Flat Inventory/Deposit - Moving Out - Where Do We Stand?

nikebee

nikebee

nikebee

Soldato
Joined
9 Nov 2004
Posts
13,984
Location
Pembrokeshire
Myself and my girlfriend have just moved flats, and had our inventory today at the old flat to check any damages (etc) in order to get our deposit back.

Now bare with me as I wasn't actually at the inventory today (couldn't get out of work) but my other half was so all this has come from a quick phone call from her.

We spent all weekend cleaning and redecorating the flat, filling in any holes where pictures have been (etc), repainting the lounge in magnolia just to freshen everything up. We used a "Rug Doctor" carpet cleaning vacuum on all the carpets and they've come out really well. And well, just general maintenance in order to get our bond back basically!

Going through some damaged items in the flat, they picked up on the following.

Broken door on the cooker.
Part of a kitchen cabinet broken.
And a few other niggling issues as well.

However, all of the things they spotted were on the inventory that was taken when we moved into the flat. The "broken" parts of the flat were all "broke" when we moved in, and have not been damaged further than they were when we moved in.

Frank B Masons (the company we're dealing with) and the Landlord are also talking about replacing the carpets as they've been worn down. We lived there for 2 years, and they've had 2 years of use... what can you expect?

FBM are also claiming they have lost both our contract, and our inventory. This leaves us now with our word against theirs and we're worried we wont get our bond back.

The bond is only ~£360 to £400 or so. It's not huge but it's money we would love to get back as we're both skint at the moment.

I'm tempted to take this further (small claims court?) but I don't know if we've got a leg to stand on.

We'll be hearing more from them soon.

FBM have a horrible reputation when it comes to giving bonds back, and I'm beginning to see that this isn't all old wives tales...

If you guys have any advice, or any input it would be greatly appreciated.
 
You should have made sure they were part of the opening inventory :/

carpets should come under wear and tear unless you have seriously damaged them in the term.

You should have kept a copy of the opening inventory.



Letting agents are funny, our last ones are trying to charge us £30 for removing a child gate across a doorway and filling in the 4 holes - £30!! what a joke hehe :D
 
This seems to be happening quite a lot on here. Landlords trying to flease tenants for unecessary damages? My guess - yes. The worn carpets claim seems to support this - to me it looks like he just wants to get you to pay for something he's going to have to fork out for.
 
Sounds like these items fall under fair wear & tear. I notice you're in wales, did they adopt the same policy as in England whereby deposits are secured by a 3rd party arbiter? Did you see any evidence provided that your deposit was secured in such a scheme? What contract where you on? A 6month AST with 2 months notice? When did the contract begin?

Sorry for the seemingly random questions, but they might make a difference.

I'm a landlord ;)
 
msm722 said:
This seems to be happening quite a lot on here. Landlords trying to flease tenants for unecessary damages? My guess - yes. The worn carpets claim seems to support this - to me it looks like he just wants to get you to pay for something he's going to have to fork out for.
Click to expand...

My old landlord tried to get me with a 'burn on the mattress', even though I only lived there for 6 months, and only had that particular mattress for 2 months. Not to mention the fact that it looked like an iron burn.

Why the hell would I iron clothes on my mattress?!?! LOL!
 
Many years ago when me and the then fiance moved out of renting and into our first mortgage we were "screwed" too on our deposit.
As we got the majority of it back we didn't take it any further - but I think some letting agents are scum.
*Anybody reading - never use Home Quest"

Anyway, the difficult thing here is your lack of inventory from when you moved in.
On your inventory form any existing damage should have been noted.
You should then have treated this document like the crown jewels.
Even better, actually taken pictures of the existing damage and kept those too.

Without a document it is one persons word against another....difficult one.
 
krooton said:
My old landlord tried to get me with a 'burn on the mattress', even though I only lived there for 6 months, and only had that particular mattress for 2 months. Not to mention the fact that it looked like an iron burn.

Why the hell would I iron clothes on my mattress?!?! LOL!
Click to expand...

Someone obviously did :/
 
On one hand you dont have a copy of the initial inventory to back up your claims... on the other hand, they have no copy of it either plus they dont have a copy of the contract which I think could potentially do them more harm...

Are you in a position to withhold the last months rent? If they complain you can use the contract issue as leverage.
 
It's a bit dodgy that they've "lost" your contract..

Do you have a signed tenancy agreement, to prove you actually lived there if it goes to small claims?
 
To begin with it was a 12 month contract, then we can terminate it at any point with at least one months notice.

It started on 16th October 2006, I'm not 100% on sure on the exact dates but roughly around then unfortunately (at work at the moment).

It's not dealt directly with the landlord but with an Agency (FBM), who then deal with the landlord on our behalf.
 
It's all going a bit pear shaped if I'm honest, we've been badgering them for a copy of our contract for damn near 2 years and haven't received one yet.

Kept getting fobbed off with "it's in the post", anything we've reported as damaged or faulty has never been fixed.

i.e. We live up 6 flights of stairs, and there is a security door downstairs with a buzzer/phone. Ours doesn't work, we've been using mobiles for the last 2 years when somebody visits they ring our mobile for us to let them in. Heck we've given the two people who regularly visit keys to the security door because it got too much hassle.

Unfortunately (again), we have paid our last months rent.
 
nikebee said:
It started on 16th October 2006, I'm not 100% on sure on the exact dates but roughly around then unfortunately (at work at the moment).

It's not dealt directly with the landlord but with an Agency (FBM), who then deal with the landlord on our behalf.
Click to expand...

OK, that is before the 6th April '07 cut off for protected deposits unfortunately, so it is down to just you and the landlord\agent :(

What is the per/month rental cost, and how much is the deposit? Is it worth you holding back unpaid rent, if possible. I'd be arguing on the basis that these items are fair wear and tear. If no monies are forthcoming, request receipts for all work.

Are FBM a member of ARLA? I might threaten to report them for this if so. They might lean on the landlord.

EDIT: Tell them to get feked if they've lost your contract. And tell ARLA about this situation, it's unacceptable.
 
Last edited:
In my 10+ years experience of living in rented accommodation in Cambridge, only once did I live in a house where the agency was any good.

Keeping every single piece of paper (or copies of) that goes between you and them is absolutely paramount. I treated them all like I was in a court battle, having to make sure everything was water tight, leaving them no room to move...

I have no love for letting agencies.
 
Morba said:
DO NOT DO THIS.
My god, im amazed that people still post this crap.
Click to expand...

That crap, as you so pleasantly put it, was actually a necessary course of action for me once and it helped me sort out a rather nasty situation so keep your mouth shut if you cant add anything useful.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom