Can a landlord claim for things on a deposit that were left by a previous tenant?

MrRockliffe

MrRockliffe

MrRockliffe

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Background:

Moved into an unfurnished property last year, appeared previous tenants left lampshades. I threw them away as some were broken and no visible lampshades as per the photos I used when agreeing to rent the property.

Landlord is now claiming for 5x lampshades at £20 each - these were basic paper lampshades.

I've not been able to find out if a landlord is able to claim to replace items that they haven't purchased themselves.

Thanks in advance.
 
MrRockliffe said:
that’s the thing - I had to buy bulbs for the entire property too
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Usually consumables are the responsibility of the tentants (or at least in every house I've ever rented), apart from consumables relating to safety/law like batteries for smoke alarms.
 
~Divine~Wind~ said:
pop to Ikea, slap up 3.99 lampshades and tell him to do one?
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This.

If they were on the inventory then it's game set and match.

However you could always ask your landlord where (what third party scheme) your deposit is held in. He/she sounds like the sort of person that would have neglected to do that so you'll be able to screw them out of it properly. Fight fire with fire and all that.
 
VincentHanna said:
If they "improved" the property (surely better than bare bulbs?) then the Landlord is unlikely to charge the previous tenants.
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that’s the thing - I had to buy bulbs for the en
~Divine~Wind~ said:
pop to Ikea, slap up 3.99 lampshades and tell him to do one?
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I personally think £20 a lampshade is a bit of a p take, which is what he’s claiming for.

I understand consumables are responsibility of a tenant but you would expect them to be there when you move in :-)

I know where the money is as I had to apply for it back as it’s been a month since I moved out and haven’t heard anything, after chasing a number of times.
 
MrRockliffe said:
I personally think £20 a lampshade is a bit of a p take, which is what he’s claiming for.
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It is. But these are landlords you're dealing with. Penny pinching scum-sucking halfwits who believe it is their right to make money out of other people's homes, no matter how.

I would be arguing your corner until I'm blue in the face, but I'm sorry -- if the lampshades were on the inventory and they weren't there when you left the property then you are liable for them. End of story. Pay up and get on with your life. This is an un-winnable argument from your point-of-view. Just be glad the landlord wasn't trying to take you to the cleaners for anything else.

NB: If you haven't heard anything from your landlord then you can contact the tenancy deposit scheme. However seen as you're both in dispute over this 'bill' then it's all above-board as far as they're concerned.
 
What I have learnt from being a landlord is that you can only claim with depreciation. The following is advice given to me, and available on, the DPS website:

The items have a lifespan and if they are over 3 years old (typical age) then you can't claim.

Items depreciate so if they were £20 new then, after 1 year, they're valued at £13, two years £7 and three years £0

Basically, as a land lord, you are screwed over by it which is why I'm not a land lord now as the last tenants trashed the place and I had to fight tooth and nail for every penny where as the letting agent I used did sod all.


M.
 
m4cc45 said:
What I have learnt from being a landlord is that you can only claim with depreciation. The following is advice given to me, and available on, the DPS website:

The items have a lifespan and if they are over 3 years old (typical age) then you can't claim.

Items depreciate so if they were £20 new then, after 1 year, they're valued at £13, two years £7 and three years £0

Basically, as a land lord, you are screwed over by it which is why I'm not a land lord now as the last tenants trashed the place and I had to fight tooth and nail for every penny where as the letting agent I used did sod all.


M.
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I fully take responsibility that I threw them away when they were in the inventory, but just wanted to clarify if the landlord can legally charge for something they didn’t buy.

Thanks for the input everyone - I’ll dispute it and offer a fair price for the cost of 5 standard paper lampshades, meet him half way.

He has indeed claimed for other things, all of which were faulty at the beginning of the tenancy (and on the inventory) - I assume he has no chance here?
 
MrRockliffe said:
I fully take responsibility that I threw them away when they were in the inventory, but just wanted to clarify if the landlord can legally charge for something they didn’t buy.

Thanks for the input everyone - I’ll dispute it and offer a fair price for the cost of 5 standard paper lampshades, meet him half way.

He has indeed claimed for other things, all of which were faulty at the beginning of the tenancy (and on the inventory) - I assume he has no chance here?
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If it was unwanted by the previous tenant and he claimed ownership of the lampshades, then by all intents and purposes they are his and have a monetary value. Have a look around and try and find the cheapest replica possible and offer that.

As for the faulty stuff, do you have proof that it was faulty when you moved in?
 
MrRockliffe said:
I fully take responsibility that I threw them away when they were in the inventory, but just wanted to clarify if the landlord can legally charge for something they didn’t buy.

Thanks for the input everyone - I’ll dispute it and offer a fair price for the cost of 5 standard paper lampshades, meet him half way.

He has indeed claimed for other things, all of which were faulty at the beginning of the tenancy (and on the inventory) - I assume he has no chance here?
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Re: Lampshades. It doesn't matter how he acquired them. They came into his possession and he rented them out to you, as listed on the inventory. It's no different to someone giving him a table and him then putting it in the property as part furnished. They belonged to him at the start of the tenancy. But I would be asking him to evidence how he came to the value and what type/make/age of lampshade they were. Then either replacing them or offered a compromise amount.

Re: Other things. It really depends on what proof either of you have on the condition of them. I've only rented once in my life but I took my own pictures of everything the day I moved in. We still got screwed for professional cleaning even though we cleaned it from top to toe leaving it spotless.
 
benjii said:
As for the faulty stuff, do you have proof that it was faulty when you moved in?
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Yes, it's all the inventory. To be fair to the person that did it for my check-in, he was very thorough.

Hades said:
We still got screwed for professional cleaning even though we cleaned it from top to toe leaving it spotless.
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This is also very annoying - I know for a fact I clean more thoroughly than many professional cleaners (doing things such as windows inside and out, deep clean of washing machine, oven, full clean of cupboards, all taps completely clean of limescale etc) yet they did mention that it needed to be done by a professional. The check out guy did even go as far as to say "it is absolutely spotless, but it needed to be done by a professional" - what does that even mean? Thankfully it was an absolute state when I moved in, so they're not allowed to ask for it back in better condition.
 
MrRockliffe said:
The check out guy did even go as far as to say "it is absolutely spotless, but it needed to be done by a professional" - what does that even mean?
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It probably means the landlord offsets the cleaning cost against tax (not sure if they still can) and the letting agents gets a cut of the fees, both of which the tenant is paying for.
 
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