Landlord selling rental

[Squigglebit]

Landlord is selling our rental property we’ve lived in over 10 years.
we did put in an offer and it was declined which is fine, it’s our maximum and understand they want more.

Landlord is now quibbling over condition of property (it’s an
older house with damp issues) despite never having once done a check in 10 years. Do they have the legal basis to keep our deposit? There is a crumbling wall due to the damp which was behind a wardrobe.

Unless it was intentional damage caused then I can see the reasoning why the landlord would want to retain deposit but the fact that their property has deteriorated over time and they have never done anything about it then it isn’t your fault. They should have been more hands-on with their rentals.

Just out of interest, what were the LL asking for?
For the sake of £20-30k it would have been easier for them to sell to you. They wouldn’t have to instruct an EA and could have skipped the fees from there and just gone through the solicitors.

I’m guessing you’ve already started to look elsewhere to live as it won’t be long before you are issued with a section 21 - even if you had to rent temporarily if you are in a position right now to buy as you risk the factor of being homeless.

I think after 10 years they should expect a fair amount of wear and tear.
Is your deposit in the protection scheme?

Your LL has some cheek @Squigglebit blaming you for their damp issue

Christ, you’ve paid their mortgage for ten years and they blame you for their lack of repairs? Madness.

No they paid to live in a Property owned by the Landlord.

@Sasqwatch either way, the landlord should’ve maintained it. That’s not a tenants job.

Yes it is

Who put the wardrobes in?

We’ve already been issued a section 21. We thankfully started looking the second it came through whilst also sorting a mortgage so we won’t be homeless.

We offered £15k under but they’re adamant they won’t take less, so eff em!

Completely agree, however Tenants do have a responsibility to advise the LL of any issues with the property.

I rented until my mid thirties, when I bought my first home. Wherever I rented (and I had quite a few as I moved around) the landlord or agency would do a check of the property at least once a year. Is that not a standard thing? I presumed it was. They usually spotted things that they wanted to repair during these visits.

No idea. This is the only rental we’ve had. We’ve always told them
of issues, the damp has been “repaired” several times already. We’ve always looked after the property and reported any issues. But yep never an official check in the entire tenancy.

Is your deposit held in a deposit scheme? If you’ve reported the issue multiple times then there’s no way they have a case for taking it. You should be fine.

Remember OP, it's not the Landlord’s decision wrt to deductions from the deposit. It has to be agreed between you both. If you don't agree, you then utilise the relevant deposit scheme's arbitration service. And you don't have to wait for the Landlord to kick things off either, you can apply to get your deposit back as soon as you check out. Any issues will then go through the deposit scheme.