesn't mean he gets to damage the OP's house and not remain @accountable.

What rubbish, he has taken the owner's property in the way of curtains etc unless he is able to replace them, he has presumably removed the carpet and disposed of it somehow and he has interfered with the interior, if he didn't want an open plan then he should have rented somewhere else. For every poor landlord there is usually a poor tenant but the law is on their side. He should not be entitled to his deposit back until the flat is restored to its original condition.

Your tenant has done as he pleases without obtaining the necessary permissions and therefore needs to return the property to its original condition allowing for reasonable 12 month wear and tear. If not then the money to do this needs to come from his deposit. I'm sure it's highly annoying as a landlord but you seem to have every leg to stand on.

It's a big shame that so many people are stuck in rentals that don't feel like home but the current law is on your side in this situation.

Yet another example of the completely broken UK housing system that no government has any will to change.

Of course he's done something wrong! It wasn't his property to alter without permission!

Your agent will help you to decide on this, but you need to get quotes for replacing the carpets, curtains and blinds, and also for removing the doors and repairing the frames.

The tenant had no right to do these things, and it should be stated in the TA that when they leave they have to reinstate things.

Tenants are of course free to put up curtains of their choosing but he should have kept yours to put back up when he left.

Tenants can't add doors, change carpets etc as it is not their house.

Get the quotes and then get the agent to help you to decide how much to ask to keep from the deposit.

if he won't agree, then DO put it in the hands of the deposit company. You should not be out of pocket over this.

Glad to hear it is protected both for his and your sake.

well usually you don't know for sure, but if the LL attempts to take it from your deposit, thats when you'd know! I'm just telling you what the law is.

It actually doesn't always, there are some things that are law and regardless of a contract that will be how a dispute is determined.

Any changes made to the flat without your agreement should be put back as they were, unless you agree otherwise.
The doors - if he didn’t ask you if it was ok to put these in then either he removes them and makes good or you do. You need to calculate the cost, including any making good
The carpets - you say he put new ones over your ones. Again either he removes and disposes of them or you cost this out.
The curtains - he has to replace the ones you put in or you cost that.

If he doesn’t want to put everything back as it was then you present the cost to you to do so and agree on that. If he doesn’t agree then either you find a middle road ( depending on how far you’re willing to take things ) or it goes to arbitration.

Hmmm.

Getting the suspicious feeling here the original carpet might have been damaged in some way.

Anyway, not much you can do really. I would get quotes for making good and then charge the money to the deposit. Ultimately if he wants to dispute he will go to the TDS, so you need to have everything backed up ready for that.

The TDS will decide what you are due in the event of a dispute, the more backing you have (receipts images documented inventory etc) then the better it will be for you.

She must have been insane. Literally.

It’s true that it becomes the tenant’s home in terms of rights to access but the tenant is not allowed to remove/add fixtures and fittings and certainly not structural changes. Plus private tenancies are different to social housing tenancies where tenants are more likely to stay for a number of years. And even in social housing, changes like adding or removing doors would require permission if you wanted to make permanent changes and it would be stipulated that the property must be returned to its original state.

He’s a cheeky fucker. I would go all the way with whatever it takes to get back what he will cost you.

He's thrown away your perfectly good stuff and has the nerve to ask if you want to pay him for the less pleasant replacements. Tells you all you need to know.

I'd like to apologise to whoever @accountable is - I was not trying to tag anyone in, but it appeared and I didn't notice until it was too late.

I know the tenant is in the wrong here but I kind of feel sorry for him. Sounds like he doesn't have a support network. How 'elderly' is he OP?

So - the flat is literally filthy.

his carpet is hideous, rumpled, horrible quality, badly laid and stained. As some of you suggested, I think his (adorable and very bouncy) pup is responsible…

the plastic concertina door has been nailed to the wall across the kitchen

the curtains (and rail!) have gone and he’s taken his too.

he’s argumentative and stroppy whilst assuring me he’s done all this for my benefit… but he’s gone.

I gave him the paperwork for the deposit and told the agent he could have it paid back to him, largely because I want nothing more to do with him - a bit pathetic I know, but at least I can remove his number from my phone and not think about him any more.

my daughter can decide about the carpet. If we clean it and put nice rugs down it might be ok, or I’ll scrap it.

thanks again for your advice - when it came to it I just couldn’t cope with more endless arguments and phone calls.

Do you have to deal with it though? Isn't that what your letting agent is for? Like fuck would I be giving him back any of his deposit.

How much did the curtains and carpet cost you? And the curtain rail?

Honestly, I'd be very surprised if there was any of his deposit left after you've paid to replace your property which he removed and to have the place cleaned.

It would be very little effort at all to dig out the receipts for your property and a quote from a professional cleaner and say, "Since the cost of returning the property to its original condition exceeds your deposit, unfortunately there is nothing left to return to you."

I would go back to the agent and say withhold the deposit and use the tenancy dispute service.
You will incur costs to make the property rentable again and those should come out if the deposit if it is more than wear and tear.

I'm sorry @Member786488 that your place has been left in the state it has but I'm with @MargotBamborough here - like hell would he get any of his deposit back.

Take his age out of any decision that you might make on this and I honestly don't think you'd be returning a deposit to a 20-something bloke who made such elemental decisions to how your house was to be.

I realise that you want shot of him but what he has done is put nails into your walls (not even tried to arrange something temporary instead), he removed your carpets (that's not something a tenant should do without receiving express permission from the landlord and even if he did try to make contact with you, you didn't give him that permission so he really should be paying for the carpets at the very least), and got rid of them and your curtains.

If he wasn't elderly, would you be withholding some of the deposit or giving it all back?

What is the point of holding on to a deposit if not for fixing issues like this?

You don't need to deal with this - let the letting agent do it.

It's absolutely insane that yesterday we had a thread by a landlord wanting to withhold a young couple's entire deposit which she hadn't even put in the deposit protection scheme because she found what she thought might be "weed residue" near the sink, and today we have a landlord who has done everything by the book ready to refund the entire deposit to a tenant who has absolutely trashed the place.