Moving out of first rented property - Need landlord Advice.

[Spuddy]

So me and my two flat mates are moving out of a property we've rented for the past 11 months. It is the first time any of us have rented and could really do with some advice. Landlord has our deposit and it's getting close to the time when we want it returned. Upon agreeing to the tenancy etc I asked numurous times that an Inventory was drawn up to protect both parties, but the Letting Agency said our landlord had no wish to have this done, the Letting Agent said this was good for us because he'd have no grounds to keep our deposit. Was this correct of the agent? I have written proof of this comment also.

The flat was in a right royal state when we moved in, we had to clean all rooms and hoover the whole place. It was best part of 5-6 hours work. I did not mention to the landlord or take pictures, stupidly.

Anyway, we plan to fully clean the flat before we leave, therefore leaving it in a much better condition than how we found it.

We do not believe that any real "wear and tear" has occured, nothing is broken or has decreased in quality, nor was the flat very well furnished in the first place. We believe that there would be no grounds whatsoever to keep a single penny from our deposit. I am about to write a courtesy letter to our landlord letting him know of our intentions to vacate the flat in 31 days time. Can anyone help with this letter, should I be mentioning the deposit at this point?

Thanks in advance.

[jampot]

You may be anticipating a problem which might not even occur...

Your landlord has a responsibility to return your deposit after the tenancy agreement has ceased. Providing you give him the correct notice, it doesn't sound like he has given any indication that he plans to withhold your deposit for any reason - therefore, give proper notice and confirm the date you wish to vacate, and if you wish, agree to meet the agent (or landlord) at the property on the day you vacate in order to confirm the current state of the place. Might be worth mentioning that, if it is agreed that the place is OK, the deposit should be returned within X days, or by XYZ date, but I would avoid wording any letter to sound like you don't trust the landlord to give it back (unless, of course, you don't) as you don't want to annoy him unnecessarily.

Just a polite letter, giving whatever notice is necessary in your contract, offering to be present at a "handover", and stipulating a reasonable timeframe within which to get your deposit back, should be all that is needed.