Holding rent in lieu of bond

[MATTYFEZ]

Hi all,

I moved out some months ago with proper notice, but i had no responce from the letting agency despite leaving several messages.
My question is, I anticipated the agents being awkward about returning the bond (which is the same ammount as 1 month rent) due to thier lack of responce to my notice and various phone calls, so I simply didnt pay the final month and wont be asking for the bond back.

Its not Ideal so im just wondering where I stand legally on this, also the house wasnt in the best state of repair when I moved in, however there was no inventory, or at least not one i signed for, so would I be able to contest any comeback from the agents if they say that some of the dis-repair is down to me?
Its just ive got a nasty feeling they will try it on!

Thanks for any replies

[Nightmare4banks]

MATTYFEZ,in reply to your post:

I have one question for you:

Did the letting agent not request the payment of the rent from you during the last month of your tenancy?

The answer to this question should hopefully me enable me to assist you further.

[MATTYFEZ]

Hi, Thanks,

In answer, no, im not even sure they realise ive not paid yet, as I paid for the 12 month tennancy upfront in full, and left at the end of the thirteenth month.

They did call the other day to ask about weather the bills and council tax were up to date and settled, which they are, there was no mention of rent and said they will be sending somone to the property for an inspection....she didnt seem to know when I had moved out as thier internal communications appear to be non-existant.

Cheers

[Nightmare4banks]

MATTYFEZ,in reply to your post and in view:

1.To be perfectly honest with you,you were in breach of contract.

2.Having said this personally you do not owe the former landlord anything or visa versa or have any debts that are associated with the property,so move on and forget it!

Why are you worried anyway now?

As,you clearly did not seem to be worried when did not pay the rent for the last month.

Personally,I doubt very much if you would be persued by an agent that seems to be so much in a shambles plus being there was no inventory.


Anyway,I hope you find this information useful.

[MATTYFEZ]

Thankyou,

Arrrgh! just got a letter....

"we have completed a vacation at the above property and noted the following problems:

Kitchen drawer broken
tile in kitchen broken
cooker dirty
bedroom cupboard door hanging off

we hold you bond of xyz, i have sent a letter to the landlord asking for his instuction as to wether i use the bond for rent, whereupon i would expect you to take responsibility for repairs, alternativley the landlord may suggest i use the bond to put the property back to a condition fit for letting, therefore i would request the last months rent from you direct.

i await the lkandlords instruction"

all of this damage was already apparent when i moved in, and the cooker was filthy when i moved in, i had to clean it before i could use it.
the cheek of it!!!

any advice on what to do next?

[MATTYFEZ]

I have drafted this letter....

In responce to your recent letter, I would like to state a few points:

I assert that the property was left by me in the state in which it was found, and ask that you provide me with strict proof to the conterary.

I must advise you at this point that the use of my bond for betterment of the property is unlawfull.

You failed to aknowledge my notice to teminate the tennancy, despite a letter and several phone calls.

I must also point out that you have failed to return my bond within a reasonable time ( stated by ARLA to be one month ) with no good explanation.

The ammount of time it has taken you to complete the "vacation" is also unreasonable, again you have provided no explanation.

I remind you that the bond is my money, and deductions cannot be made without strict proof of the alleged problems being caused by me, and without providing me with reasonable written quotes for fixing the alleged problems.

However, on this occasion I am prepared to allow you to release the entire bond to the landlord, as payment for the final months rent.

This is a goodwill gesture and under the strict condition that this is in full and final settlement of the tennancy contract in question.

yours sincerely.

[MrShed]

Missed the obvious point - they cannot prove dilapidations to the property without a full and signed inventory at the commencement of the tenancy. I would stress this point, and stress the fact that the condition of the property on vacating is immaterial - what matters is the difference in condition between start and end of tenancy.

[MATTYFEZ]

Thanks for that MrShed, will do some editing to work that in....

Do you think I should send a letter now, or wait for more news from the agents...

Thanks

[MATTYFEZ]

New draft......should I send this or wait do you think?


[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']In response to your recent letter, I would like to state a few points:

I assert that the property was left by me in the state in which it was found, and ask that you provide me with strict proof to the contrary.
I must advise you at this point that the use of my bond for betterment of the property is unlawful.

You failed to acknowledge my notice to terminate the tenancy, despite a letter and several phone calls.
I must also point out that you have failed to return my bond within a reasonable time (stated by ARLA to be one month) with no good explanation.
The amount of time it has taken you to complete the "vacation" is also unreasonable; again you have provided no explanation.

I remind you that the bond is my money, and deductions cannot be made without strict proof of the alleged problems. You cannot prove dilapidations to the property without a full and signed inventory at the commencement of the tenancy. The condition of the property at present is immaterial - what does matter is the difference in condition between the start and end of tenancy.[/font]
[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']
However, on this occasion I am prepared to allow you to release the entire bond to the landlord, as payment for the final month’s rent.

This is a goodwill gesture and under the strict condition that this is in full and final settlement of the tenancy contract in question.

Yours sincerely,[/font]

[Flitwick landlord]

It is very remiss of the LL not to have created an inventory at the start of the tenancy - your case is EXACTLY why one is created. Not just to check whether teaspoons are missing!!

I hope you solve the problems quickly and without to much pain/heartache!!

In the future, if the LL does not provide an inventory, either insist he/she does or get one done yourself. It should cost you around £100 but will save you all this time and heartache when you check out.

HTH

[MATTYFEZ]

Thanks for the advice, just a quick update...


Ive sent the above (recorded) and had no reply from the letter,
( been about two weeks now )
so I think they have got the message. Im not holding my breath though.

Thanks again.

[MATTYFEZ]

Another update, a bit late adding this but I thought I would include it for any benefit it may have for others.

I recived yet another letter some months after, demanding £250 for garden clearance, accompanied by a hand written "gardeners" invoice.
Needless to say this was the last I have heard, I was half hoping they would take things further, but alas, I think they finally realised that they have backed themselves into a corner......

Keep copies and send everything recorded, keep the recorded recipts, its invaluable when refering back on things!!!!!!

Dear impartial letting agency, (didnt actually write that, just my little joke

I refer you to my previous letter received by your office on 03/08/07. As far as I am concerned, your claims for garden clearance are spurious.
My tenancy came to an end on the 19/05/07, some five months ago.

I find it nonsensical that five months on, you by some means regard me responsible for the garden, and I refer you to your letter dated 20/07/07, which is inconsistent with your most recent letter dated 18/10/07 in that it states the “vacation” complete and makes no mention of any problem with the garden. This, along with problems outlined in my letter (which incidentally, you have failed to respond to) received by you on 03/08/07 leads me to believe you are being deceitful for the purpose of financial gain.

I most strongly contest your statements and I can assure you there will be no further monies exchanged, and as far as I am concerned your lack of response to previous communications deems contract settled.

Yours truly......