landlord keeping some deposit

[Almo23]

Hi, just after some advice.

Moved out of a rented flat yesterday and the landlord has phoned today saying he will be keeping £125 of my deposit and £25 of my flatmate's deposit.

He says that we left the oven dirty and that the cleaner he uses charges £50 to clean an oven. The oven wasn't spotless when we left, but it wasn't caked in food or anything.

He is charging me £100 for two small stains on the mattress of my bed. I don't dispute the stains were caused by me, one is about six by two inches, the other about six by six inches. He says that the mattress was new when we took over the flat and that it will cost him at least £100 to replace it, which he says is necessary because "no tenants will accept a mattress with stains on it". He has told me this after I moved back home (200 miles from the flat) and says that if i was at the flat today I could have taken the mattress with me (and paid the £100).

Does this sound fair? I feel that £100 is a lot to charge for two small stains and have told him this but he says it is his flat fee.

[Nightmare4banks]

Almo23,

How much was the original deposit paid by both you and your flatmate?

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

[Jhawc24]

I found this link on another thread, it's helped me put together an LBA letter to my ex landlord. Your landlord cannot charge you for replacing with a new mattress just like for like, depending on the age of the mattress he needs to allow for depreciation. Why couldn't the mattress be cleaned? He has also got to provide you with copies of invoices for anything he has to replace or have cleaned.

Unfair deposit deductions

Good luck.

[Almo23]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies.

The original deposit was £422.50 each.

I have had a look at the link, and with interest the ARLA document. I am a little nervous/confused as to who decides what is reasonable - eg, the landlord states that he cannot let the flat with the mattress in that condition - can he just say this or does he need proof?

Do you think that the best course of action (currently) would be for me to write, recorded delivery, enclosing a copy of the ARLA regulations, with the relevant "general examples" highlighted and asking that the matter is resolved amicably? I don't need a reference and my flatmate already has one, so I'm not too worried on that count...

[Nightmare4banks]

Almo23,

Personally,I feel that most landlords would not want to let out a properties with stained mattresses.This means he would probably have to replace it.

However...

I have a suggestion why don't you buy your landlord a replacement cheap secondhand mattress of the same size as the stained one but of course it has no stains on it?I am sure you should be able to find one that costs less £100 through a secondhand furniture shop or the classified ads in the locality where your previous property was.You could also probably pay for the delivery of this mattress and disposal of the stained mattress.



After enquiring around about the prices of mattresses and if you find one say for £60 including the disposal of the old mattress - put the idea forward to your landlord and see what his reaction is.Also,double check he may want to keep the stained mattress - this is nothing to do as your main objective is to provide him with a mattress that has no stains as it was at the start of the tenancy.Also,this would save you the cost of removing it.

Just a thought!

[Jhawc24]

If you are unable to replace the mattress yourself because of the distance away you are at present. Then I would write and request invoices for the cleaning and the mattress he has to provide these. £100 is a lot for a replacement mattress, as it was new when you moved in it depends on how old it was allowing for fair wear and tear when you moved out.

You may want to do your own homework and get a quote for a replacement mattress and then allow an amount per year for depreciation this will give you an idea of how much the landlord should really be charging.
Regards, Joan

[Almo23]

I have sent a letter enclosing the ARLA guidelines, two quotes for mattress cleaning (both of which are less than the example quoted in the ARLA guidelines) and agreeing to pay £35 - the top end of the ARLA example. I have had no reply. I am happy to send an LBA, but concerned about the prospect of going to court - would I actually win a case like this? I am fine with paying the cost of cleaning the mattress, but as I understand it the landlord cannot charge me for the full cost of a new mattress, and at any rate must undertake the most reasonable course of action, which would be cleaning rather than replacement. Any advice?

[Jhawc24]

The landlord would have to defend his charges in court and explain why he couldn't get the mattress cleaned. If it was his decision to replace the mattress with new then you should not have to pay the difference between what it would have cost for cleaning and for replacing with like for like.

You have made a reasonable offer of £35. Make sure you explain that in your LBA letter. And whatever amount is outstanding will incur 8% interest from the date it should have been returned to you. Plus court costs. So in the end the landlord will end up paying a lot more back.

Also, he has to provide you with copies of invoices for the oven cleaning and mattress.

Good Luck. Joan

[roger56]

This actually seems fair unless you can absolutely prove the stains were present before you moved in ie they are on the incoming inventory.
I say this because I took my landlord to the small claims court for a similar type of minor damage situation. Briefly:

Incoming inventory showed a door with two marks.
Outgoing inventory showed one mark and one damage (a small circular indentation on the veneer).
I was charged just under £100 for a replacement door.
I knew I had not caused any such damage and felt the damage was so minor that with a cursory look, it could be seen as a mark.

I lost on the balance of probability. Why?

Two points:

First only the outgoing inventory identified damage present and a picture was produced (and yes I re-examined the door after moving out, you are entitled to that). The point on this was that one of the marks on the incoming inventory could have been cleaned off and a mark is a mark, not damage.

More importantly, I expected the proceedings to be myself vs landlord, I did not expect to have 2 extra defendants. Who were they? The landlords husband and the estate agent acting for them. So the Judge has three witnesses (under oath) to say the damage was not there at incoming inventory, against myself. I just saw two marks, in and out.

The Judge was very reasonable and explained his reasoning clearly and yes he applied the law. He even commented about it seeming to be an "ass" at times.

The small claims court is best for this (but you must try to resolve it first with the Landlord or Agent - do all this in writing, keep the letters factual, avoid emotional statements), and I wouldn't say absolutely don't try it, just be prepared for the un-expected. I found the exercise interesting and would go through it again. Be prepared to spend some time getting forms filled in correctly, and be prepared for a bit of a wait (months). You'll probably need to allocate a day for Court proceedings. Incidently, the hearing is usually informal and not in a large court room for these simple disputes. Also you need to be aware that the defendant has the option of using a court near where he lives - it may mean you have the expense of travelling to court.

Here is a starting point:
Making a Claim

Hope that helps.