I wish I'd seen this thread at the time. They shouldn't have a leg to stand on unless they've sent you the inventory to sign shortly after moving in. Usually they present it on the day and you have 7 days to make additions or changes and sign and return it, but if you don't return it within 7 days, it's automatically assumed that you've accepted it. The EAs set the terms of the time; mostly it's 7, I've had one (direct LL) say within a month. I had one bastard cheeky EA who asked us to initial it as we were collecting the keys for the first time. I told her categorically 'no', and she called me every single day for the next five days, sometimes twice a day.
There ought to be more protections around inventory timings because signing off something electronic when you have no internet connection, possibly no phone signal, computer or tablet to review them on, within 7 days with an EA putting pressure on you is absolutely crap. My last house took me 3 weeks of extremely painful journeys and I didn't get the internet for 5.
The law states a 'reasonable' period of time; that's subjective. I'm literally moving across three counties over mountains in the fog and the LL has left half their bloody stuff in there and is constantly coming back to collect stuff or fix stuff and getting in my way. Is 7 days reasonable in those circumstances?
I digress. I'm mostly just talking for future reader's information.
I'm dismayed at how long it took for your deposit to be returned. Specifically, which of the three tenancy deposit schemes was it lodged with, please?
People can be vicious when it comes to money. If you interfere with their 'relationship' with the new and/or following tenants (even if it is just by telling them they're crap and scammers), you could find yourself getting a visit from the Police on harassment or slander charges or something along those lines. There seem to be an increasing number of stories like this in the press, which make me roll my eyes:
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/aug/04/met-arrest-woman-after-facebook-posts-about-her-ex-partner-a-serving-officer
You've just been through a stressful time and I can tell by your language that you're still extremely stressed. At least, I absolutely can't control my potty mouth when my stress levels are through the roof, anyway. Maybe you just really like swearing :)
Give yourself a bit of a break from revenge for a while? Settle into your hopefully lovely new home, and perhaps be content with eyeballing the tenant/future tenants from afar and thinking 'you poor sods.'
There's a new law coming in at the end of this year; landlords won't be able to force people to take 12 or even 6 month tenancies, and, as SOON as it comes into effect, ALL tenancies are effectively dissolved. So, as soon as that happens, any tenant anywhere in the country can give 2 months' notice to quit. And the LL has to give 4 months notice and can only do it to sell or move back in, which will be monitored. S21 'revenge' eviction notices will be banned (and it's a really real problem, 45% of people who complain about repairs then get evicted).
In theory, tenant could move in on day 1, think 'this is a bit shit', give two months' notice, and move out on day 2 months 1 day.
Also, tenants have a right to dispute rent increases, and during this change in the law, if the court agrees the rent increase is reasonable, it won't force the tenant to back-pay all the time between the rent increase request and the court decision. Which is crap for LLs but great for tenants.
Soooo, you may yet see a constantly revolving door of tenants who have far more rights than you sadly did. Which could be fun for you to see :)
All the best for your better future, and I'm terribly sorry to hear about your sister passing away.