Unsure how far to take this

[forcliffssake]

Hello I'm a landlord and I'm upset over the state my little 2 bed has been left in. Tenants moved out on day rent was due without giving notice. I still have a mortgage to pay but I guess at least they are out.
The end of tenancy inventory said the letting agent was going for full claim on deposit but the parents of one tenant is contesting it.
I am not easily shockable but he stage it has been left in was incredible. They had cats and the bottom of doors have rotted and one door won't close. Skirting boards have rotted. Carpet was taken up and not replaced. The toilets are black. Holes in walls from stairgates and goodness knows what else.
The whole place stinks of cats so the rest of the carpets have to be binned. Quotes for painting and cleaning have been done by landlord and are £1500 (yes it is that bad) and another 800 for carpets.
They have taken £400 worth of items with them -fixtures and fittings and garden furniture. They are all clearly on the inventory when they moved in and not when they've moved out.
Agent is pretty confident on winning the loss of deposit but that is about £500 and only the rent they should have paid.
I was wondering whether anyone here has successfully won a small claims court case in something like this? I'm considering reporting the missing stuff as theft.
Any advice welcomed x

I'm afraid I don't know, but a hopeful bump for you OP.

How long were they living there? When was the last inspection? Were they allowed to have cats?

Last inspection was December and it looked ok but I suspect the furniture hid the awful state of it. No pets originally but they asked if they could have a small animal. We love pets and said yes. What a mistake.
I'm upset that they can leave it in that state, steal things and they say they want the deposit back. Incredible. First and last time I rent out. I am selling it.

Join a landlord forum on Facebook and you'll get good advice. Take lots of photos, videos, claim deposit and do a money claim online for the rest. It helps u have parents details. You can't claim for your time cleaning (unless professional) only things you have receipts for. Eg Year old carpet ruined, should last 10 years you can claim 9/10ths. Be sensible and fair. They also need to pay the notice period out of the rent. There are also some issues in that they've not surrendered the tenancy correctly- make sure u get it in writing. They are responsible for council tax until end of the notice period and don't forget to take the meter readings.

Were parents guarantors? If so lucky you!

I was once present when a case like this was taken to an actual criminal court by the landlords who accused the tenants of theft because so much had been taken. That probably was a bit of an overreaction (based on what the judge said) but I definitely think you should think about small claims.