Problems getting my deposit back

[mysterytrain]

Hello everyone. I moved house two months ago and I have got a few problems getting my full deposit of £595 back.

Even though my old landlady said it was alright to paint adequately when I moved in, and that it could stay like that when I move out (only per verbal contract), she demanded me to repaint the walls to "Magnolia" . She estimated the costs for a painter at £90.

She also said that as there were professional cleaners in the house before I moved in, I would have to pay for them when moving out. I found this stipulation in my contract so I understand there's not much to do against it. However, she estimated the costs at £70 for the whole house plus "from" £30 for the oven plus £40 for carpet cleaning. There only was one carpet on a narrow stairway to the second floor bedrooms and it was already well used when I moved in, so I feel a bit cheated with that. It's the same for the oven, it never, at any point looked different to when I moved out.

However, the letting agency through which I was in contact with the landlady didn't give me the deposit back and they also said that painting occurred to be much more expensive than expected. I demanded bills for all the work done but they replied they would never give out any bills.

With help from this page I wrote a letter to both the agency and the landlady stating that I would go to court if i didn't receive at least the amount not in dispute in between the next 14 days. I now received £254.

Thus, they charged £341 for painting and cleaning a clean house and I still didn't receive any bills, even though I demanded them several times.

A thing to my advantage might be that I have never seen nor signed an inventory, so I am not even sure if the landlady had the right to redecorate to my costs.

What should I do next? Should I really go to court? Should I settle with less than half of my original deposit? Is it even legal to exceed an estimate by twice the amount without handing out any bills?

Help is very much appreciated!

Debbie

[Mr_Joe]

you should receive invoices for any work carried out. I would suggest sending the LBA template letter in the stickies section under 'unfair deposit deductions'

[MrShed]

Thoughts:

- You are entitled to receipts for works YOU have paid for.
- It is classed as an unfair term according to the OFT to have the property cleaned by "professional" cleaners on leaving. As such, it is likely that you can remove this amount entirely as long as the property was in the same state of cleanliness
- your verbal contract is as legally binding as a written one, but is not as provable.
- Without an inventory or another adequate method of proof of the condition of the property at commencement of tenancy the landlord will struggle to prove damages/costs, which they HAVE to do in court

[mysterytrain]

Thanks a lot, that sounds quite encouraging. I will try to get to the landlady with a second letter. Should I send one to the letting agency as well? Or do I understand correctly that they are not really liable and so I could just forget them at this stage and only address the landlady? After my first letter, I received no further response, even though I also included the following:

" I require your reply to arrive no later than 14 days after the date of this letter, together with your cheque for any amount not in dispute. If I receive no satisfactory reply by then, I will begin a County Court action for recovery of my deposit without further warning.

The Court can order you to pay back the deposit, and the proceedings are very straightforward. Also, the Courts are very sympathetic to tenants whose landlords do not fulfil their statutory obligations (including not providing an inventory at the start of the tenancy).

I look forward to hearing from you within 14 days."


Should I go to court directly? I am not even sure how to do it...

Thanks again,

Debbie

[MrShed]

Ignore the letting agency IMO - although how does the tenancy agreement state the deposit was held? (agent or stakeholder)?

I personally would send another letter giving a further 7 days, but draft on here prior to sending...