Dispute from landlord

[gillm1]

Hi there

 

I have just recieved a letter from our previous landlord regarding the state and repair of the property and its contents.

 

when we left we scrubbed all the walls, toilet, shower, bath, skirting, fridge, oven ect, it is a fully furnished property including white goods.

 

I wanted to know where we stand- we lived there for 4 years with 2 small children and were inspected on a 3 monthly basis where nothing was brought up about cleanliness or needing repair.

 

When we left we took photos of the property through out to prove it was clean and left tidy but landlord has come back and said she wants 7 nights for sleeping in a hotel as property was supposedly to dirty to live in, she wants money for new washing maching as seal was broken apparently, new fridge as door wouldn't shut properly, money for cleaning of hob even though she has replaced it,

 

I was under the impression white goods have a life span of about 4-6 years and would come under wear and tear, we used all until the day we left

 

any advice please

 

gill

[bedlington83]

The washing machine seal is certainly fair wear and tear but even if it wasn't the most she could claim is the cost of the new seal and it's fitting. She can't get you to pay for a brand new one!

 

The fridge door you might be liable for if it was broken through misuse (and the landlady can prove it), but again she can't replace it with a brand new one. What exactly is wrong with it?

 

I'm surprised she isn't trying to charge you for the new hob. Any chance you can scan the letter and post it here minus the personal details. It probably isn't going to make much difference but it'll almost certainly give me a laugh.

 

When was the last time you signed a tenancy agreement?

 

When you moved in did you sign an inventory that described the house and contents?

[gillm1]

thanks for the reply, unfortunately i cant scan the letter but i can type it out for you

 

Hob and oven replacement (this item has been replaced as unable to cleaned) however charge is in relation to cleaninig costs £80

washing machine replacememt - unable to be cleaned sufficiently and damage to seal around door £359

Fridge freezer replaced door damaged unable to close £330 (we had no problem closing it, although it got stuck sometimes and you had to push abit harder is all)

microwave replacement - unable to clean £40

Cleaning in property including carpets £180 ( we have photos of whole property and it looks lovely

 

As the landlord was unable to move back due to the condition and cleaning requiured it has been requested 7 nights alternative accomadation must be paid £343

 

what do you think

[gillm1]

oh yeah what i also want to know is if they came round every 3 months for the nearky 4 years and checked and never found anything wrong surely this is all bull anyway, and the management company took 8-10 weeks to deal with any problems we had if they ever did anything at all

[bedlington83]

She's a right comedienne isn't she?

 

The management company issue isn't relevant, although I accept it was probably irritating at the time. You're quite right about the quarterly checks though.

 

If you can answer the other two questions I'll draft a reply for you.

 

When was the last time you signed a tenancy agreement?

 

When you moved in did you sign an inventory that described the house and contents?

 

Oh and;

Is the property in England or Wales?

Is the annual rent less than £25,000?

[gillm1]

the property is in england

we signed a one page short hold aggreement in March 2009

we did have an inventory and everything was on it when we left

rent £750 a month

[bedlington83]

Sorry, but...

 

Does the inventory describe the condition of the things she's claiming for and did you sign it?

 

Has the deposit been protected?

[gillm1]

no the inventory just says what is in the property not what condition they were in and i beleive all the white goods to be a few years old whn we moved in.

the deposit is protected but we do owe them a months rent and told them the deposit they can keep

[gillm1]

oh i think we did sign the original inventory to say we had seen it

[gillm1]

Here is a letter I am drafting at the moment in reply to them - what do you think

 

Thank you for your letter received 2nd March

 

You notice from the date, our prompt reply to yourselves while you and your colleagues reply to most matters pertaining to Chaffinch Close in around 8-10 weeks or not at all. I am referring to the letter we sent registered post on the 11 January this year with the front and back door keys.

Firstly we have lots of photos of the inside of the property, of the walls, carpets and rooms themselves taken on the 6th January which show how clean and tidy the property has been left in including the garage. Because of this proof we are disputing the costs from Miss Gordon regarding alternative accommodation as there was no reason why she could not move back in immediately except for their being no bed which is not my concern. We are not paying her accommodation costs.

Secondly she agreed a family with two young children could move into the property and use her appliances, one of which was the washing machine- a family with young children will use a washing machine quite often, washing machines have a life span of 3-5 years and as it was not brand new when we moved in and we were in the property nearly 4 years, the broken seal she claims is not damage but wear and tear and if she decided to replace the item which we would guess to be 5/6 years old, then it is of no concern to us and we are not liable for that either and dispute payment of this item too.

Thirdly the fridge freezer we had a problem with for over a year and Holmes Pearman chose to ignore the problem as if it never existed. We spoke to a lady called Jackie on a number of occasions in 2008 regarding the door, we said it was difficult to shut, she told us it was wear and tear and commented it was probably quite old, again fridge freezers have a life span of 5-6 years and again we were there 4 years and it certainly wasn’t brand new then. We did not damage the door in anyway it just became stiff but the fridge worked up and till we left the property on January 6th. If Miss Gordon saw fit to replace it, yet again it is no concern to us. We are disputing this charge too.

Next the hob and oven. Miss Gordon has replaced these so I see no reason to charge for cleaning them, although I will say the hob was left very clean and the oven was cleaned using an oven cleaner but again an oven has a life span of 4-5 years and again was not new when we moved in but we did take care of it. We are disputing this charge also.

The property was cleaned throughout and photos show even the carpets looking clean. The only room to have a dirty carpet was my son’s room the very small bedroom. This would not cost £180 to clean. We are disputing this charge too.

 

Have you informed Miss Gordon of the incompetence or lack of help your office has given us over the last 3 years and 10 months seeing as she was paying you to manage her property.

Every 3 months a representative would come over and we would gladly let them in, they would walk around the property and take no notice to anything we would ask to be done and then we when rang you office a few weeks later to see what you were doing about it, not surprisingly you knew nothing about any problems

No 1: moved in 2006 and shower pole was rusted to the end and would fall off the wall - told your office over a 2 year period - result nothing done till shower finally condemned as unsafe by plumber in late2009.

No: 2 back gate lock was rusted and no longer worked – this was in late 2006 and was a security risk to our children and Miss Gordon’s property – result – after 5 weeks of phoning we gave up and replaced it ourselves.

No: 3 The sink in the kitchen was blocked and the plug hole built into the sink was moving around we informed you, this was sometime in 2007 and was told we were talking rubbish and to use mr muscle drain cleaner – result – after 8-10 weeks of complaining you finally sent a team round and they found that the drainage pipe was bent the wrong way so the washing machine overflow would bubble into the sink with boiling hot water and they had to replace all the piping including the sink plug

No: 4 Fridge Freezer door would get stuck, advised your office, nothing ever done.

[bedlington83]

I'd just ignore her then. If she's stupid enough to take this to court, I (or someone else) will help you get it thrown out. She doesn't have a leg to stand on because she can't prove the condition of the items when you moved in and therefore cannot prove that they were damaged by you.

[gillm1]

says in contract - to keep contents in good condition and complete repair (fair wear excepted)

[bedlington83]

You posted the letter while I was typing. Who is the letter to? You talk about the landlady in the third person

[gillm1]

basically we are disputing everything except rent and they can keep that, let her take us to court

[gillm1]

yes because the letter is from the estate agents

[bedlington83]

Why is the estate agent involved if your ex-landlady has moved back in?

[gillm1]

your guess is as good as mine, probably cause she took out an insurance protection with them as they were the management company