Landlord wants an extra weeks rent

[caro]

We recently vacated a rented house paid for by our insurance company while our house was repaired after floods. At the end of the tenancy the cream carpet on the stairs, landing and bedroom looked a bit the worse for wear with 4 of us in the house. With my lot we'd never have chosen such a carpet.

We rented a carpet cleaner which got the worst up, but when I met with the LL he wanted us to have it professionally cleaned or replaced. Although the tenancy expired that day he told me to keep the keys to get it sorted which seemed fair enough to me. I was concerned about paying for professional cleaning and then being told it would have to be replaced, so at the agents suggestion we got a sample area cleaned professionally to see if it would be successful. The LL was happy with it so we got the professionals in. That day I had a call from the letting agent to say that while we still had the keys we were still liable for the rent. Although this was put in a letter, we'd overlooked it as we were giving the keys back on time so didn't give it a thought.

Had a call from the agent today to say that the LL is willing to compromise and accept a weeks rent instead of 10 days! The agent is keeping a weeks rent back from our deposit while we resolve the dispute, which could mean going to court. The LL several times suggested we claim for everything from the insurance. The insurance will agree to pay the rent if they absolutely have to, but not for the carpet cleaning. I really feel the LL is pulling a fast one here and am loathe to let him get away with anything extra. I'm sure he didn't realise any more than me that be asking me to keep the keys, he was actually asking for more rent. Should I just let it go, or stand my ground? I'm not convinced we would stand a chance in court, but then I'm not convinced he's bother to take us.

[kennythecelt]

Hi Caro

Sorry to hear about this. Just trying to help.

What are the respective amounts, ie first clean, professional clean and the rent.

In absence of above info, can I suggest thinking about the following:

I'm assuming your policy has been transferred to the temp address. You could accept the offer of the rent payment from the insurance co, as an interim settlement. That gets one thing resolved.

Can you get the landlord to write a letter thanking you for resolving the accidental damage to the carpet and indicating that there is an extra weeks rent due? Send this along with all receipts, ie your first clean and professional clean to the insurance company. Why won't they pay on the carpet if they will pay the rent, which was due to the carpet clean in first instance?

The insurance co also need to realise that you have other things on your mind and that it takes time to organise cleaning etc and that it could have been 2/3/4 weeks rent had you not acted so quickly to reduce their liability.

Don't act on the above till we get more folks thoughts, as I was thinking aloud.

Subbing till resolved, as you get my vote for everything you have done for so many other Caggers, myself included!

Probably better to avoid court just now, all things considered.

[caro]

Hire of carpet cleaner £30
Sample clean £30
Full clean £110
Rent £200

The policy covered our contents at the temporary address, but I think the carpet would be classed as wear and tear which is why the insurance won't cover it. The fact that we would not have such a stupid carpet seems immaterial. They made it clear that any loss of deposit was our problem, but apart from the carpet, everything was in good order. They wouldn't pay up for belongings in the loft that got wet from condensation because our house was unheated all through the winter either.

It's just a bit galling that the landlord will get paid, although we won't have to pay the rent. All things considered I suppose we should probably just be glad to be back home. We have better things to worry about.

Thanks for the support Kenny. I guess I just wanted to sound off a bit really.

[Planner]

I would be asking why has my landlord got my deposit?

Not sure of your insurance arrangements but what actually happened when you went to this tempoary property did you sign and assured short hold tenancy agreement? and did you sign it on or after the 6th April 2007?

[caro]

The agent is holding the deposit and will not release the disputed £200 until it is settled. The balance is being returned to us. We moved to the house at the end of June 2007 and we did sign a tenancy agreement, which I'm afraid in the move back home I can't find. I guess I should ask for a copy, but I have a feeling that the agent is acting properly in this. I have to confess that legally I think we probably don't have a leg to stand on from the end of tenancy letter that we have and what the agent has said. The agent has said that he is impartial in the matter and isn't really bothered who gets the money, which strikes me as a little odd, because I'd have thought the landlord was his client.

[Planner]

Originally Posted by caro

The agent is holding the deposit and will not release the disputed £200 until it is settled. The balance is being returned to us. We moved to the house at the end of June 2007 and we did sign a tenancy agreement, which I'm afraid in the move back home I can't find. I guess I should ask for a copy, but I have a feeling that the agent is acting properly in this. I have to confess that legally I think we probably don't have a leg to stand on from the end of tenancy letter that we have and what the agent has said. The agent has said that he is impartial in the matter and isn't really bothered who gets the money, which strikes me as a little odd, because I'd have thought the landlord was his client.

Well my inital thought is I would have to disagree. Housing Act 2004 placed a duty on landlords/agents to place all deposit for ASTs signed after 6th April 2007 into one of the three registered tenancy deposit schemes. This legislation was brought in to protect against situations just like this one. The penalties for non-compliance on the landlord/agent are harsh and include return of the deposit within 10 days without any deductions and a "fine" of an additional x3 the deposit amount to be paid to you as "compensation". Have a look at the TDS stickys at the top of the page. This is possibly something you can use as a bargaining tool for the way you have been treated.

[caro]

Thanks Planner. I'll take a look. I'm lucky not to have had to rent before so your advice is most welcome.

[caro]

I've now looked at the TDS and at the agreement we have. The agreement shows that it is a short term tenancy, but doesn't mention it being assured. There is no mention of a TDS, and we certainly weren't given any info about it being put into a scheme. We moved into the property in June 2007. In fact the tenancy agreement specifically states:-

"The deposit has been paid by the tenant and is held by the agent as stakeholder, to secure compliance with the tenant's obligations under this agreement (without prejudice to the landlord's other rights and remedies)........"

I am not clear what is meant by stakeholder. Is this the usual method of holding the deposit pre-April 2007. Is it permissible now? From what I can see, it isn't. Our tenancy ended on 23rd March 2008 and we haven't had a penny of our deposit back yet.

There is no mention in the agreement of professionally cleaning carpets and curtains, and no mention that while we hold the keys we are responsible for the rent. We were notified of these issues when the agents wrote to us at the end of the tenancy, so we did not sign for or agree to these conditions. In fact I'd go so far as to say that for a family of four with cream carpets it might even be considered fair wear and tear. The landlord certainly had no right to suggest that we might have to replace the carpet, especially as the professional cleaners said the carpet was worn on stair treads anyway, and that had not just happened over the 9 months that we were there.

The more I look into this, the more I realise that we have been taken for mugs due to our inexperience of renting. The insurance will pay the rent if they must, but I'm on a mission now, and I don't see why they should, and we've spent out an extra £170.00 which may not have been necessary.

[caro]

Received a letter the other week from the letting agent informing us that if they didn't hear from us by 6th May they'd be paying the landlord the £200 they're withholding. Contacted agent but person I needed to speak to not available so asked for a call back.

Still not had call back today, and person not available again. Asked if deposit had been in TDS and was told that it had. I asked for details of the scheme and the girl I spoke to then back tracked and said it wasn't in a TDS as we were on a short term tenancy which wasn't assured, so the TDS was not required. She seemed to be falling over her words a bit and I couldn't help wondering if she was spinning me a line. She said that as far as she was aware the LL had not been repaid the money.

Anyway, I'm waiting for another call back