Deposit dispute

[shoe_junkie]

Ok, so I moved out of my flat a week on Friday and I'm so glad to be rid of my horrible Landlady, but now she's refusing to pay me back my deposit. Here is the e-mail she sent me and my comments in red....

"Thankyou for your e mail. I have now had a good look at the property and I think you will be owing me money rather than me giving you any deposit back due to the following;
-Iron burn on lounge carpet replacement needed.Definately there when I moved in, didn't notice for a couple of weeks as its in the corner of the room.
-Fire surround cracked and replacement needed or some one in to fix it. I have already spoken to her about this. This occured when the fire wasn't working properly so we had to turn the ignition loads of times to get it to work which in turn created a crack in the plastic behind the ignition dial (I have pictures)
-Gas cooker not cleaned enough so cleaners will be brought in. Fair enough, an hours work tops so £10
-Microwave interior paint missing from below the circular turntable.This is fair wear and tear when I cleaned out the mircowave regularly the paint came off in flakes.
-Present shower curtain left in property was broken on the first eyelet, the original shower curtain was badly stained and replacement needed. I am happy to replace, as I have another one spare.
-Bedroom 2 carpet badly stained and collection of rubbish left under bed so cleaner needed. Flat mates room, will clear rubbish myself, but how much rubbish can there be under a divan bed? £50 approx for carpet to be cleaned.
-Bedroom 1 carpet iron mark on the carpet and replacement needed. Will pay for replacement carpet, 'like for like' £150 (if carpet costs £300, calc from ARLA)
-Dehumidifier caster wheels missing.£10 for missing wheels
-A gas card meter fitted to the gas meter which is against the tenancy agreement, presently £15.08 owing on the meter. Nothing in tenancy agreement, will pay for £15.08, gas meter can be removed for free.
So a lot of work needed to get the flat back to the standard that it was when you first rented it."

So thats that, altogether it comes to about £235 and my deposit was £425. When I left the flat I went back and cleaned it from top to bottom and have photos to prove how clean it was (struggled to get oven to her standards though). When we moved in we had an inventory list of items but no mention of state of carpets or walls etc.

During my time their the flat was constantly damp, with some of the walls covered in mould, and some of my shoes in the wardrobe and pictures on the window sill have gone mouldy.

Any advise on what I could do would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[blacksheep1979]

Couple of Q's

was it a joint tennancy? and how many people?

did you both (or more than 2) pay deposits?

has your flatmate(s) got their deposit back?

She has to prove costs to her and as you said only replace like for like - simply send a letter requesting the full deposit back (in writing sent recorded delivery) and put in letter if full deposit isn't returned you want receipts/invoices for work done. Give a deadline and then LBA and then courts.

[shoe_junkie]

Hi Blacksheep1979, Thanks for yout reply, In response to your questions,

1) Yes it was a joint tenancy with one other person.

2) The other tenant moved out a while before me so I have her £200 towards the deposit, so anything I get will be mine.

3) so no she hasn't recieved anything either.

Will do as you say, but do you think all the comments I've written are fair and do you think I should mention my possessions that were ruined because of the damp in the flat.

Also at the start of the tenancy, the landlord asked me to use the dehumidifier she provided (which I did nearly everyday) and that it would only cost as much as a light bulb which I have since found out probably isn't true, as most electronic devices powered by a motor use quite a lot of electricity, do you think I should mention this?

Thanks again!

[blacksheep1979]

Did you ever mention the damp to the landlord - if you didn't then they weren't given the option to remedy the situation before it did any damage.

If the inventory didn't mention condition of any of the carpets etc when you moved in and or you didn't agree to the condition of items on that list then its not really relevant.

as to your other points

microwave - fair wear and tear - yes
shower curtain - would say that s fair wear and tear, especially if the house is damp


The rest I wouldn't admit to - and can I ask how you managed to get iron marks on your carpet?

[shoe_junkie]

Thanks again blacksheep.

I mentioned the damp to the landlord loads of times and she was definately aware before we moved in as she gave us a dehumidifier.

The only thing I've admitted to is the iron mark on the bedroom carpet, as I don't want to lie, but it ****es me off that a stupid little mistake can cost so much.

Basically I was ironing (on a ironing board) and didn't put the iron down properly and it fell off and landed face down, and even though it was only for a couple of seconds theres a huge mark.

So do you think I could claim compensation for the things the damp have ruined?

Also I'm concerned that she may try to sue me before I can sue her (if it comes to that) or counter sue as she reckons I'll owe her money.

[blacksheep1979]

She more than likely won't sue as if she has any sense she'll know it'll get thrown out and your costs (for travel etc) will have to be met. You should have called one of the council agencies to confirm the damp and you would have been able to claim a percentage of the rent back (depending on severity of damp). If you put it to the landlord that as she didn't fix the damp on numerous occasions it was reported and due to this you have suffered damage to property and the extra expense of running a dehumidifier this more than offsets any claim she has to any deposit monies and so you expect it all back in full.

[shoe_junkie]

Thanks AGAIN, i will include that in the letter that I write and I have pictures of the mouldy walls!