Not getting my deposit back please help

[mrsharvey]

Hi, i moved out of my property on the 15th Februaury and today received a letter regarding my damage deposit, i paid £565 deposit but am only getting £35 back. They have sent me a letter which is not very detailed and i would like to know exactly what costs have been taken from me and why. Can anyone help me with a template letter please as i am not very good and dont really know how much they need to tell me, i have copied the letter below.

Dear Mrs Harvey, we are currently holding £565 as a damage deposit which will be split in the following ways.
£274.22 - Rent arrears
£55 - squeaky clean for cleaning mould from the windows (!?!)
£150 - to go towards redecoration of the property (!?!?!?!?!)
£51.55 for general repairs to the property.

I would be very grateful for any help.

cheers

Jen

[Joa]

Jen; have a look at the letter on top of the forum (sticky) and try to adapt it. Then post it here and we will all help to make it as good as possible. But first, few questions: was there an inventory (moving-in & moving-out)? Any deductions that you agree with? Were you consulted before the landlady spend your money? Did you receive receipts/invoices for any work done? How long were you in the property?
The template letter contains quite a lot of info about your rights and landlords' obligations.
Now, nobody is going to do better then you with this letter- you are the one who knows the details and is motivated to get it right.
Post it when it's ready and we will proof-read it.
Good luck.

[blacksheep1979]

Did you owe rent? and had you damaged anything? or marked any of the walls, floors, furniture?

[mrsharvey]

Hi, i did owe about a weeks rent but the amount they are saying is to high, there wasnt any damage to the property apart from a tiny area where my son had drawn on the wall and also the curtain pole in the living room had fallen down due to subsidence and the front of the house sinking, the house was cleaned from top to bottom when i left.

cheers
Jen

[blacksheep1979]

well if your son had drawn on the wall they are entitled to return the property to the state it was in before you moved in.

You need to be 100% sure as to what you owed them and what is being taken as a charge and for damage etc. You cannot ask for the return of money that is legitamately being used for repair and to cover rent. As to what the money has been spent on, you are well within your rights to demand to see reciepts for all work carried out - this should be your first step.

[mrsharvey]

I completley understand that i need to pay for any damage myself or my family are responsible for however the vagueness of the letter worries me. Any ideas on how to word my letter to them asking for quotes and actual probllems would be appriceated, the template on here is a little long winded and was wondering if there was a simpler way.

[blacksheep1979]

something along the lines of you dispute the amount being stated and require full vat receipts for all work done. Failing this you will be seeking to claim back the money and if they refuse to do so then you will have no option but to pursue the matter through the small claims court.

[knoxvillain]

Did you take photos of the place upon departure? Did you sign an inventory upon entry? You are legally entitled to a complete break down of what exactly your deposit was used for right down to VAT reciepts and even a copy of the cheques etc used to pay for stuff. Your deposit is YOUR money, its never the landlords so they MUST account for it properly.

More info: http://www.arla.co.uk/download/deali...disps_dams.pdf

As far as the rent arrears go, I would calculate how much you paid and how much exactly you owed and state this in your letter and query why their figure is different.

[brickwall]

need a letter to try and get my bank charges back

[knoxvillain]

might want to try and bank section then instead of the landlord/tenants section.....