For the record as it hasn't been mentioned, you don't pay your excess for a third party claim, only for repairs to your own vehicle. Though a fault claim will sting when renewal comes around.

The entire building, from memory between 25-30 flats, a combination of owners and private tenants.

Hi, Thanks for the response. There are genuine issues with the property, the notice to vacate came supplied with a structural surveyors report. And engineers had made multiple visits to inspect flats within the building (Their last at the start of November, when I joked with the guy about the building being condemned, and was told it was nothing THAT serious) To be quite honest the whole thing was a complete nightmare, which I'm keen to put behind and move on, I just feel that having complied with their requests, moved out promptly, not caused a fuss, I don't feel the small amount I'm asking to have reimbursed is too much to ask. I feel the only way I'm going to get anything from them is through the small claims court, but I'm unsure if this is a route I'm able to take in this position. I'd seek legal advice, but for the amount it just wouldn't be worth it. Thanks again for any help/advice

My first post, and I’m just seeking some advice over an on-going issue. I rented a flat (new build, 2001ish) with my girlfriend for just over 2 years. Just before Christmas 2011 the Management Company of the flats issued every resident with a Notice to Vacate the property within two weeks, this was due to concerns over its structural integrity (not great on a 10 year old building). Obviously just before Christmas this wasn’t great timing, but we managed to find a new property and moved in. I’m now seeking to reclaim the costs we incurred in moving from the management company, e.g. application fees for the new property, van rental. The other cost I would like to reclaim is for a Sofa we purchased during our tenancy. The flat was let fully furnished, but when we moved in the provided Sofa was broken. We came to an agreement (I have copies of e-mail correspondence) with the landlord that rather than them replacing it, we were happy to buy ourselves a new sofa, but would be taking it with us when we left the property. Our intention had been to stay in this flat until mid-2012 when we were planning to purchase our own house and would use it in the new house. As we let our flat fully furnished, and being given such short notice to find new accommodation, our only real option was to go with another fully furnished flat, and we weren’t able to accommodate our sofa. I looked at the option of putting it into storage for a year, but the cost would have been higher than the price of the sofa, so ultimately it had to be left to be disposed of when they cleared the building. Am I being unreasonable in asking the property management company to reimburse this cost? It wasn’t a terribly expensive sofa at £399, and the entire claim I’m asking them to reimburse is only around £600, despite the fact our new flat will cost us an additional £2640 a year. Thanks for any help/advice