landlord/agent not return part of deposit

[ajay19348]

Hi,

I have moved out from my rented property in 31/02/08.
In this property inventory check-in and check-out has been done by independent inventory clerk.
As per the inventory check out report the state of the property is same as at the time of check in & Ii is suggested that a full refund of the deposit is in order.

I had received a mail from agent saying lanlord has deducted 230 pound from my deposit i.e 675

He firstly states that the garden was cut back and weeded by his contractor after I moved in to the property and says that now it is not in a kept state, he also says that the skirting in the bedroom has paint coming off of it, the carpets are dirtier than when you moved in and the front door is broken. The costing are -

Gardening - £70
Repaint bedroom skirting - £30
Clean carpet - £60
Repair door - £70.

Garden was never worked by landlord and there is no record found in agent also.

I had sent a letter to landlord/agent for returning my frozen deposit & i had given him a 10 days notice other wise i will go to the court.

Not received any response from them.

Could any body suggest what should be the next step.
If i will go to the small claim cort using money claim online then what i have to mentioned in the "Particular of Claim" part because i can't write more than 1080 charaters.

Please advice

[ajay19348]

I am still waiting for the reply from the forum expert member

[demon_x_slash]

When did your tenancy commence? Was your deposit in one of the Tenancy Deposit Schemes? If not, your landlord has broken the law. You need to consult the stickies at the top of the Landlord Forum and come back with more detail, please.

[ajay19348]

Hi,

My tenancy commence in Jan 2006,it is not under a TDS.

[demon_x_slash]

Having originally rented in Jan 2006, did you subsequently renew your tenancy (sign a new contract) each year/6 months? If you renewed your tenancy after 6th April 2007 then the landlord has broken the law. Read this sticky for more details on what this means and how to proceed. There are also many threads in this section written by people in situations similar to yours.

Even if you don't qualify under the TDS for reimbursement( x 3), the landlord needs to show evidence that the disputed deductions can be justified. Evidence would need to be accountable; receipts for materials and labour if decoration/repair has taken place, for instance, or [labour @ £XX.XX p/h x XX hours] where £XX.XX is a reasonable rate. This sticky gives you more information on pursuing the court route.

Remember that landlords must make fair allowance for wear and tear; you were in the property for two years, so something like painting skirting boards may count towards that. Many also specify in the tenancy agreement that the property must be professionally cleaned when vacating, so if the cleanliness is not up to standard then s/he may be able to charge for that. Again, though, there should be evidence that the work took place; invoices, or materials receipts, etc..

Hope this helps. Please ask if you have any further questions after reading the stickies.