Thanks for all your replies. Is it actually legal to stop paying the rent and let the LL keep the deposit instead? It's about 1100 plus the interest I presume. Will she be able to access it? Can she take us to court if we do it? Will it affect our credibility when applying for a mortgage? It's getting funnier by the hour. She just said the place was disgusting because she HEARD a FLY buzzing in the house during an inspection which proves we're filthy and ruining her property. Losing hope for getting our deposit back if we leave it up to her.

We're fed up with an abusive landlady and preparing to move out. The problem is she's completely unpredictable and we're afraid there'll be problems with getting our deposit back. Can you advise us if she's got a leg to stand on and which of the below is fair wear and tear? I tried searching Arla website but couldn't find the document that had been linked here before. Paintwork We moved in 2 years and 9 months ago with 2 children aged 3 and 5. The place was freshly repainted. There are now slight marks and stains on the walls up to a kids' height level, mostly in the living room and by the stairs. Nothing major really but it doesn't look as new. The LL says it's 'disgusting'. There's also a couple of door frames when the paint is chipped (a 5p coin size). Do we have to repaint the house to get our money back? Windows When we moved in a couple of windows were stained inside and the LL said it was due to condensation because they had had a professional window cleaning company use a pressure cleaner. The condensation never went, though, and she's now saying it's our fault and we're not ventilating properly, and denies it was there before. Unfortunately, it doesn't show on the photos that were taken before we moved in as they are not the best quality. Can she charge us with the cost of replacing the windows? It's a scary prospect.. Bathroom The bathroom was about 30 years old when we moved in but was working fine for the first 2 years. 6 months ago the mould started building up and the tiles were coming off the wall by the tub. There was a water stain along the wall as well. The LL said it was our fault as we weren't ventilating properly (again) but refurbished the bathroom eventually. The builders doing it said it wasn't our fault at all as a pipe just burst. She's now saying she had to pay for the whole new bathroom because of our neglect and it would never have happened had we been cleaning the tiles more regularly and kept the windows open, and it would have cost her 50 pounds to have the tiles replaced instead of having to pay thousands for a new bathroom. We know she's losing it but still, can she actually charge us for it? And the last thing – we handed in a notice which is 2 months. Does it mean we have to pay her 2 more rents even if, say, we move out next week? The LL is really abusive and disrespectful and we want out asap so please help. Thank you.

The bathroom - mould and tiles falling off the walls plus peeling paint. We reported it to her in December (mould only back then) and got a letter threatening to end the tenancy contract as the mould was the effect of not ventilating properly (she suggested we keep the window wide open when using the bathroom, it was minus 10 then). Got another threatening letter in January, following an inspection - this time about cobwebs in the house. Did my best but only found 2 by the attic flap. Then had another humiliating anti-cobweb inspection. Reported the tiles thing in January. She said the plumber would come in at 3 pm but he arrived at 11 am when I was having a bath. Had a look. He was back in Feb. Had another look. And again today, without a notice this time. Nothing has been done so far, the tiles keep coming off and the mould only gets worse and worse. Don't get me wrong - I'm not looking for some free cash to fund a holiday. We've invested 1000+ in the house, put the floors down, repainted in places etc., and would happily stay here for another 3-4 years, but not in these circumstances. The way I see it - her disrespectful behaviour is the reason for ending the tenancy and she's guilty of trespassing etc., and I wuold like to be compensed for this. Thanks a lot!

I was home sick today and upstairs when I heard a noise dowstairs. Turned out it was a plumber and a plasterer sent in by my landlady to 'have a look at the job to be done in the bathroom'. She didn't let us know and was clearly hoping that we won't be home at the time of their visit. I almost got a heart attack! I was sure I was about to be raped and killed or whatever. The landlady is a nightmare, used to arrange such stuff with us and then send the workers in at times different to previously set, but a thing like that... I want to claim compensation for unlawful entering the property as it is a clear breach of our tenancy agreement. I dread to think how many people have had late morning tours of the house while we were working.. Anyway, we want to move out asap but haven't really got the money to cover the cost of the move.. We'd like the compensation to cover this cost - say 300 GBP. Have we got a leg to stand on law-wise? We've lived here since Sept 2008 with 2 kids and always paid the rent on time(675 GBP). Thanks for any advice! (I called the CAB already but didn't get through, will try and see them in the flesh next week.)