If the landlord didn't put it in a scheme and now owes me £1500 - I take him to court and he loses, and chooses not to pay... I'm no better off?
deposit dispute
- Thread starter Amleto
- Start date
If the landlord didn't put it in a scheme and now owes me £1500 - I take him to court and he loses, and chooses not to pay... I'm no better off?
Soldato
- Joined
- 22 Feb 2008
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- 11,108
Well...pretty much, yeah - but that's the risk you take with any court action for fund retrieval.
You can, of course, arrange for bailiffs to claim the debt from him on your behalf afterwards.
Your ex-Landlord is trying it on. It's also HIS responsibility to make sure the house has at least 1 form of adequate heating, you should've contacted the lettings agent/landlord when you first realised the heating wasn't working correctly and insisted they get it fixed at THEIR expense, irrespective of that what with it being too late now you should be entitled to your full deposit back.
This. You go to court, you win (and you will), if he refuses to pay up you instruct court bailiffs to go and retrieve goods (or the money he owes) from him, you'd be surprised how quickly people pay up.
Soldato
- Joined
- 22 Feb 2008
- Posts
- 11,108
He's trying to take you for a ride. Unfortunately, it's a common thing with private landlords.
Did you happen to take any photos of the state of the place when you were leaving? If not, it'll make a difficult case as it's your word against theirs.
Ultimately, though, it's the LANDLORD'S responsibility to ensure that the building is habitable and maintained. This includes breakdown and replacement of faulty appliances. If there was not adequate heating, it should have been reported to the landlord to have it resolved.
The misting issue also falls into building maintenance - it's caused by insufficient airflow and heating regulation - not your responsibility. It's not like you walked around every day pouring a jug of water over the windowsills...there's a big difference.
Tell the agency to tell the landlord to shove it - they can only claim to put right any damage caused by irresponsible or malicious actions from the tenant; and even then they may only take enough money to restore it to a "like-for-like" state: ie, how it was in quality when you moved in. Taking enough money to pay for brand new fittings is a BIG no-no.
Do you have a ball park figure of how much that will cost? Does it depend on how long it takes or is it fixed price
Associate
Check your contract, does it state the carpets must be professionally cleaned?
You need to be dealing with the DPS and not the agency. Tell them ASAP that you dispute the landlords claim. Ask for copies of the receipts for the "£500" cleaning costs, if provided check them out, make sure companies are legit, anyone can whip up a receipt in word.
Once you dispute a claim, then the case will be handled by a independent person from the DPS who will look at the case and advise.
Remember: Both you and the landlord need to agree before anyone can get hold of cash from the deposit. Make sure you read very carefully anything that is put under your nose to sign.
Get to CAB, or better if you have legal services on your house insurance, speak to them and let them know all the facts.
Good luck.
You need to be dealing with the DPS and not the agency. Tell them ASAP that you dispute the landlords claim. Ask for copies of the receipts for the "£500" cleaning costs, if provided check them out, make sure companies are legit, anyone can whip up a receipt in word.
Once you dispute a claim, then the case will be handled by a independent person from the DPS who will look at the case and advise.
Remember: Both you and the landlord need to agree before anyone can get hold of cash from the deposit. Make sure you read very carefully anything that is put under your nose to sign.
Get to CAB, or better if you have legal services on your house insurance, speak to them and let them know all the facts.
Good luck.
