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dekaspace

Landlord nasty to me and keeping deposit!

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A bit of history, been there almost 3 years and had no end of problems, half the kitchen cupboards broke on first use, he used a bit of thin plywood for wardrobe door which snapped, 2 heaters broke a month after I moved in which he never repaired, the stairway lights broke so all tenants in the block need torches to enter and leave, had no hot water for 6 months which ended up being a 79p replacement piece(though I understand call out costs were a lot)

 

I originally planned to move out last week and his wife was there instead but needed longer and benefit was paid to Friday so kept till then, I spent about 4-6 hours on cooker(after leaving a £5 oven spray on overnight then scraping any marks off and it looked new) spent 4 hours on fridge, not including moving it and brushing and mopping under it.

 

I washed the curtains, used leather cleaner on the sofas, moved every bit of furniture from the bedside cabinet to the wardrobes and bed and hoovered under and around them, went on hands and knees and spent 2 hours wiping toilet down, took every drawer out of cabinet and kitchen and wiped them down.

 

Landlord as expected only took photots of anything that wasnt perfect and the first words he said when I saw him were "did you do the cleaning" I said "yes" he sneered and said "you are having a laugh" then went on about how I damaged things!(when it was him badly installing them in first place)

 

As a matter of interest what would people say was tidy, I spent about £15 in products which is a lot as I am on benefits, used disinfectant, a whole pack of cloths, bleach etc.

 

He said oven or fridge had not been touched and tried blocking me taking pictures.

 

Disgusted and upset how someone can steal £400 from a benefit claimant, to top it off he said I owe rent arrears.

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I absolutely understand your frustration and upset Dekaspace having lived in lodgings which were far from perfect with dodgy landlords. I once stayed in a shared house on the top floor where although we had a 'flat' we had no front door so the landlord wandered in when he felt like it. We were never able to use the living room as it was actually a room for all the junk he'd accumulated over 50 years or so...like a crammed antiques shop...and the rest...

 

Do you have any documentary evidence of all the problems you had during your tenancy? Did you ever go to CAB or seek advice elsewhere? Do you have receipts or bank statements showing you have made all your rent payments? The reason I am asking is that if you were to contact a tenants rights association, they might need this kind of evidence to assist you. I really don't know how it works in actuality re. getting any of your money back or getting him to back off on asking for any more money from you but I do know that tenants rights were tightened recently - eg. having briefly looked up a website about tenants rights it states that your landlord should have placed your deposit in an Approved Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme in case of any dispute about returning the total amount of deposit! Not just, you are not getting it and that's the end of it!

 

I would suggest you look on the various sites about tenants rights - the Government one is top of the list - and get an appointment with CAB asap. The site I looked on suggested you speak to a Tenancy Relations officer so it might be worth calling the council too?

Edited by Lyndalou

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Ask for a statement which clearly states how much you owe in arrears and go to citizens advice to see if they can help you.

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The "arrears" were contradictory, was both landlord and agency worker for where he rented it through.

 

They have charged me for a full month despite written proof that they were charing me for 1 months from when I handed notice not the rent renewal date so wanted 2 weeks more, also the final rent payment was sent to landlord direct instead of agency so by the agency notes I am in arrears, but the landlord denies he was paid and agency claims they have only charged me for the 2 weeks and a few days

 

I work out minus council payment I owe £62 not the £192 they first claimed then the £92 they claimed I owed today

 

What would you say was reasonable for state of property, I literally scrubbed every room but despite that the odd mark was noticable i.e wiping down a cupboard and if you had eagle eyes and looked as close as possible the white cupboard insides would have tiny brown mark at edges, or the floor would be hoovered but it couldnt get every spot of dirt off, you wipe down cupboards with disinfectant and there is the odd smudge.

 

This landlord found a tiny spot of dirt on fridge then said that meant I never cleaned!

 

Both their excuses for the repairs was things like that I claimed they broke just after I moved in but the only record they had for me reporting it was recently therefore I am lying.

 

This landlord just has problems, he told me before place was a tip as I had clutter despite having spotless place otherwise(and that was none of his business as he had no right being in house when I wasnt there)

Edited by dekaspace

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Have you managed to sort out this problem?

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