L's deductions from T's deposit

[suits2order]

Landlord/tenant Dispute!!

I vacated a property 3 weeks ago and my ex-landlord is trying to get me to pay 1200 pounds in damages and cleaning bills.

This is ridiculous as the whole place is spotless, his reasons for these costings are below-

360 pounds- replacment carpet in 2nd bedroom- ( i basically ripped it by accident and tried to fix by cutting it out and putting a little square of new carpety in it's place, and there is a triangle piece of carpet in the main bedroom which was cut out by my olandlord when the carpet was fitted before i moved in, and he doesnt want to replace that carpet)

450 pounds- redecorate the whole flat- because of scuff marks and i have had pictures up (even though i have filled and painted these, he still isnt happy)

300 pounds- in cleaning bills, I.e the fridge smells and is dirty ( i have taken photos of this and it is gleaming)

Now, a few things that he isnt taking any blame for-

1) my washing machine was broken for 4 months, and i had no way of contacting as he had changed his mobile number and not told me.

2) i lived in the property for 2 years and was supposed to sign a new tenancy every 6 mnths, for the last year i have nt had an up to date agreement.

[justaboutsane]

What date did the AST start as it is possible TDS applies.

Also was an inventory in place. Without it LL will find it hard to make deductions

[GillsMan]

I vacated a property 3 weeks ago and my ex-landlord is trying to get me to pay 1200 pounds in damages and cleaning bills.

This is ridiculous as the whole place is spotless, his reasons for these costings are below-

360 pounds- replacment carpet in 2nd bedroom- ( i basically ripped it by accident and tried to fix by cutting it out and putting a little square of new carpety in it's place, and there is a triangle piece of carpet in the main bedroom which was cut out by my olandlord when the carpet was fitted before i moved in, and he doesnt want to replace that carpet)

Has he taken into account the depretiation of the carpet? He couldn't charge you for a brand new carpet if the carpet wasn't brand new at the time you left the property. He has to take into account any depretiation in value over the course of the tenancy (and of course the state of the carpet at the commencement of the tenancy). I'm also not 100% he can charge you for a whole carpet if you've only damaged a little bit of it - but I might be wrong there.

450 pounds- redecorate the whole flat- because of scuff marks and i have had pictures up (even though i have filled and painted these, he still isnt happy)

A few scuff marks would surely be 'fair wear and tear'. Though what constitutes a few scuff marks and what constitutes damage is a bit arbitrary, so it depends on what "a few scuff marks" really is. Regards pictures, you're allowed to put up pictures, I believe, provding you make good any damage in the walls.

300 pounds- in cleaning bills, I.e the fridge smells and is dirty ( i have taken photos of this and it is gleaming)

Again, seems a little high, but it depends how much cleaning he needed to do.

Now, a few things that he isnt taking any blame for-

1) my washing machine was broken for 4 months, and i had no way of contacting as he had changed his mobile number and not told me.

2) i lived in the property for 2 years and was supposed to sign a new tenancy every 6 mnths, for the last year i have nt had an up to date agreement.

Annoying, yes, but doesn't really affect your deposit I'm afraid.

Did the LL protect your deposit? If so, you can use the arbitration scheme at the Deposit Protection Scheme your LL used. If not, I'd write the LL a letter asking for the amount back in full. If he refuses, the law allows you to sue for the deposit PLUS 3x the deposit value if the deposit wasn't protected.

Please bear in mind, I'm a new LL so might have certain things wrong above, but that's my understanding of your situation. If I've got anything wrong, someone else will correct it, I'm sure.