problems with former landlord

[tigga_1961]

Im sorry in advance if this get long winded, but want to make sure i get the facts right.

We signed a 12 month sht on 24th May 2007 with my partners father as guarantor, unfortunatley he had to have a back operation in October and was unable to be guarantor after that or afford his own mortagage being unable to work, we wrote to our landlord asking if we could end the tenency early ie 7th Nov explaining the situation do we could move in with guarantor and use what we we paying rent to subsidise their mortgage, i had to sign an agreement stating that we would be responsible for rent and other costs untill a new tenant could be found, this wasnt until 15th Dec. since then we have had a letter asking for over 1600 for rents and various other costs including carpet cleaning, flea treatment, we admitted we had a small dog tho it never had fleas, and various other costs, minus £720 deposit he is now asking for £945, i am arguing the costs except the rent until new tenant was found and agency fees. He is now threatening to take us to court unless this is paid by 12th January by our guarantor who is in no position to pay as he is still unable to work and we cant pay as we only earn small salaries and also the other costs he is asking. on the 9th of november our guarantor met the landlord at the property to make sure all was in order to which he verbally agreed, and only after the new tenants moved in has he demanded these monies. As he was aware f the guarantors situation and the reason to end the tenancy early can he still persue him this way and is there anything we can do, i have wrote again to explain the situation and to query the charges and offerng to pay the rent and fees, is there anything else we can do as the worry is making us ill, also he is claiming to have the carpet cleaned, this was a new carpet tht we put down with his permision as the one he left us was rotten but he hasnt mentioned this, if anyone can offer any advice it would be greatfully appreciated,

[MrShed]

Was an inventory signed upon entering the property? What are the exact breakdown in damages costs he is claiming? I assume you realise that you are liable for the rent?

With regards the guarantor, yes they can still pursue him.

[tigga_1961]

yes an inventory was signed upon entering the property, which the landlord had changed subtley after we moved in.

Yes we have agreed we are liable to pay rent for the period until new tenant moved in and also agency fees, although we are unable to pay this in full at the current time, we have made an offer to pay this monthly as our guarantor is unable to work and risks losing his own property which is why we moved in to help.

The costs he is after which we werent made aware of until 18th dec, after new temants moved in are cleaning of carpet, missing net curtain, flea treatment of said carpet, missing bulbs(3) and removal of rubbish of which none was left. but like i said earlier he made a verbal agreement with guarantor 2 days after we left the property everything was ok, so how can he demand this money, 5 weeks later when new tenants are in the property??

[MrShed]

How much for each item?

The verbal agreement isnt worth the paper it isnt written on I'm afraid.

Was the carpet condition listed on the inventory? Was the net curtain listed? What do you mean, "none of which was left" regarding the rubbish?

[tigga_1961]

yes the carpet condition was listed on the inventory when wemoved in which is why we had it changed. out of our pocket as he wouldnt but he was happy to have this done.

what i mean by none of which was left" regarding the rubbish, no rubbish was left behind we spent 2 days clearing the place up so it was spotless even the garage was brushed out so nothing at all was left behind, i dont wanna bog you down with individual costs he is claiming all i want is information as to whether he is in the right to claim such after the event, ie 5 weeks after we moved out and after new tenants moved in, why didnt he claim this straight away, if he takes us to court where does he stand as even the guarnator isnt in a ppstion to pay his own mortgage let alone thes costs and we have made an offer whcih will be a struggle on top of everything else. if anyone is reading this thinking of renting private go buy a tent as all landlords are total tossers in my opinion..

[crash3903]

Do you have a copy of the original inventory that you both signed?

[MrShed]

Well we cant answer unless such individual costs are given. It is part and parcel of the question as to whether such costs are justifiable. Certainly the timescale(5 weeks) is a non-issue. I cant answer where he stands with regards court unless the further information is given.

Just bear in mind tigga *stands on soap box* that it is not the landlords fault that yourselves and the guarantor have found themselves unable to pay. Stating that you will "struggle" with the offer for the rent is neither here nor there - you are obliged, legally and morally, to pay that money. Also, if there are actual damages, then the landlord is quite entitled, legally and morally, to charge an appropriate fee for them. So please dont a) class all landlords as being "tossers" or b) assume that your landlord is out for whatever he can get, as thus far you havent really shown that he is, as you havent answered the questions asked. As well as the costs, it is worth answering(honestly, as you are only kidding yourself if you dont) whether the landlord has any justification for any of the costs - I am talking primarily here about the cleaning of the carpet(was it dirty or not?), the net curtain and the bulbs. Clearly he cannot charge for rubbish to be removed if it was not.

*gets off soap box*

Sorry, but two things really annoy me:

- Generalisation about landlords - I am a landlord, and there are good ones of us about. I dont sit here generalising about bad tenants, despite the number of them that I have had.
- The implication that because someone is struggling to make a payment, that a landlord(or indeed anyone owed money) should for some moral "greater good" let that lie.

Sorry for preaching.

*EDIT* - sorry just noticed something. Did the landlord place the deposit in a tenancy deposit scheme, and did you receive notification of which scheme it was held in?