Hi everyone,
I’m really disappointed with how my deposit situation is being handled. The landlord has submitted a vague letter from a painter, but there’s no proper invoice, bill, breakdown of costs, or professional receipt. It’s just a basic letter with no real evidence to justify the £282 charge they’re claiming.
When I moved into the property in May 2023, it wasn’t newly painted and already had marks on the walls — all clearly visible in the inventory photos that the landlord sent me back then.
Now they’re also claiming there’s “glue residue” damage, which I completely deny. I left the property clean and in good condition. The landlord didn’t even agree to do a proper check-out in person — he accepted the return online. Then a week later, out of nowhere, he messaged me about some marks on WhatsApp, which I immediately disagreed with.
It’s frustrating because wear and tear is normal after nearly two years of tenancy, and I actually received the property with these issues already present.
The letter they submitted feels very questionable because it does not attach any invoice, bills of material, or any breakdown.
I’ve want to decline the charges on the deposit platform. Has anyone else faced something like this? What would you suggest I do next to make sure my deposit is properly protected?
assuming your deposit has been protected properly (do you have all the paperwork the LL had to provide by law?), simply dispute the deductions when the deposit service contact you. The onus is on the LL to prove that the damage was caused by you and that the amount he’s claiming is reasonable. Deposit services usually side with the tenant. The deposit service won’t allow a LL to claim anything from the deposit without proof.
Did you take photos/video before you left the property?
BTW, it’s irrelevant whether the LL knows the contractor personally or not. After many years renting, I know some of my contractors very well indeed.
If a room needs painting, £282 isn’t that unreasonable as most painters would charge about £250 a room. the question is whether any damage is reasonable wear & tear or misuse. the landlord would have to provide photographic evidence on tenancy commencement and termination to prove this. Also, they should have provided the pictures to you, how do they compare with any pictures that you took? You can also look at the metadata on the photo to see when the pictures were taken. If you’ve used those “Command” style strips with the tabs, which are supposed to be removable, I’ve found them to be terrible as they do leave either a gunky mess or they actually pull off paint. I’ve had to repaint to houses that used these.
