Landlords/agencies and deposits

rz30

rz30

rz30

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Joined
5 Oct 2008
Posts
1,486
For those who have moved, how much of your deposit did you get back?

I have been in current place for 3 years and there is a bit of wear and tear but it is hard to say if certain things need replaced like the carpet, i also have a crack in the shower base which i can't see could be my fault.....i read recently that agencies have become unreasonable about giving back deposits...
 
when youve lived in a few rented places you learn about all the things you have to do to get your money back, reasonable wear and tear they cant charge for, but anything that isnt noted in the inventory yet damaged in the house you are liable for, basically every time something breaks, you need to notify the landlord/agency, in writing, and keep a record for yourself in order to contest checkout deductions should things not neccessarily be your fault, expect to be charged for 'professional cleaning' and 'oven cleaning' if you dont provide reciepts as proof you already had that service done, most contracts state this is required, regardless of wether they actually do this with your deposit after youve gone.
Nowadays when I go into a new place I take photos of everything, any marks on any item, burn a copy and hand it back with the inventory and write on the inventory you included it, they may look at you gone out when you do this, but it totally foils their attempts to charge you for anything you photographed, I get all my money back nowadays, if they try anything, national-tenant-helpline.co.uk will get it back in full but take 15%, this is helpful for long term rents where the landlord maybe didnt use a deposit scheme, I'd rather give them my money than some theiving asian wannabe property mogul
 
Had an issue with the last place i moved out of.

he wanted to sell the place and gave us 2 months notice (fair enough).
When we left and requested the deposit they said they'd be pretty fast about it (the landlord, owned the agency we went through).

Then after 3 weeks after we moved out, he then had some phoney charges and was only willing to give us 50%. When we explained that this was wear and tear. he still disagreed though.

we found out that we werent under the deposit protection scheme. when we let him know that he either paid us our deposit or we go to court and get x4.. he then got all legal (by this time we'd already gone to cab).

we stuck by our guns, and then he decided to pay us our whole deposit.

must say im rather disappointed by the whole thing. We were good tenants for 2.5y and he tried to pull a fast one.

Oh well.. in my next place im going to make sure i have the deposit protection scheme.. !
 
mavers said:
we found out that we werent under the deposit protection scheme. when we let him know that he either paid us our deposit or we go to court and get x4.. he then got all legal (by this time we'd already gone to cab).

we stuck by our guns, and then he decided to pay us our whole deposit.
Click to expand...

Why didn't you carry on? You've would've been rolling in it.
 
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Finga has it pretty much bang on.

They can't charge for fair wear and tear (a decent amount of which can occur in three years), and anything that is agreed would be replaced out of your deposit MUST be replaced on a "like for like" basis - for example if you damage an appliance which has been a fixture there for 5 years, they can't use your money to replace it for a brand new one. Rather, if they want a brand new one you both agree on a suitable portion of your deposit to cover a "like for like" version.

It's sad, but I'd say a good 90% of landlords - even if you've been a perfectly well behaved and paid tenant, will try to pull a fast one on you when it comes to refunding the deposit.
 
Everytime I have left a flat, I have left it spotless. However, I left my last flat in better condition than it was when I arrived - the agency charged for cleaning. :(

First and last time I went through an agency, every other time has been private.
 
I've recently moved and I had £175 deducted from a £700 deposit on the last place. I was quite happy with this after living there for 4 years. The carpets were generally ruined, some wear and tear but also stains etc, so they charged us for a couple and other bits of cleaning. They've either missed or haven't cared about quickly repainted walls and skirting boards to cover mold, a now single pane bit of double glazing amd various other bits of damage.
 
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