Landlord won't return my deposit

Hanbanhansa · 15th March 2007, 23:04

Hello

I am so angry with my old landlord. I moved from the house on 11th Feb and am still waiting for my deposit to be returned to me. I emailed him a number of times recently asking when it would be returned and he just ignored the emails.

After over a month of waiting, I sent him an email saying that as he had ignored my previous emails, I was going to seek advise on the matter.

I received an email back today which says:

"Can you please explain what happened between the last time I inspected my property when I was very happy with the way you were caring for it and the subsequent change and the state it was left in when you vacated it. In reply to one of your previous e-mails the property was left in a most unsatisfactory condition and not to my satisfaction."

When I moved into the house it was a complete tip! I painted 3 of the rooms and it was in no was in an 'unsatisfactory' state when I left! I am angry that he is so obviosuly trying to just keep my money!

I had no inventry when I moved into the house and even lelft some things there after I moved out (curtains, lampshades etc).

Can he just refuse to return my deposit back to me with no evidence that I have mis-treated his property (which I didn't). As I had no inventry, if he has picked up things that were bad before I moved in, can these be disregarded as there was nothing to say about the state it was in when I moved in? Woudl the fact that he had ignored my emails before I threated taking action go against him if he does decide to keep my deposit?

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Joa · 15th March 2007, 23:28

Have a look at the pinned post above- unfair deposit deductions.
that defines your rights with regards to deposits.
If there was no checking-in and checking-out inventory, the landlordy would be unable to prove in what state the property was in upon your arrival and exit.
Write to him, requesting all your money back within 14 days.
Keep us posted

Hanbanhansa · 15th March 2007, 23:29

Thank you Joa. I'll look at that now.

bazak1 · 16th March 2007, 02:06

you (like so many others) have fell into the trap of not doing a walk round inventory with the landlord, and presumably not taking photographic or video evidence of the place prior to you moving in.
if he is keeping your deposit because of repairs etc that he has to do, then he can only keep the amount needed, not all of the deposit, (unless it takes that amount of cash to do repairs).
to do this he should (as far as i know) provide you with copies of the quotes for the repairs so you know how much of your deposit he will be keeping. at the moment its a little bit of six of one and half a dozen of the other, because you cant prove what condition the place was originally in, but then again neither can he.

Hanbanhansa · 16th March 2007, 11:37

Thanks Bazak, I didn't event hink about taking pictures when I moved in or out. Seems a but stupid in hindsight but I honestly did not think that he would be like this!

My deposit was £1200. From what he has said it appears that he wants to keep all of it! He has not told me what he felt was wring with the property and I disagree that it was in an unsatisfactory state.

Another problem I have is that he lives abroad and didn't come to look at the house until 2 weeks after I moved out. I was unable to go to the property when he inspected it as well.

When I went to view the house before moving in, the people that were there at the time commented on the state of it. If this does go further, and he still refuses to give me my deposit, would a statement from them help me?

knoxvillain · 16th March 2007, 14:11

Does he have any sort of UK contact address?

Hanbanhansa · 16th March 2007, 14:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by knoxvillain

Does he have any sort of UK contact address?

Yes there is a UK address on the tenancy agreements. I believe it is his mothers.

bazak1 · 18th March 2007, 02:02

a statement from previous tenants may help but the landlord can and probably will argue against it.

Hanbanhansa · 13th April 2007, 17:20

Hi,

I am still in dispute with my landlord regarding my deposit. I have asked him for a details of what my deposit was spent on and copies of invoices. He is refusing to give these to me. Does he legally have to give me these details? All he did was send me some photos which he claims covers my full deposit - I think not!

His last email has jst stated to file at the count court and he will counter file. Personally, I would prefer it not to go that far and am happy for him to deduct some money for reasonable costs but no way the full £1200.

If anyone could help I would be very grateful.

TIA

Joa · 13th April 2007, 17:44

Quote:

Does he legally have to give me these details?

He needs to properly justify withheld amount. He is keeping your money and the judge will expect him to provide details and evidence how it was spent.
So if he intends to counterclaim, he better has a very good reason- estimates, invoices, evidence that you gave your permission to go ahead with these expenses:o , unpaid liabilities, outstanding rent etc, signed inventories (checking in and exit).
Go ahead with your claim and remember that you also need to very clear on why the deposit should be returned. If you like, post your particulars of claim here and we can comment on it.

Hanbanhansa · 13th April 2007, 17:57

Thanks Joa. He is trying to to withold £1200 deposit but has not really given me any evidence as to what this is being held for. He has sent me some pictures which he claims is his evidence. He has sent some pictures of the the cooker which admitedly I did not clean before moving out as I ran out of time, I am happy for him to reclaim the costs for cleaning the cooker from my deposit. He has also sent some pictures of the garden. I moved out the weekend we had all that snow and there was not much I could really do with the garden in the middle of winter.

In addition, he has taken some pictures of the toilet and sink in the bathroom. There were cleaned but are old and have some wear and tear on them. Also, there are some pictures of hallway and stairs where there are a few small bits on the carpet which I missed when hoovering (or were there between him coming to first see the property and taking the pics?! Who knows). And a cobweb I missed!!

There is also a shed which has some old furniture in. This furniture is not mine and I never used the shed. I guess that would be his word against mine tho as I had no inventry! I have tried calling the original letting agency to see if they ever had one but they have nto got back to me yet. I certainly never signed one!

So, that is the basis of him keeping £1200 of deposit! Fair enough if he keeps some for cleaning the cooker and sorting the garden out, but he won't even tell me what he has spent my money on!!!

It is quite funny how he has not taken any pictures of the rooms I decorated when I moved in! He is now advertising the house on rightmove as 'newly decorated and recarpeted'. Well it's the same carpets I had and the same paintwork that I did in the house!! He's just laid new flooring in the kitchen and bathroom!!

JenniBee8 · 18th April 2007, 19:36

I would be really mad too if I were you, that sounds totally unreasonable.

I don't really have any advice to offer as I don't know a lot on this subject but I hope you get your money back, he has no right to keep it!

I am moving out of rented property soon and if things like crumbs on the carpet and cobwebs mean a reduction to the deposit you get back, I am scared already!

demon_x_slash · 18th April 2007, 20:28

Jenni, the best advice that anyone can give you is to take pictures/video of EVERYTHING before you move out, to prove the state of the property at quitting time. Include that day's newspaper in shot, or ensure that your camera puts a timestamp on the pics. Remember, all deductions from a deposit have to be justified, and cannot constitute betterment.

sezchwarn · 30th April 2007, 22:39

A statement/witness account from previous tenants (or anyone, friends etc, who visited whilst you were there) will help support your case alot. It sounds like you would get much of that deposit back if you took it to court, so its worth it, i would myself. Dont let him get away with it. These Landlords and Agents are complete ****s - anyone share my sentiments?? lol.

callumsgran · 30th April 2007, 23:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by sezchwarn

A statement/witness account from previous tenants (or anyone, friends etc, who visited whilst you were there) will help support your case alot. It sounds like you would get much of that deposit back if you took it to court, so its worth it, i would myself. Dont let him get away with it. These Landlords and Agents are complete ****s - anyone share my sentiments?? lol.

LOL i most certainly do!!

Darren · 1st May 2007, 00:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hanbanhansa

It is quite funny how he has not taken any pictures of the rooms I decorated when I moved in! He is now advertising the house on rightmove as 'newly decorated and recarpeted'. Well it's the same carpets I had and the same paintwork that I did in the house!! He's just laid new flooring in the kitchen and bathroom!!

if he charges you for the new carpets, then the old ones become your property and he must give you the opportunity to collect them before he disposes of them.

I used to do maintenance work for a flat letting agency who had two lock ups just to tag and store such items.

Not sure of exact legalities, but it is that you are paying for the old damaged (as he would say) flooring, but on an 'old for new' basis. in simple terms you are buying the old flooring from him at the price he paid for the new ones.

As joa said he will have to provide details fo how money was spent, so ask him for a breakdown now. If the flooring is on it ask him what was wrong with the old flooring and ask to inspect it (so you know if he has kept it)

you could ask a friend to view it if it is back on the market , then they could take some photos to show if the work has been done or not, as it is supprising how many landlords in the past have asked me to give them false invoices for work that was never done, or put a different address on an invoice. ask for copies of the invoices, you can then call the number on the invoice and ask questions like when was the work done and what colour were the walls before you painted them and record the call so you have as much evidence as poss if you need it in court

good luck

Esio Trot · 1st May 2007, 11:34

You are all making this far too complicated.

It is up to the Landlord to prove any deductions, and this has been going on long enough.

Just send a seven day letter, then start a small claims action. Landlords own property, so they can't easily run away, even if they don't give a contactable address.

Use the address on the tenancy agreement and get judgement. Then go for a charging order on the premises you lived at (another £55 fee for the court). Once you have this, register it with the Land Registry. If no payment materialises, you can then go for an Order for Sale.

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