Rent deposit dispute

[Purpleflowery]

Sorry this is long. I’m panicking. Hope someone might be able to help me. I’ve lived in lots of rentals but the most recent one I handed notice as they put the rent up 20% and I couldn’t afford that.
the property was inspected two months before I moved out, I asked if everything was in order and they said yes.

now I have handed notice in the they’re saying there are too many weeds in the patio, they’ll have to hire a gardener to sort them, the driveway needs cleaning. There is dust on some of the window sill that’s a professional cleaner needed, ok so I am willing to agree to some things but things like a professional carpet clean they want £££ for this but the carpets are clean and I’ve lived there 3 years, I’ve never worn shoes in the house and I can’t see how I should pay for the cleaning here. I am also unsure if I have to pay them to clean the driveway when they said everything was fine when they inspected the property but only now they are making things up about how bad everything looks.

I am a very clean person who really cares about any property I have lived in. I have never been asked for anything at the end of a tenancy before. I am shocked as the total bill they’ve asked for is half a months rent. It’s not on an AST but the deposit is protected.

on top of all of this every time we needed a repair the job was done badly. We did complain at the time of each job but no one ever came to sort things. Can I do anything here? It’s really stressing me out. TIA.

What does your tenancy agreement say? If it says you need a professional clean at the end of the tenancy then you’ll have to clean to that standard or pay for the clean. If there weren’t weeds in the patio when you moved in, then you’ll need to sort that out. But cleaning a driveway sounds spurious - what’s ‘dirty’ about it?! If you think the landlord is being unreasonable (bearing in mind what your TA says) then dispute it with deposit protection scheme.

Dispute everything and let the deposit scheme rule on it.

Was there an inventory done when you moved in to the property? If so, it needs to be left in the same condition as you found it (for example professionally cleaned if it had been at the start of the tenancy).

If there was no inventory, then dispute any charges. The landlord doesn't have a leg to stand on as there's no proof of what it was like when you moved in.

Yes, dispute everything, and if the deposit hasn't been put in the appropriate holding scheme, then you will get compensation

If you let the deposit scheme sort it out, it's easier than dealing with the landlord.

Oh dear, your information is out of date.

Landlords are NOT allowed to require tenents to have properties professionally cleaned. Even if the tenent has signed a lease with that as a requirement it's still not allowed.

INFO HERE I hope the link works. It's page 30

Ahh the link doesn't work. Google Tenant Fees Act 2019:
Guidance for tenants

Your deposit should be protected by an official deposit scheme, contact them. Do you have any photos? If so send them. You are entitled to normal wear and tear. Frankly this doesn't sound reasonable. Fortunately you have the deposit scheme to protect you.

The contract says only needs to be left in same condition as when we arrived there. I’ve already successfully resolved some of the more outrageous items that they had to deny they had any evidence of.

Also since posting this i have realised there aren’t any pictures of some of what they’re disputing in the original inventory so now I’m thinking might be better to take them on through to the deposit scheme but I have to pay for that and I’m worried about losing more.

Losing more is unlikely, particularly as it's on them to provide evidence, abs they aren't claiming any more.

Highly unlikely the deposit scheme will back the landlord in this situation going by what you’ve said.

Ask them for details of the deposit scheme and say no more at this stage.

It sounds like you haven’t moved out yet? It’s an offence under the Tenants Fees Act 2019 for them to be asking you to have the place professionally cleaned and pay for work in the garden before you move out! They can be fined and would have to refund you the cost.

If you have moved out and the property is not as clean as it was in the check in inventory or there weren’t weeds on the patio etc they can charge you to have it done professionally. If there aren’t photos of the disputed areas, the deposit scheme adjudicator will look at the written notes eg does it say cleaned to a professional or domestic standard throughout with notes on anything sub standard or note that there were weeds in the patio or that the garden was tidy etc?

this.

they are pretty lazy and tend to just split the difference so don’t admit to ANYTHING or agree to releasing any deposit with a view to being reasonable.

also if you can disprove some of their stuff you can exclude it.

Dispute it for sure. We even got interest on our deposit that way. They are just trying it on.