Typical negotiating tactic from landlord?

[BBand]

Has it become normal for the landlords to try and appropriate the deposit by threatening legal action for more than the deposit? My former landlord has come up with a spurious (in my opinion) list of charges and claims I owe him 2x the deposit but he will be kind and accept just the deposit if I write a letter saying it belongs to him and not sue me.

 

Anyone seen this before?

[raydetinu]

Hopefully not!

chsrges have to be reasonable and take account of fair wear and tear.

Have you claimed it back from the protection service and has the LL agreed to use the ADR service, or you cant take him to court for the depsosit and let the judge decide whats fair.

What sort of things is he claiming for?

[BBand]

well we're in the 'negotiation' phase.

 

He either has no idea what he's doing or is an evil genius! The claims are things like the checkout report says:

 

Long glass shelf:Small chip.

 

Which he interprets as:

 

Replacement of glass shelf = £133.00 (exc. vat)

 

- The DIY tradesman declined to plain it in case the broken area shattered the glass shelf and has advised to have it replaced. Result = long, splintered chip in centre of shelf is sharp and potentially dangerous > replace.

 

also a 3k charge to polish a table...

[Steve__M]

I expect there are glass shelves that cost £133 to replace if damaged, and there are tables that are worth paying 3K to be polished if damaged. So the answer to your question probably depends on further details, like whether your table is Ikea or Thomas Chippendale

[BBand]

well my point was a small chip becomes replace the whole thing (there was no picture). I've asked him to substantiate costs for the table but he refuses to do so - it's irrelevant apparently.

 

There was also no checkin provided at the time of starting the AST - he sent on after 4 months or so

[Steve__M]

Landlord has to prove initial condition to prove damage took place which would be difficult without a proper inventory. LL has to justify costs for repair/replacement, such as with an invoice.

 

Has LL protected the deposit? If so, you may be able to use the ADR procedures if LL agrees. If not, then if you are in England/Wales and tenancy was an AST starting after about 2004 he should have protected it and you can sue for deposit plus penalty.

 

According to one of the tenancy deposit protection schemes, whether damage requires complete replacement or simply compensation depends on the character and location of the damage. A stain in a hidden corner of a carpet is less significant than one in the middle of the carpet for example - the latter might justify replacement whereas the former might only justify compensation.

 

Sounds to me like you will have to prepare yourself to sue your landlord or claim through the deposit scheme. In preparation for that you need his claim in writing so that it will be harder for him to come up with additional things when he realises you are going to sue him.