See here: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/residential-commercial-lettings/211781-mouldy-flat-deposit-withheld.html Ive given a deadline before court action. Its difficult becuase the agent is trained in law whereas I am not. I dont qualify for legal aid and the amount is such that its not justifiable getting advice. I guess they count on this as people will just write it off. For me its the principle that someone can steal from me and smile while doing it.

Make sure all your correspondence is in writing as in my case, they may hold you responsible and charge you at the end of the tenancy.

For the love of god move out. Although I cant prove it I still suffer some odd health complaints (inner ear problems) after living in an enviroment like that for 2 years.

Routine cleaning of mould? If after heating and providing extractor fans the property still suffers from damp you should be providing a dehumidifier! Still, at least you communicate with them and not just ignore the problem until it becomes unbearable and they move out, deducting monies for the very same problem (or I hope not)

Just in the middle of a dispute about this very thing. Landlord is saying I didnt open the windows enough, Im saying theres an inherent problem with the property and he should have added vents/extractor fans, cleared out and fixed the guttering, checked the roof...etc Ive rented properties for over 10 years and never have I had such a problem. If as a tenant you say that youre having problems (as we did) even though youre opening the windows when showering/cooking/drying washing and write to them informing of an issue, and they choose to do nothing but ignore it, what else can you do? But this is answering your problem, which I would too like very much to know

Thanks Steve. As my contract started before then, I guess Im out of luck in that respect.

And the above last statement is why I’m thinking of buying somewhere. I quite like renting as we can just pick up and move; especially relevant in these uncertain economic times, and even more so now that many places (IMO) have antisocial problems, but I’ve had enough. Even though I’ve never before had the above problems I’ve never had a landlord or agent that wasn’t a complete pain to deal with. Yes this deposit was 6 weeks rent. Indeed, this is why Im thinking hard before I proceed. I must say its irritating as Im not entitled to legal aid yet solictors fees seem to be around £100! So it seems the powers that be deem it OK for someone in my position to get ripped off. oft356 OFT - excessive cleaning charges - as a matter of normal practice in short lets, reflecting the common law, tenants are expected to return the property in as good and clean a condition as it was when they received it, with fair wear and tear excepted. We therefore commonly object to terms that could be used to make the tenant pay for the property to be cleaned to a higher standard than it was in at the start of the tenancy, or that require cleaning regardless of whether or not this is necessary for the tenant to comply with their normal obligations with regard to the state of the property + http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/residential-commercial-lettings/95677-deposit-withheld-professional-cleaning.html#post885066

Reading from here: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/residential-commercial-lettings/227630-large-deduction-deposit-cleaning.html And with regards to my own problem: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/residential-commercial-lettings/211781-mouldy-flat-deposit-withheld.html Why do people go for 3x the amount? I cant find any reason for this...

After more phones calls and letters to the landlord, a goodwill gesture of the inventory charge has been given but they clearly state that the flat must be ‘professionally cleaned’ after vacating the property so will not refund the £115. The contract isn’t grammatically correct but says: “Pay for professional cleaning of the property the washing (including ironing or pressing) of all linen and for the washing and cleaning and cleaning (including ironing or pressing) of all counterpanes blankets carpets soft furnishings and cutains which shall have been soiled during the tenancy”. I remember reading this before signing it and thinking it just meant if we had stained any linen, curtains or carpets, which we didn’t. Besides, the flat was rented unfurnished. The flat was left in a good clean state, especially when you take into account the condensation/damp problems we encountered. They never allowed us to have a ‘checkout’ and thus rectify any issues they viewed. They won’t (after several requests) provide us with the receipts. It’s worth mentioning that the checkin fee was £250 so they have certainly had there pound of flesh. I have tried to be diplomatic about this with the landlord but he says it’s the agents fault as he has never had the money `sigh`. I would like to proceed with court action but worried they will interpret the contract, as it is OK to charge us £115 cleaning charges. IN many years of renting these lot really are the biggest shysters I have had the displeasure to meet.

I purchase an integrated motherboard which arrived and was signed for by my neighbour on November 24th. I received it the following evening. On testing it I found that an ancillary card was unstable when plugged into the PCI-E slot.I gave up last night and sent an returns request. Looking at the spec from the documents received, it states that the slot is for graphics only, but both the manufactures website and retailers website state that it’s a PCI-E expansion slot. I’ve tested the card in my 4 other PCs, which works as expected, and before I purchase this motherboard tried to check hat it was compatible. Other people who have a similar motherboard with the same chipset report that it works OK so I presume its something with this motherboard. The retailer is claiming that its my problem and the best they can do is buy it back at a reduced price. Im not totally ignorant to what must be annoying, folk buying parts which are incompatible but I puchased this specific board because the explansion was stated to be a generic slot. Shall I flog it on ebay or insist on a full refund?

Congrats, and as for those shysters... I have no end of hatred for them. They ripped me off but I didnt have the time nor energy in my final year to take them to court so well done! They also stole off me (ok only £20 of goods) in my final year and I could prove it, time and money again...

They were wood floors but had no ventilation as there was very thick underlay. I have to say Im surprised and knew nothing about how much moisture is released from 'living'. New home is going very well, its nice and dry

Hi, I think I know what you mean - small/slim vents normally at the top of the frame. The answer is no, they did not, they were very cheap UPVC windows TBH. Floor - wooden floor boards (I presume so as we used to hear them squeak).

Damp, Condensation & Mould in Rental Property I’m now enlightened into the world of condensation All very true. No airbricks, leaking guttering and double glazing that pretty much sealed the flat. We did used to leave the windows on the latch as much as possible because it was obviously humid because we had three electric heaters. I wouldn’t agree it was our fault as tenants. It may have been caused by someone living in the flat but it’s rented as accommodation! If the above circumstances are true I would think it’s fair to say that the landlord choose to ignore a problem by not fixing the guttering or fitting airbricks (supplying a dehumidifier wouldn’t go amiss). I’m not sure it should be a tenants responsibility to look after the building in the those ways (?), fair enough if we hadn’t bothered to heat the property, that’s negligent, but we did and have the (huge) bills to prove it.

Thanks for the help, it’s very much appreciated. I did not sign a renewal of the tenancy agreement so it is before the magic date and after the first 6 months we just did month-by-month. I don’t doubt there was a problem with some form of moisture but what I am annoyed about is that keeping the windows open most of the time, especially in winter just isn’t going to work. We paid a fortune in heating so we could keep the windows on the latch to let the flat ‘breath’ but it didn’t seem to make any difference. Besides, as above, in 10 years of renting I simply haven’t had a problem like this. Bloody awful it was. Thanks for the PDF I will have a good read J Alvinlwh – Section 11? I have to say Im not sure what the process is? Ill send them a letter asking for what you suggest and for full justification of monies withheld. Thanks again.