Hello there All,
I have tenants leaving and a new one joining in the same week.
My current tenants have booked the end of tenancy Inventory. Does this mean I then need to pay for another Inventory for the new tenant? or can I use the one that current Tenants have paid for?
It seems silly to have two Inventories back to back within a day or so.
Not sure where I stand on this one.
Any advice welcomed
Hi Alicia,
It sounds like your departing tenant has booked a Check-out report, which is conducted at the end of a tenancy.
The Check-out inspection only notes items identified as being in a different condition to that recorded in the ingoing Inventory.
As often the exit condition of the property is not up to the standard you would want for the new tenancy, we advise allowing some time to fix any issues and having a new Inventory created.
It’s important to have a new Inventory carried out because this creates a full record of the condition of the property at the start of the new tenancy. That document also gives you and the incoming tenant an opportunity to sign and agree to the condition of the property - which isn’t something the Check-out report accommodates.
Thanks,
Simon
Hello there,
I hope you are doing ok.
Can you please help me out with something?
My previous agency want to charge us over a £1000 due to a bit of burnt spot in kitchen counter and some scratches. They are saying they need to change the whole top of kitchen counter which I absolutely see unnecessary as they are just small cosmetic defects. We moved out on the 13th of march. My inventory was done without us a few days after, they sent the report like a week after and later they did not came back to us till today which are actually over the 15 days legal agreed day. Also they want to charge us £120 to fill up holes and paint. We did not make any wholes in the walls.
My question is, What are my legal rights? How can I avoid these charges. We, my friend and I lived there for about 3 years. We always paid in time we never had any problems, I would say we were good tenants. I feel like the agency just want to charge us for no reason. What can I do?
Thanks for your help in advance.
Regards,
Sandor Nagy
Hi Sandor, I would recommend calling the helpline of the deposit scheme in which your deposit is protected. They will be able to advise you on how to begin the process of getting your money back.
In general, landlords/agents must prove any damage and any cost of putting it right before they can deduct money from your deposit. Did the landlord perform an inventory at the beginning of the tenanct? Did you sign it? If not then it will be very hard for them to prove any damage.
Even if they are able to demonstrate the counter was damaged (as opposed to wear and tear, which you could argue), in my experience it is very unlikely that a deposit adjudicator would make one tenant pay the whole price of replacing something with a long lifespan like a kitchen counter. More likely, you would have to pay a small fraction of the cost of a new counter.
Sam
Hey Sam,
Thank you so much for your advice. I already contacted DPS. What I found weird that the agency already wanted me to approve these costs through them. I asked them if any other way I can avoid the costs, I did not get an answer for that. I find out myself that I also can go to DPS website, log in and request the refund, but there the deduction was 0. I have a feeling that the agency wanted to keep that money, but maybe I am wrong.
To be honest I am so disappointed if I have a good chances and also could approve these I would not mind to bring it to court. What do you think about it? Do you think I have any chance against them? I bet they have good lawyers.
But hey. Thank you so much again for your email. I will keep you updated so you can have more experience what you can share with others.
Cheers,
Sandor
Hi Sandor, many tenants do not know much about how deposit protections work. It actually turns out that tenants are in a very strong position to avoid spurious deductions as long as they back themselves and force the landlord to prove damage has been cause.
I would recommend doing some research into how it all works, but essentially:
- either you or the landlord can log into the site and initiate a repayment
- the other party can then either accept or dispute the repayment
- if you cannot reach an agreement, then you can refer the case to a free, indepenedent adjudicator from the deposit scheme. This is called Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
- in ADR, both parties sumit evidence to support their case via a single email
- the adjudicate rules within two week and the scheme pays out accordingly
Sam