Thread: will we lose our deposit over this?

hi there, 4 weeks ago we moved into a rented property (we have a rolling monthly contract). We knew the house was in a pretty bad state of disrepair, but as we only had a short while to view, the true horror was not apparent until we moved in.

What i thought was a yellow wall, was in fact once white and is nicotine yellowed. there is fat (??) grease and dirt in in all woodwork. mould in the kitchen, behind the washer. The dark green carpet in the middle room, was in fact damp underneath and rotten. the landlord seems to do minimal repairs and we are the ones in the tenancy contract responsible for "all internal decoration matters". So basically it is up to us to repaint the entire house, fit carpets in 3 rooms and we have already bought tiles for the kitchen and bathroom. We have had to pay the council to dispose of rubbish left by previous tenants. We are also responsible for all glass in the windows, which seemed reasonable until we were told that next doors windows FELL IN and they were expected to foot the bill (same landlord). to top this off, we have been told by our builder that the previous tenants were growing weed in the front bedroom- explaining the holes in the ceiling and the walls and in the fireplace and the tin foil stuck to the walls.

As you can imagine, as time has gone on, we are finding more and more wrong with this house. each job we undertake (pulling up a carpet, stripping the filthy wallpaper) opens up a whole new set of problems. We are not merely decorating this house we are renovating it.

At the moment, the hallways walls are half painted, we have repainted two rooms, the bathroom is half done and we have pulled up the vile carpets, leaving bare floors. My partner has stripped all of the mouldy/greasy/rotting paint from the kitchen and now the walls are bare. We have had a discussion and totalled up spent costs combined with costs to come of making this house acceptable will be 1500.

We now want to move out but i'm worried that they will withold our deposit as we have done half a job. All i would say in our defence is better no carpets than smelly rotten ones that are filthy, and better no paint and bare plaster than mould and chip fat. I have also done the garden and redecorated the front room. Do you think they will withold our deposit for this? I don't see why i should have to pay for basic things to line our landlords pocket. Next door are putting in new carpets and floors too and worktops, but i really am sick of it. we have been here 4 weeks and still have no useable kitchen. Where do we stand legally?

What sort of tenancy do you have? It should be an AST, in which case it will be for a fixed term, then if not renewed will elapse into a rolling (periodic) tenancy. (Go on, now tell me you are in Scotland - they seem to do things differently up there!)

I don't care what it says in your tenancy agreement about who does what, the point is your landlord has a duty to ensure the property is habitable.

You seem to have taken the decision to move anyway, and I can't blame you really from what you say. If I were you, I would stop renovating right now, and call in the Environmental Health Department of your Local Council. When you say you have done things like strip out the old carpets, have you had them disposed of yet, because it would be good if the officers could inspect them. But, be warned, by doing this you may well get a retaliatory S21 NOSP, because, if your landlord is in the wrong here, EHO will have a field day with him. He won't be allowed to let the property until it is habitable and safe, and they will then turn their attention to any other property he manages.

When you signed up for the house did you get the certificate to say where your deposit had been protected? Do you know that it was protected?

Also, a little trip to your local Shelter branch will help you greatly in this, and I think you should do this if only for them to check your tenancy agreement, because it doesn't sound quite right to me.

Where's that Planner? Now I'm stumped! You cannot start off with a rolling tenancy surely! (Unless you inherited it perhaps, and I think I might be talking about old rent controlled tenancies here) Unless it was a weekly perhaps?

Planner, can you explain please?

Cheers

You can start of on a rolling tenancy. An AST can be for any short period of time, a day, a week, a month etc. Its just much much more common to have 6 or 12 monthly ones as this gives the LL more 'power'.

Give the correct notice and move has advised, seems little point in worrying about what might be, your happiness is more imprtant than a deposit if he decides to keep it. Even then you have options to recover it at your disposal.

Good luck.

Thank you Planner, never thought of this as its never come up before. Mind you I was getting warm - I had started thinking about weeklies! Anther 3 days and the light bulb might have come on.

Cheers, you are a diamond.

Originally Posted by jackieandwayne

Thank you Planner, never thought of this as its never come up before. Mind you I was getting warm - I had started thinking about weeklies! Anther 3 days and the light bulb might have come on.

Cheers, you are a diamond.

The only trouble with tenancies of less than 6 months is that the landlord hasnt got the power to determine (end) the tenancy until the 6 months has expired. I.e. if you granted a three month tenancy and the tenant wouldnt leave after 3 months, you wouldnt have the power to do anything about it until 6 months (barring s.8).

arghhhhh.......

Always read the tenancy agreement!

I'm off to weep in a corner. Maybe bang my head against something whilst muttering.

Arrghhhhh.

(they are probably liable for the rent unless they can prove otherwise to a friendly tds adjudicator)

yeah. can't hurt to ask.

I think the deposit should still have been protected, don't think the council involvement should have changed that if there was a private LL involved. I'd need to check.

v strange. never come acxross this before.

Yep, Kraken, to prevent homelessness LA's will very often loan the rent in advance or deposit. Really lucky people will get both.

Also, its quite common, (I deal with last chance people) if the LA really want a specialist landlord or HA to take someone they will agree to a bond - any damage or tenancy breach the LA foot the bill, likewise any rent arrears. With damage, of course this means the inventory has to be spot on.