Dan, who helps us out with marketing and writing here at Upad, gives his perspective as a tenant of 10 years standing at properties in Brighton and London about inventories and getting your deposit back.
“Apart from a few minor deductions, I’ve never had any major issue getting my deposits back in full. But, as most tenants will attest, it can be a bit nerve wracking waiting to check out and get the deposit back.
If I’m honest, I’ve found private landlords, rather than letting agents, to be more reasonable. The occasions I’ve been stung have always been with lettings agents who are unwilling to budge. I lived for a year in a furnished flat in Putney that had a new, light-coloured carpet when I moved in. A year later, when I moved out, the hallways carpet was no longer brand spanking new and had obvious evidence of use. It was reasonable wear and tear in my opinion. But the agents disagreed and they deducted about £150 to have the flat’s carpets professionally cleaned.
I agreed reluctantly with this because I wanted the rest of my money back but I was cross. One reason I was angry was because the flat didn’t have a vacuum cleaner, so I’d shelled out for that too! I asked the agents for a receipt for the carpet cleaning and was never provided one. I personally don’t think they ever did it.
On another occasion, I moved into a flat and had been promised a double bed but that hadn’t been sorted when I moved in. The agents kept promising and then 6 weeks later, a double bed arrived to replace the single one. But I had to spend an evening building it myself. When I moved out, the agent noted that one of the slats was broken and charged £50. It was a cheapo bed and I was furious. We eventually agreed on £25. But I was pretty aggrieved because I’d had to build it myself, and had waited over a month for it in the first place.
On the plus side, one landlord not only gave me all our deposits back once but actually thanked us for looking after the place so well. He was particularly pleased that the garden was in a much better state than when we moved in.
photo credit: nicasaurusrex
Very unpleasant situation. Why didn't you hire the cleaning agency instead of the agents?
I think really because I'd already moved out/checkoed out and the letting agents were quite forceful on the issue. I thought asking for a reciept would be adequate... you live and learn.
That's true many estate agents make money from tenants. They not only charge for cleaning which is never done or done at a lower rate, but deduct money improperly for damages.