Hi there, When I moved into my previous flat, I "replaced" two tenants on the lease and signed a COT (change of the) agreement. I then signed the lease. I never received an inventory. The COT and the Lease both state that I accept the condition of the property, however, the condition is not specified and I was never given an inventory upon moving in. We then collectively moved out after 6 months because the agency increased the rent by £200 a month and now they have taken money off our deposits. This is fine for the other 3, however, I moved in when they had already been in the flat for a year and I never signed any forms making any claims about the condition of the flat. Does Grant Property have the right to take a chunk of my deposit when I never signed an inventory, even though my Lease states that I "will be presented" with an inventory? With regards, Kristiena

Hi all, I have a quick question with regards to moving out of a rented property on the last day of the tenancy per the AST. If we as tenants move out of a property on the last day of the tenancy agreement date, which happens to be on a weekend, what rights do we have to ensure that the inventory inspection is carried out on this day, with us being present? We have been informed that the inspection is only carried out during the Inventory Inspector's normal working hours. Therefore, if the move out date happens to be on a weekend, it will be carried out on the next working day.. this is a problem as we cannot be present since we will be abroad. Many thanks in advance for your response. Ferntree

Hi, I don't know if anyone can advise me here but I thought i'd ask the question anyway. My daughter is due to move out of her rented accommodation tomorrow and the landlord came round on Friday evening to say he wanted to do an inventory before she moves out and after she has moved out. This is the same landlord who said at the beginning of her tenancy that he would give her a few days to settle in and would come around to do the inventory with them. They even approached the Estate Agent who is supposed to be managing the property but to no avail. He also says that he wants the carpet professionally cleaned. Honestly, if you could have seen it when they first moved in it was dreadful. It also had to be reported several times to get a working smoke alarm fitted. I have since approached the previous tenant who stated she did not have the carpet professionally cleaned when she vacated the property. Is the landlord just being funny or is he going to try to withhold her deposit money? Any advice would be gratefully received. Thanks

Hi, I am hoping to receive advice from people who know more than myself about the following problem. I have recently moved out of a 1 bedroom flat and left the place clean and tidy. My contract states the following: "The tenant agrees to pay the cost of a check out of the inventry and schedule of condition listing all the fixtures and fittings in the premises and the condition thereof at the expiry or sooner termination of the tenancy" I was last week invoiced by the letting agency (who do not manage the property as such but do some things on behalf of the landlord) for £210 for a check out inventory. The landlord pays the check in fee, apparently. I have checked the website of the company who did the inventory and they charge £50 to do this for an unfurnished, 1 bedroom flat (as per the property I moved from). So, I don't know what is going on, but I requested the invoice from the inventory company to the agency and I was sent one showing £175. I was advised by the agency that they have to charge VAT on top and I'm lucky as usually they would charge profit on top!!! In addition, the agent was getting angry at my asking for the invoice. That's the first issue. Am I being ripped off, and what do people advise I do next? The second is, I was asked whether I want to pay this by BACS or deduction from my deposit (protected by the DPS scheme). I have read that an inventory fee is not enforceable as a deduction from the deposit. My application for my deposit to be returned was rejected last week. I think the agency are in charge of the code and releasing the money. So, I said that I will deal with the inventory fee separately, and I will resubmit for my full deposit. To this I was told that it's fine, but they have to receive £210 from me first before they will release the deposit. I am a little stuck. Can they legally withold my deposit until I pay them this extortionate fee? I would appreciate any help and sorry for the long post, I wanted to provide as much information as possible.

Hello, I have recently moved out of a joint tenancy rental property and, after pushing through several attempts to dissuade me I was able to be present for the check out inventory check conducted by the letting agent. Two weeks prior to the end of the tenancy I went down to the letting agent and asked for a copy of the inventory they had on record, as they had been several months late in getting an up to date inventory done so I wanted to confirm that we were all working off the same copy. However, during the check out I managed to get a look at the inventory being used and it was completely different (though admittedly better, the inventory they provided was not only late it was minimal at best), to the extent that it had actually been done by a different company to the one I had been given. Having checked with my other house mates none of them recall seeing or signing a new inventory, so, though I haven't gone to them about it yet, I am fairly certain there is no tenants signature on the inventory they were using. My question is how will this affect our deposit? As it seems unreasonable for them to give us one inventory to bring the property in line with, and then deduct money based on an entirely different inventory that we haven't even seen! As a side note I would also like to get an opinion on wording. During the check out the main disagreement I had with what was being noted down was that the walls in the bedrooms had bluetack marks. While this is indeed true, they had been there when we moved in and in none of the bedrooms did we make them any worse. On the copy of the inventory that I had, we had added comments to each room to say that the walls were 'marked'. Firstly the man doing the check out tried to claim that the walls had been painted before we moved in, which is quite clearly not the case, and then went on to say that even if they hadn't been that because we had put 'marks' and not 'bluetack marks' that the letting agent would still be able to charge us. Once again, this does not seem right to me? Any in put would be appreciated, and I should point out that I haven't actually heard from the letting agent yet as to what, if anything, they intend to deduct (despite the check out being three weeks ago), but I am intending to chase them up soon and I don't trust them as far as I can throw them, so I am hoping to confirm the things I feel suspicious of so that I am fully equipped to deal with them. Many thanks!

Hi, Can someone please advice me on how to write a formal letter of complaint about a bailiff from Newlyn company? My friend who is a gas engineer, was in a customer house when the customer notified him that his car was being towed. When he went outside to find out what was going on, the bailiff gave him a notice of Seizure because he failed to pay his penalty charge and told him that they are taking his van away. My friend then told him that the van isn't his, it belongs to the company and that he needs the car for work. The bailiff told him that he just need the tools and that he can hire a van for his work and so on . . . My friend shocked, under pressured and nearly in tears didn't want the van to be taken away so he paid the full amount right there on the spot (£187 for the parking fine fees and £470.04 for the bailiff fees a total of £657.04) . He doesn't really know how to deal with those kind of things. That's why I'm writing for him. I'd like to know how can I write a letter of complaint as I believe my friend hasn't been treated fairly and was taken advantage of and whom should I address the letter to? 1) He didn't receive any notice by post regarding the penalty. 2) The bailiff stopped him from doing his job therefore he lost money 3) Despite the fact that he showed the bailiff the proof that the van isn't his (the van log book (V5C) clearly states that it belongs to the company). The bailiff still went ahead and try to take the car away. 4) The guy from the towing company damaged the van (broke one of the rear light while he tried to pull down towing) Thank you kindly for your help,

hi. looking for some help. just had a bit of a harrowing experience. came home to find a person knocking my next dooe neighbours door. i said hello and went into my house. 2 minutes later this chap knocked the door and introduced himself as a baliff from Swift Credit Services working on behalf of The Vale of Glamorgan County Council. He handed my a piece of paper saying that he has secured the debt againt my car outside. And i didnt pay up in full within 5 days they would be taking the car. My car was secured against a previous debt I had with the Vale of Glamorgan previouse which i paid off in full. I must admit at this point. remembering that he had be kniocking my neighbours doors looking for me really started to get my a little upset. I repeated to him that, as i had already explained to one of his colleagues a few days ago, i can only afford £50 a month toward the £419 debt. which that chap flatly refused. This guy pretty much repeated word for word "we have a contract and we cannot accept that amount" like the last guy. So, and maybe i should not have said this, but i said how do you know thats my car? he replied "we have checked its registered in your name". having been lucky enough to have had a company in days gone by i remember that being the registered keeper does not mean you are the owner I replied so you know that having a vehicle do you? and how did you get that information. maybe i am beling naive. i know i owe money but this seems just too far!