Good Afternoon, I have just moved out of a property which has a £1000 Deposit secured against it. When I moved into the property just over a year ago. I was charged Agency Fees and a Tenancy Agreement fee. Upon moving out I met with a member of the Letting Agent to complete the Inventory Checkout Process. This passed with flying colours and they are looking to return all of the deposit, Minus 21 Days Rent (At my request after I needed to stay at the property for an extra 3 weeks). However they want to charge me £120.00 for a Check Out Fee!! I've had a look around and seem to find conflicting information on whether this charge is reasonable or not. There is such a charge detailed in the tenancy agreement. However from memory it's slightly vague, and £120 for 20 minutes of the LA's time is to me rather unreasonable. ( That or I'm in the wrong job ) Is there anyway I could dispute this charge? Is it enforceable? Or do I pay up like a mug? Thanks for reading caggers

Hello, We have just given notice to vacate our property after after being here almost 3 years. We signed a 6 month AST back in 2012 and have been on a rolling contract ever since. About 9 months ago we received a letter informing us that our tenancy was being transferred to new agents as ours were retiring abroad, and have since had several inspections from the new agents, but signed no new contracts or agreements. Our contract with the original agents was quite basic and reflected the state of the property. We asked about paying a higher deposit as we had pets (something we’ve always done before) and having the property professionally cleaned when we leave (also always done before) but were told that it was not necessary, and the contract reflects this as nowhere does it state either. The inventory actually describes the carpets and walls as “grubby, stained and marked.” Under "checking out" it says that we need to leave the property clean and tidy, and ensure items listed in the inventory are returned to their original position. Thats all. We have now received a checklist from the new agents of things to be done prior to vacating, and it includes getting the carpets professionally cleaned and proving so with a receipt. Do we have to do this? We have no contract with this agent, and I appreciate they have high standards, but the previous agents and landlord didn’t and I don’t think it’s fair to expect us to make good marks and stains that were there when we moved in. It hadn’t even been dusted or cleaned when we moved in – it was awful. We will obviously clean from top to bottom and leave it in a much better state than when we moved in. Similarly, we asked for permission to decorate and kept colours neutral as requested – light blue that used to be dark brown, and white that used to be lemon. The checklist asks that we return all walls to their original colour. It also asks that we clean the windows externally – which has never been done by the looks of it! Are we within our rights to question these requests? Or is it a case of, they have our deposit so have got us over a barrel?

Due to Torie government cuts i lost my job and i have been shoplifting for a couple of years now to carry on trying to support my family as best as i can until i find another job. Sadly for me my luck ran out and I was caught shop lifting via the self checkout service in Tesco just before Christmas, i stole £93.67 worth of goods and police were called etc. I was fined £90 on the spot fine which i have paid. I recieved a letter today from RLP today asking for the sum of £147.50 which i will be ignoring as unenforceable etc and i have already paid the fine for my punishment to the police. I was banned from the Tesco store but i did not sign anything at all in the security office as the security guard didn't seem to have a clue what he was doing and it was actually one of the store workers who spotted me and alerted the security guard. Was i meant to sign anything at all in the security office to aknowledge anything/Accept that i am now banned from Tesco for shoplifting there? What will happen if i am caught Shoplifting again, say within a year? I am aware that i will be arrested but will it just be another fine via the court room or am i looking at community service as well? Thanks

Hi Everyone, I recently finished the tenancy at a property and as per the norm agreed to a checkout at the end before handing over the keys. The checkout lady arrived on time. Before starting she made a call to the landlord (as had been requested to her before by him) and I overheard parts of the conversation. she said " yes cleaning has been done professionally as per receipts but not by the cleaners as suggested from the estate agency". Next she started her inventory check eventually taking 5 hours to do the whole check. She went over each point, one by one and went to the extent of running her hand over the backs of the pelmets/curtains to check for dust !! All this time my wife and I had to hover around, because she seemed to sometimes note down things which were even already said to be defective/faulty. Well due to her diligence, she made some additional 10 or so entries. Is it normal for a checkout to last 5 hours for a 4 bedroom property???

Hi, Two weeks ago I was evicted from my flat, as the landlord was not paying his mortgage and the property was repossessed. I was told by the agent that I would receive my full deposit back as the landlord had broken the contract, making it null and void. Yesterday I received my deposit, however there was £72 missing. I rung the agents accounts department to find out what this was and I have been charged a checkout fee. This checkout fee is mentioned in the contract however, we were told the contract was null and void, so are they still able to charge us this? I did point this out to them on the phone, but they refused to agree with me and said the charge was to get the deposit back. Are they able to charge for return of the deposit? I believed before that a checkout fee was for checking against the inventory for damages, but the agents were not able to do this as the keys were taken and locks changed by the bailiffs? Please help, as if eviction isn't enough stress without throwing more problems in!!

Hello I am in the process of renting a new apartment. Final has to be signed tomorrow. Yesterday, the agency tells me they forgot to make us pay a check-out fee and some other fee to draft the contract. I was wondering how this is legal, as we signed a "deal sheet" mentioning no check-out fee or rather a check-out fee of 0 pounds. What's the value of that deal sheet? (the agreement we signed says there may be a check-out fee, with no amount specified, but that can only be taken if the agency is managing the property, which doesn't seem to be the case) Also, if there's not check-in inventory, I guess there can't be any check-out inventory? thanks for your answer!