End of rental contract charges and deposit
Discussion
I have done a search and found a few threads that are sort of along the same line but partly from the other perspective.
I am just ending a year long tenancy at a property and today went around the house with the landlord assessing any 'damage'. Unfortunately I am in a bit of a tricky situation as it is a five bedroom property, of which three of the tenants have been in three years and two of us joined 12 months ago to replace those moving on.
When the previous two tenants left they were charged out of their deposit various amounts for damage. When we moved in although we signed a contract and paid a deposit and the landlord never appeared to do another inventory so they've nothing signed by me. I am more than happy to own up to any damage or things that need to be repaired and have always had more or less the full deposit back from every property I have resided in (minus 40p at the last one for lightbulbs...). The landlord flipped the mattress over on my bed and there is some kind of stain - it is on the window side and looks like it could have previously been caused by condensation or something similar, however it is barely noticable and does not detract from the functionality of the bed. For this he wants to take my entire £300 deposit because he claims he'll have to replace the mattress. For the entire year I have had a mattress protector on and kept everything else pristine so was honestly shocked to find anything was out of place.
I have had a look and the deposit is in a protection scheme though another tenant has the paperwork so I cannot check which scheme it is in. What rights do I have as it is his negligence that has led to the lack of signed inventory? I have made an attempt to clean the mattress and will go back and see how it has turned out in a couple of hours but if it is still stained where do I stand? I see £300 as a hideous amount to be kept considering the property is in a state that is more than rentable by his standards...
I am just ending a year long tenancy at a property and today went around the house with the landlord assessing any 'damage'. Unfortunately I am in a bit of a tricky situation as it is a five bedroom property, of which three of the tenants have been in three years and two of us joined 12 months ago to replace those moving on.
When the previous two tenants left they were charged out of their deposit various amounts for damage. When we moved in although we signed a contract and paid a deposit and the landlord never appeared to do another inventory so they've nothing signed by me. I am more than happy to own up to any damage or things that need to be repaired and have always had more or less the full deposit back from every property I have resided in (minus 40p at the last one for lightbulbs...). The landlord flipped the mattress over on my bed and there is some kind of stain - it is on the window side and looks like it could have previously been caused by condensation or something similar, however it is barely noticable and does not detract from the functionality of the bed. For this he wants to take my entire £300 deposit because he claims he'll have to replace the mattress. For the entire year I have had a mattress protector on and kept everything else pristine so was honestly shocked to find anything was out of place.
I have had a look and the deposit is in a protection scheme though another tenant has the paperwork so I cannot check which scheme it is in. What rights do I have as it is his negligence that has led to the lack of signed inventory? I have made an attempt to clean the mattress and will go back and see how it has turned out in a couple of hours but if it is still stained where do I stand? I see £300 as a hideous amount to be kept considering the property is in a state that is more than rentable by his standards...
If there is no signed inventory and therefore no record of you causing the damage then the tenancy deposit scheme will find in your favour. You need to dispute the claim and say you would like it handled by TDS. Its not worth his time and expense to go to arbitration for £300 so hopefully he'll cough up or offer you a compromise.
LouiseGT4 said:
£300 for a mattress! Was is a super expensive latex memory foam model or a cheap jobbie from Argos???!
Unfortunately for me it is a memory foam mattress - when he came round the house to deliver them it was all a bit dodgy, they were unpackaged and delivered from an unmarked van. He claims they cost £300 but retail at £500. He seems to enjoy making things up...Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff