Deposit dispute

[leeds77]

The letting agency from the apartment we have recently moved out of tried to charge us £300 for a new bath which they said we had damaged even though the damage would seem to be wear & tear.

After arguing the case we have been told that we will be charged £200 to take into account depreciation on the grounds that when you leave a property you can't be charged for the cost of a replacement, but can be charged for the value of the bath when we left the property which seems reasonable.

However they letting agency is trying to charge us £150 for 'decor' ie to paint over marks on walls.

I would suggest that given that decor has a lifespan of 3-5 years in a place like that (a point which was agreed by the letting agency) & the property was four years old when we moved out then it is unreasonable to charge us the full amount. Theoretically for sake of argument that the decor has a lifespan of 5 years & we moved out after 4 years then we should be charged £30.

However I have no idea of what the regulations or laws regarding this state so would appreciate any helpful advice on the subject?

[MrShed]

Again, it is a "fair replacement" cost. So in this case, you would not be expected to foot the bill for full redecoration, only a proportion based upon age and condition.

[Jhawc24]

There is a template letter here, plus read through the ARLA regs - very interesting. Surely marks on the decoration are counted as fair wear & tear!

Unfair deposit deductions

Also some good advice here Shelter: Advice and support .

Good luck, Joan

[leeds77]

I have got the list of cost from the contractor who did the work on the flat, which is as follows:

£40 to:

straighten curtain rail (due to the curtains being too heavy plus the fact that the letting agents had been out to sort this while i was there)

repair a chip in the laminate flooring
repair a chip in the door

£10 to:

repair a blister on the work surface

£40 to:

plaster over small chips in the wall
clean stain on carpet (which was caused by water leak)

£30 to:

straighten curtain rail in bedroom (due to the curtains being too heavy plus the fact that the letting agents had been out to sort this)
paint over marks on wall

£30 to:

paint over marks on wall of the hall which were caused by the fact that the door was supposed to be spring mounted & close slowly but this didn't work therefore used to close quickly thus making it impossible to get into the flat with shopping/luggage without brushing against the wall.

given that the stain was caused by a water leak i dont get how i should be responsible for this cost, similarly with the curtain rails.

the actual costs of the redecorating work don't seem unreasonable but am i right in believing that despite this i shouldn't be liable for the full cost?