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Anyone had any experience with the above?
Landlord we always dealt with through an agency, we moved out and they won't return the deposit and want a large amount withheld for redecoration and cleaning.
Partly I think because they were out the country for years, and weren't aware of the condition of the property when we moved in, which had a few problems - including the marks on walls they're trying to claim they require redecorating. These are all noted in the check in report by the agency, and in photos etc. Of course that's me just attributing incompetence instead of malice, the other option is why shouldn't they try to withhold my money, as they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
So court appeals, as then they have something to lose - their time at least. May stop them trying it on/make them see sense. Or the dispute process may be easier, but sounds like they're likely to award "reasonable" expense rather than bother with the dispute - i.e. the cleaning (which is unreasonably high IMO and doesn't specify what sort of cleaning was requested).
Total ball ache I could do without 🙁
Your deposit should be held by a third party under the Deposit Protection Scheme for exactly this scenario. You can go to them to sort any disputes out. If your deposit was not held in one of these schemes then the agents/landlord is breaking the law (provided you moved in after the law came into effect).
Might be worth a visit to your local CAB, they will be very good at this type of thing.
Just had this with the TDS - go online, open a dispute, list EVERYTHING honestly, file it and you'll be surprised.
It's actually a human being that reviews it and tbh it was fair.
What milky said. Law is stacked in your favour to stop rip off landlords. You'll be fine mate once you get some advice.
If your deposit is not in a scheme, then you will automatically win at court.
In my recent court case (as landlord) the sherriff asked for proof of the deposit holding, even though it was I seeking 3 months unpaid rent and damages. Apparently the case would not have been heard if I wasn't using a scheme.
As above, if the deposit is not held by the DPS or similar, the landlord is in deep poo, and you could be awarded (I think) 3x the value of the deposit.
Check out the relevant law, it's all online somewhere.
[url= https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection/overview ]Govt DPS Page[/url]
I took a landlord to small claims for a withheld deposit, under the old non-bonded system. Main evidence was the original inventory, expectation of wear and tear and lack of them maintaining. Got it all back under pre trial mediation.
Having a nightmare with this myself and the CAB were not much use.
OP if I may hijack a bit as it might help you:
We had a nightmare, I had better not put too much but it involves an incompetent agent and a money grabbing RR driving chav of a landlord, illegal and dangerous boiler installation, leaks, illegal fly tipping of industrial waste, collapsing ceilings etc etc.
Agent didn't do an inventory, landlord broke quite a few laws and we reported her to the police for harassment.
When we moved out the agents comments were that it was spotless and you couldnt have guessed we had a dog there.
A few weeks passed and no news about deductions so emailed agent and asked for deposit details so I could start a repayment request and then the fun started and we got quite petty list of things. Things like a request to pick up all the grass cuttings which my reply was to get lost and some things like we need to have the septic tank emptied to which my reply was that wasnt in the contract and we were not even told it was a septic tank and found out after moved in.
I requested the repayment online and the agent refused. No communication with us to say how much they wanted to deduct.
I waited the required time and filled out a single claim processes, ticking the box to say I was happy to use the dispute resolution service.
Again the agent rejected this and refused to use the dispute resolution. Still no request for any amount of money to be deducted.
We went to the CAB were told that all we could do is file with the small claims court so this is what I will now have to do when I can find the time to sort it all out. In the mean time we are down £900 deposit, £120 on oil we had to leave in the tank and £10 for keys we had to cut (the latter two we were promised back by the agent).
When you start the single claims process you have to get a solicitor to sign it (and pay them £5). tbh I don't see the point of the process as all it did for us was waste time and cost me £5. The DPS don't have any power at all and our account is locked and we can't get our money without taking the landlord to court.
Oh and they got new tenants in pretty quickly.
Council took no action when I reported the illegal boiler. Not even an acknowledgement to my email.
Landlord had a reputation in the area including a couple of girls who ended up buying their own replacement oven after 6 months of waiting for the one in the house to be fixed.
Deposit is in a scheme, so I guess I have to go with that.
People saying I might be surprised is encouraging, thanks.
Just seems wrong that they may as well not agree to give me my money back, as they've nothing to lose and everything to gain 🙁
Especially grates as I went out my way to accommodate their requests for access etc.
have a look here
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/tenancy_deposits/getting_your_deposit_back/deductions_from_tenancy_deposits
you are not responsible for fair wear and tear
make the effort - resolution is usually reasonable and the authorities dealing with these cases know the game well enough to deal with unreasonable demands
We had to use the deposit scheme arbitration after a dodgy landlord tried to withhold our combined £1,200 deposit back in 2012.
He already agreed on the day we moved out that the house was spotless but after two weeks of no money we tried to get in touch and he emailed us saying he was keeping the money as we'd supposedly left the house in a mess.
The guy wasn't the brightest, as he'd already emailed us the day we moved out to confirm the house was in good order, so we simply submitted that email, alongside the signed checkout report, to the arbitration scheme and we had our money within a month.
As above, if the deposit is not held by the DPS or similar, the landlord is in deep poo, and you could be awarded (I think) 3x the value of the deposit.
I've been to small claims court and was awarded the 3x deposit value after landlady refused to return a 900 pound deposit.
You then have to "enforce the judgement" which is very difficult especially if you're dealing with a crook. In my case, i did (eventually) get the money by calling in bailiffs, who actually have very limited powers.
Here's the form you need.
or use this
https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome
Looks like it's time for the dispute process as the landlord is refusing to deal with us.
However, even although it's through an agency, my understanding is my contract is with the landlord, and any court action would be against them? This makes me still consider court, as then they are forced to deal with it and seems to me likely they'd return my money if it becomes an effort for them.
You'd hope they'd see sense when presented with the facts (inventory, photos etc) wouldn't you, but don't underestimate how thick some people are.
That's just it, malice or stupidity, it's hard to tell sometimes...