Ensuring complete return of deposit...

[marcusfox]

Assuming the LL/LA have provided you with the prescribed information relating to your deposit protection with DPS, contact the the DPS and tell them you wish to raise a dispute. Then the scheme arbitrator will look at your LL's claim and your defence in the light of any evidence (the onus will be on your LL to prove his proposed deductions are justified), and decide who gets what.

It may well be the case that you get the whole deposit back - especially if you have photos to show what state you left the property in when you left.

I am inclined to believe they have not done any cleaning in the property, especially as I had to ask them to get a cleaner in to clean the bathroom floor and bath (and to come back and do the bath again as they hadn't done it the first time) and much of the property was dirty when I moved in - noted as dirty on the inventory. There was also a disgustingly dirty bath mat and wooden after shower drainer thing that was literally stuck to the floor with filth that their cleaner just washed around and after I lifted it I was treated to a quantity of the previous resident's body hair.

[mind the gap]

I am inclined to believe they have not done any cleaning in the property, especially as I had to ask them to get a cleaner in to clean the bathroom floor and bath (and to come back and do the bath again as they hadn't done it the first time) and much of the property was dirty when I moved in - noted as dirty on the inventory. There was also a disgustingly dirty bath mat and wooden after shower drainer thing that was literally stuck to the floor with filth that their cleaner just washed around and after I lifted it I was treated to a quantity of the previous resident's body hair.

Er...thank you, we get the idea!

It will hinge on what the LL can demonstrate the property was like when you moved in and to what extent (if any) it had deteriorated by the time you left. He cannot deduct for fair wear and tear, nor for damage he cannot prove you did, nor for cleaning which made it better than it was when you moved in.

As I said, if you have evidence disporving his claim, so much the better.

[marcusfox]

Er...thank you, we get the idea!

It will hinge on what the LL can demonstrate the property was like when you moved in and to what extent (if any) it had deteriorated by the time you left. He cannot deduct for fair wear and tear, nor for damage he cannot prove you did, nor for cleaning which made it better than it was when you moved in.

As I said, if you have evidence disporving his claim, so much the better.

Unfortunately I do not have a detailed photographic record of the initial condition of the property.

[quarterday]

Landlord not returning deposit

shame to hear of this sort of thing: only damages standing of landlords generally with the general public.

[mind the gap]

Unfortunately I do not have a detailed photographic record of the initial condition of the property.

Does the LL?

If not, and all the inventory says is that the property was in a dirty condition when you took possession of it, then I think he will struggle to convince an adjudicator that he is justified in deducting for cleaning.

[marcusfox]

Indeed, still I can't imagine how a "light clean" is going to cost anything near £90 in the first place - I could have had the place cleaned and repainted professionally for maybe a bit more than that, it's not as if it's a multibedroom house, but a one bedroom flat.

[mind the gap]

Indeed, still I can't imagine how a "light clean" is going to cost anything near £90 in the first place - I could have had the place cleaned and repainted professionally for maybe a bit more than that, it's not as if it's a multibedroom house, but a one bedroom flat.

In that case the adjudicator may well throw out the claim on the grounds that your LL is just being greedy. £90 represents about 7- 9 hours' cleaning time. If he cannot persuade the arbitration service that 7-9 hours' cleaning was necessary, then you will probably get the £90 back.

[marcusfox]

In that case the adjudicator may well throw out the claim on the grounds that your LL is just being greedy. £90 represents about 7- 9 hours' cleaning time. If he cannot persuade the arbitration service that 7-9 hours' cleaning was necessary, then you will probably get the £90 back.

That's why I was thinking of asking the agent for copies of the invoices for the work done, as I feel it's a made up job that they know is going to be hard for anyone to disprove was necessary.

[marcusfox]

They have just sent me the invoice that I requested - £7 for a lightbulb and £70 for cleaning - a general light clean of the property including the oven (which I never even used, but cleaned along with the rest of the property), and the cooker hob top, along with the fridge - plus VAT.

On my inventory, every item in the property is listed, and where there is a light or other fixture, it is also listed on the inventory. All the items mentioned on the inventory were checked in turn according to their place on the list, as you would expect to do when following a checklist of items. It therefore follows that items not listed on the inventory would not be checked, particulary if you had a limited amount of time to check the whole inventory.

It turns out that recessed into the bottom of the kitchen cabinets (simply marked as "wall mounted kitchen cabinets - fair condition" on the inventory), there are downlighters. One of these was not working, and I'm fairly sure it was not working when I first discovered them, albeit some time after I had handed in the inventory. At the time of discovery it did not strike me that I had not checked these and that they were not listed, and in any case, the inventory had been submitted.

There were several instances where lights were not working when I moved in, and these, where listed, were marked as such on the inventory. The contract says that I am liable for replacing lights when they fail, yet it was not done for when I moved in, in almost half a dozen cases around the property. I have not been charged for these, whether or not they have been replaced for the next tenant, I don't know.

So am I liable for the replacement of a downlighter which wasn't checked because it wasn't listed on the inventory?

[Poppy35]

if its not on the inventory then they cannot charge for it. simple as

The procedure for using deposit money should be

1. LA writes to you to inform you of what they intend to deduct.
2. YOu write back and confirm you dont wish these deductions to be made.
3. Lodge a dispute with DPS/TDS whoever its with....LA gives you back undisputed amount whilst arbitration decides who gets the other money.

they should never be doing the work without your permission.

do what MTG says and lodge dispute the TDS/DPS and go from there..

[marcusfox]

Well, I appear to have won the dispute - I contacted the arbitrators as the adjudication looks to have been decided at the end of last month - but the person on the phone told me to call back next week as "they are having trouble getting the money from the agent".

What does this mean exactly? The same as a county court case that you win, but you still don't get your money because the person doesn't want to pay up and there's nothing you can do to force them to pay?

[jeffrey]

No. An arbitration award (AA) is enforceable by Court proceedings. Provided that the defendant is a "won't pay" rather than a "can't pay", AA and County Court Judgment in favour of the claimant/plaintiff enable extraction of funds from the recalcitrant defendant.