Should we return tenant’s deposit in full?

[RedPepperGreenStepper]

DH’s mum passed away unexpectedly 13 years ago. We became unintentional landlords as it was the best option at the time.

We struck lucky with lovely tenants who made it their family home and lived in the house for 13 years; they have three DC and two cats. Due to a change in our own circumstances, we served S21 a few months ago and the tenants have already moved on.

We now need to return their deposit of around £700. However, DH wants to make large deductions , whereas I believe we should return it in full. The deposit it protected so DH will not make the final decision if the tenants dispute it.

The house was not decorated or professionally cleaned prior to the tenants moving in as it was rather rushed from both sides. We live hundreds of miles away so we have never inspected the property, but have arranged repairs when necessary.

The tenants have (with permission) and at their own expense:

*Replaced all carpets
*Decorated the rooms (one is wallpapered in Peppa Pig, the other is Zoo themed, so it’s not neutral decor).
*Re-decorated the hallway, stairway and landing in a neutral colour way
*Fenced off the yard (it was an open yard when they moved in).

The house is now looking tired but it is generally clean and tidy and has been looked after as a family home.

DH reasons for deductions:

*The wallpaper and paint is scuffed in quite a few places around the house (the wallpaper the tenants added).

*Theres a cracked patio slate in the yard.

*There’s a crack in part of the pipework under the utility sink (the tenant said this was present when they moved in but as they rarely used the utility sink, it wasn’t a problem. They did say it has widened over time and will now leak slightly if it is used).

*A fence panel needs to be replaced (this was the tenants fence) .

*There are weeds growing through the patio in the yard.

*The flooring joints have weakened and there are now sizeable gaps in the flooring (basic laminate).

*The entire home needs redecorating.

We are planning to move a relative in to the home temporarily before we sell next year and it will need some work. However, I do not agree with DH that this is the tenant’s issue and I worry he is going to sabotage our good relationship with our tenants over a small amount of money.

None of the issues were intentional damage as is clear from the way the house has been left. The tenants cleaned before they left and removed all rubbish. I’m concerned we’re going to pay out more to dispute this than to just return the deposit.

Thoughts?

Tell DH that the 2 of you were barely better than slumlords and you have absolutely no right to keep the deposit! YOU should be paying THEM for the up keep on the property and the fence they paid for and kindly left you!

The property should have been decorated at your expense at the beginning, probably at least once mid-term and again at the end. You should have paid for the fence and carpets and possibly for carpets another time during the tenancy. It also sounds like there were repairs to the house and garden you also should have paid for.

These tenants have saved you thousands and he wants to rip them off for another £700! Holy shit!

I hope you're embarrassed about your ignorant, greedy arsehole of a DH

He's a prick. I'd be looking at him in a whole new light if my DH did this.

He in fact owes them a bloody thank you bonus for making the house a lovely family home and moving out, everything he's listed is just petty crap.

Yes, it is, isn’t it? I have only ever served notice on unreasonable tenants, twice for non payment (one left the house in a disgusting state) and once for malicious damage because we asked them to pay the second time of causing damage when we’d paid the first time.

I agree with you OP the deposit should be returned in full, you tenants have been good & improved/maintained the house with a fence etc that would have cost you way more than the £700.
I doubt the things you’ve mentioned would be acceptable deductions & I think your DH is being mean.

Ask your DH to reverse it and imagine he had been the tenant. He’s put in the carpet, decorated, paid for a fence….
Would your DH like and expect his deposit back?

You don't need to use your savings OP the tenants will contest the deductions, they will win, and you and your husband will be rightly slated for trying to profit off them.

Does your husband want them to fully redecorate before they move out? That is the landlord's job and it's definitely due after 13 years.

He should be thanking his lucky stars for having no issue tenants for so long.

He won’t win. The Tenants will hopefully dispute it and win and your husband will look the greedy fool that he is!

If you had had new tenants every few years and paid a Letting Agency to sign them up you’d have paid way more than £700.
13 years of decent tenants - worth their weight in gold.
Your husband is being really unreasonable.

It's in a deposit scheme so thankfully, they will have to return it because from the list given by the OP, none of those points would count as a valid reason to withhold the deposit

Thank God for the rent deposit scheme

None of those items are deductible- I had a tenant absolute trash mine and fail to pay last 2 months rent and they still got it all back. The deposit protection is absolutely useless for landlords to the extent I have stopped taking a deposit. It’s absolutely worthless.

As an ex landlord myself, I'm really really shocked with your DH's attitude.

He is trying to profit from them further using their deposit which is wholly unacceptable and illegal.

Of course you return the deposit in full.

I rent, and some years ago (prior to DPS) I was living in a flat belonging to a friend, no issues there, she behaved very fairly towards me.
Her partner came round to do a minor repair and we were chatting (he's also a friend), when he mentioned someone he knew who was a landlord, who said he always kept the deposit so he could re-carpet and decorate, and took no account of the state of the property, even if they left it immaculate he still kept the money. My friend's partner seemed to think this was a really good idea. Let's just say he didn't think so by the time he left!
Sounds like OP's hubby is one of those who see tenants as cash cows only.

13 years and no trouble, give the deposit back! Your husband's being a prick.

But I thought you said the deposit was in a rent deposit scheme? In which case, your DH has no say in whether its returned or not

Do not use your own savings to plug the gaps left by an inadequate, miserly grifter!

The tenants should be able to challenge his attempt at keeping the deposit, and show him how unreasonable he is being.

And people wonder why landlords get a bad rep! Good God! Decent tenants for 13 years and you’re begrudging them £700 for basic wear and tear! Wow.

This.

You've already kicked them out of their home. Keeping anything from the deposit would be petty and nasty.

After 13 years you’d expect to repaint and recarpet everything. It all sounds like fair wear and tear. I don’t think he stands a chance of keeping the deposit.

Your husband is being extremely foolish and greedy.

You have had fantastic tenants and this is how he wants to thank them?

What a piece of work he is!

The deposit is protected so hopefully his miserly deductions will just get laughed at.

How can you want to be with such an unpleasant man?

I think it’s a lovely gesture that you would use your own savings, but as PP have said, if your DH tries to dispute returning it, he’s just not going to be successful because what you’ve described it totally normal wear and tear. Landlords should expect to need to replace carpets and repaint every few years at their own cost.

agree with the others, this does not show your husband in a good light at all and based on this alone he sounds like a nasty piece of work who has done the bare minimum as a land lord in terms of maintenance.

deducting for wear and tear to wall paper that the tenants put in at their own expense (with permission) is laughable.

With the greatest of respect, your husband is a bellend.

For example - a broken fence panel - how can that be the "tenants fence"?! They've just been kicked out of the house they don't own after 13 years.

I feel really sad for your former tenants if that is the route your husband ends up going :(

Sounds like normal wear and tear which you wouldn’t keep a deposit for and if anything sounds like the house would be in better condition than when they received it. He’s just being tight cos he knows he has to pay for some updates on it