My tenants left the house in a mess. It looked like they literally just picked up their luggages and left everything in a state. There was still food in the fridge and freezer, slippers on the floor, etc etc. Naturally, there were a lot of charges (all reasonable costs) but now they are asking for receipts for everything. Obviously I plan on doing some of the works myself so I cannot provide a receipt for this but would like some compensation for my time. I saw someone state on this forum before that landlords don’t necessarily have to provide receipts for everything but I cannot find any information about this online. It seems everywhere I look we need to prove we had paid someone to do it. Anyone have any advice on this?
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Have you proposed deductions & had them agreed by the tenant? If not, I’d tell them the deductions may be much more if you need to employ a cleaner / contractor who can provide a receipt.
Are they happy to negotiate with you, or must you pay external contractors to sort out the mess at possibly a greater cost to them?
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At this point I had sent them a list of the deductions and they have come back asking for receipts for all of them.
You are not obliged to give them receipts, but if they disagree with the deductions the deposit scheme will have to arbitrate and they will ask for evidence that the charges are reasonable. This would include quotes for any work. You are not then obliged to use those companies and can do the work yourself if you wish
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Simply reply and say the deductions proposed are based on you saving them money by doing some work yourself.
Ask if they are are happy with this - if they are not you wlll quotations from professional tradespeople for the remaining work - but this will likely result in a higher charge than the deduction currently proposed .
If ihis makes it more than the deposit - point out they are still liable to pay it… and if you have to recover it by a separate court action they may be liable for court/legal costs if they are found to owe you .
This assumes your deductions are reasonable. NOTE courts and tribunals usually do not allow you claim for what you pay youself for your work - so if you are going that route use external contracters.
But you can often negotiate with tenants who want to avoid third party professional fees for cleaning , rubbish removal etc beig charged to them.
Know both your own and your tenants legal rights and negotiate. Don’t be soft and don’t be mean. Be reasonable!
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And possibly keep all receipts for anything purchased relevant to the repairs/clean etc
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