Dispute At End Of Tenancy

[Ironside]

Myself and my flat mate moved out of our property last weekend at which time the landlord visited in order to view the property to make sure everything was in oder. This consisted of a visit of only a few minutes having a brief look around the flat and advising us that he was more than satisfied with the cleanliness and would release our deposits.

He has since contacted the letting agent and authorised release of our deposits which i now have, however, the day after the deposit was released i had contact from the landlord stating that the toilet was not working.

As far as i was aware everything was working perfectly before we moved out. We hadn't actually stayed at the property for a week before we moved as everything had been removed in order for the place to be thoroughly cleaned. The landlord has now said that the toilet is going to cost £110 to fix and myself and my flat mate need to foot the bill for it.

I'm just looking for some advice with regards to where we stand legally. I would have been prepared to pay a reasonable amount of money but i think £110 is ridiculous for a flush handle to be fixed especially after the check out was completed and the deposits returned to us.

Thanks

[Snorkerz]

Your only real problem here is references.

The landlord is not likely to sue you for £110, he would have to be able to prove that the damage was done by yourselves - and his handing back your deposit (whilst not proof) would suggest to a court that the toilet was fine when you left.

Tell him the toilet is his responsibility under section 11(1)(b) of the 1985 Landlord and Tenant Act. That wouldn't stop him suing you if you had caused the damage, but he may not realise that.

[Interlaken]

The landlord cannot prove you broke the toilet handle. Ignore him as you have the deposit.

[Ironside]

Thank you for the prompt replies. With regards to references these were given by my landlord prior to us moving out so i won't require another reference. As already mentioned both myself and my flatmate would have been willing to pay a reasonable amount simply because i don't wish to cause any hassle with the landlord, however, even he stated it wouldn't cost much to fix before telling me it has cost £110. The landlord was well aware of the fact that there had been problems with the toilet previously as it took him 3 weeks to send a plumber several months ago when it was leaking continuously. As far as i was aware the toilet flush was working fine when we moved out but he has stated nobody else had been in the property in the two days after we moved out so we must foot the bill. This being despite the fact that he visited the property and released our deposits. Surely it can't be my responsibility that he only spent 5 minutes checking the property was clean before releasing our deposits.

Thanks again

[mind the gap]

You owe him nothing. Tell him so.