help regarding deposit and landlord

[haynat]

Hi all
Im hoping i can get some advice here.
I moved out my private rented property 2 weeks ago.
My landlord is still holding my deposit which is £1700.
I received a letter from my landlords solicitor, stating that there client has inspected the property and that I have made substantial changes to the interior of the property without gaining consent. i was shocked when i read this and I totally disagree with this. the property was left in excellent condition with no damage.
Im also being told that where a central heating boiler or gas fires are installed to arranged pay for theses to be serviced by a cori registered plumber before the termination of the tenancy, and this will be stopped out my deposit, but surly this cant be right. There is a clause in the agreement that states this, But could it be considered as an unfair term?
I feel that my landlord is trying to profit from my deposit.
Any advice or help would really be appreciated. many thanks

[i_spam]

Go to you local citizens advice and see what they say.

[Nightmare4banks]

haynat,in reply to your post:

1.Your landlord's solicitors are stating that you made substantial changes to the property rather than damaged it - why do you think this was mentioned? As there there is a very big difference between damaging a property and making changes to it. Please clarify.

2.The issue regarding the Corgi Certificate is absolute bull**it because it is the duty of the landlord to issue at his expense an annual gas safety certificate for the boiler and/or any gas appliances in the property at the start of the tenancy.Failure to do so is a VERY serious criminal offence due to the dangers involved with faulty gas appliances and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Anyway,one out of two in your favour is not too bad!

Hopefully with a bit more information I can help you more after you reply to point 1.

[haynat]

Hi
Thanks for your reply. In the letter from the solictor, they said there is substantial changes to the property and they was getting estimates for. To be honest, i was complety shocked when i read the letter.There was def no damage to the property and the only changes i made was painting the walls and i replaced the worn carpet with flooring. The property was left in excellent condtion, and i did take some photos when i left. I have sent a letter back requesting what work they are taking about, iv been told a letter is being sent out to me regarding the matter. The property was re let out just over a week later. So i think im being ripped off. any advice would be great. Many thanks.

[Nightmare4banks]

haynat,in reply to your last post:

1.To be perfectly blunt with you,yes you are probably(likely more than not) being ripped off!

2.However,I would suggest that to wait for a response from the solicitor and when it does arrive post its contents here.

3.If you do not get a reply from the solicitor by say around the second week into the new year(let's face it,most offices are going to be shut in part or fully of the next two weeks anyway) I would then do the letter before action (template can be found in the library on this forum)and go down the county court route.

4.It is good that you have taken photographs as these can be a very good defence weapon in any potential litigation against your former landlord.

[haynat]

Well i got a letter back from LL solictors. Im being charged £1,790.00, for remedial work in the property. I`m totally shocked.
various work as follows


1.Dining Room
Stains on wall- needs repainting (I never noticed this)
painted straight onto skirting- needs sanding and painting, ( i`m aware of this, can i be charged for this as its not damage)
stains on carpet- needs cleaning (A couple of marks , iv lived there almost 5years with same carpet, would this be fair wear and tear??)

2.living room
laminate floor laid with no proper finishing edges, cracks left every where- needs replaced with new carpet ( i replaced LL carpet as it was old and worn, i put flooring down, no noticable cracks just bit of wear and tear, and surely having edging down would be my choice)

3. Hallway laminate floor laid so poorly, cracks every where no beading, needs replaced with new carpet. (Was not laid poorly, some beading missing, but i was in the property for almost 5 years)

4. downstairs shower room lobby
Paint on linoleum floor- needs cleaning ( 3 spots of small paint )
showerdoor pulled from hinges. need to replace shower door. ( was not broke, shower door isn`t even on hinges)

5. main bedroom
carpet stolen/ removed- needs carpet replaced ( i removed old carpet and put in loft as was very worn, and i stained the floor boards which looked good)

6. bedroom 2
tenant stripped wallpaper from walls, leaving holes and poor wall surface - complete re decoration , re paper and skirting painted. ( I did strip the walls and paint, but there was no holes or damage just the wall was never good condition)

Painted wall and Staight on to skirting ,(i got a bit of paint on skirting board) drilled tie back and rail on to wall - ( put curtain rail up , was no damage, and i left curtains up)
need to remove tie back and rail, fill and repair damage.

7. bedroom 3
repapered room to exremely poor standard wall paper ripped from parts of wall, damage to skirting board coming away from walls.- need to re paper room and replace paint skirting to one wall. ( wasnt poor standard, and there was never any skirting board on one side of room)

8 garden
satellite dish - removal of dish, disposal and make good. ( going to change me £ 80 for this)

Well i think thats about it , oh and she is charging me extra £ 755.75 for her solictors fee, but this was her choice to use a solictor. Would it be down to me to pay for this??
I v been sent a a quotation for the various works, which she wants me to sign and send back.
I think i will be taking this to court, so any help or advice on the above would be great.
Many thanks

[blacksheep1979]

Well the legal fees are rubbish (it may have cost that much) but as you say it was the landlord that decided to use a solicitor. The only problem is, if you have done work on the property without the landlords permission then they can charge you to return it to the state it was in. So if you have laid flooring, especially without finishing it properly, striped and painted walls, stained floors etc then he can have it put back and charge you for this. However he can't improve on what the property originally was (plus fair wear and tear). After 5 years the landlord should be expecting to recarpet and repaint anyway - but you have kind of left yourself open to problems by doing stuff to the property without the owners permission.

[Nightmare4banks]

haynat in reply to your last post:

1.I totally agree with blacksheep1979 regarding the fact that it was this ex-landlady's choice to hire a solicitor so - tell her that you are not paying it.

2.I also agree with Blacksheep1979 that you did not get the owner's permission to do the work on the property and also if the work was not done well to make the property as it was and allowing for wear and tear.

3.In order to migitate your losses your defence is the fact that you lived in the property for 5 years and the landlady never upgraded the carpets etc etc which you should mention.

4.Based on what you have mentioned,I feel that a judge would reduce the amount that you would be refunded from the deposit but you not having to pay an amount as excessive as the landlady has quoted plus tell her she can "take a hike" regarding the solicitor's costs.This was her choice and not yours with the possible main objective of intimidating you to put you off claiming your deposit back.

By the way,was the satellite dish yours?