Tenants Rights on Handover

Its4john

Free Member
Nov 10, 2017
154
13
Lincoln
Not really business law but maybe someone who knows tenancy law can advise.

I’ve just moved out of a flat I was renting and been hit with a £70 bill claimed from my deposit.

It’s a bill for cleaning, fixing a broken tap and repainting some scuff marks in the walks.

When I moved out, I met the agent at the property, he (we) had a good look around and I asked if everything was ok and he said yes, it’s fine. Then he took the keys.

Seventeen days later (after me having several text/voice mails ignored asking when I would get my deposit back), I get notice via the deposit protection scheme that the agent is claiming costs of work done as mentioned above.

Now my thoughts are that if the agent accepted the keys with ‘it’s fine’ then that’s the end of it as far as I’m concerned.

The flat was spotless when I handed over and he seemed happy with it.

I admit to the scuffs on the wall by the door, but this entry (same as the main shared entry) is quite tight and it’s almost impossible to enter or leave without touching the walls. So the poor quality paint is scuffed with just the slightest touch.

As for the tap, I have no idea what he means so I suspect it may have been damaged by the cleaner/painter during the seventeen days between moving out and this charge notification.

I did wonder if the lease included a standard cleaning charge when tenants move out but nothing mentioned.

Ok it’s not a lot of money but I do feel a little shafted by all this.
 

obscure

Free Member
Jan 18, 2008
3,370
879
The world
Without seeing your actual lease it is impossible to give a meaningful answer beyond the general.

In general you have to surrender the place in the same condition you got it. You didn't do that. Why you scuffed the walls is irrelevant. You should have been more careful in the first place, or you should have repaired the damage prior to vacating. You didn't and so the landlord is within their rights to have the work done and deduct that from the deposit. That just leaves the tap.

When you get work done you are generally paying for...
1. The person to turn up,
2. Them doing job A,
3. Them doing job B.

If you were in fact not liable for job B (the tap) then you could effectively claw back less than half the total amount.

How much is your time worth? It would cost you more in time and money to pursue this than you would ever recover. You could write to them disputing the tap charge and ask that they refund a % but if I was them I would tell you to whistle knowing it would cost you far more to pursue it.

Next time make a form and have the agent detail any/no damage and sign it.
 
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Prime81

Free Member
Jan 23, 2018
124
22
You are allowed general wear and tear of living in a flat which depending how bad the scuffs are may constitute that. Me and my family rent out houses/flats and we have had much worse stuff than this happen and never taken off money, seems a bit trivial but for £70 probably not worth more than an email of your time.
 
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E

Engage Legal

From memory, the purpose of the deposit protection scheme is to prevent disputes like this. There may/should be a way to challenge the £70 bill under the scheme. Deal with the scheme when sorting this, not the agent/landlord.
 
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