Mydeposit resolution - next steps?

[Musashi10]

Hi there.

I rented a place for 6 months and paid a deposit of just over £1,100.

When I left the cottage I took pictures of every room to show that I left it in the same condition I found it.

The pictures were 2 of each room showing different angles - showing that nothing was damaged and no dirt.

On the day I left, the landlord came to the property to do some plumbing. I was out getting lunch, so I didn't see her, but she didn't notify me that anything was wrong - which I would expect if something was wrong. (I have that she came over to visit on email)

She then asked me to leave keys in keysafe and she went away on holiday for a week.

I thought everything was ok.

Then after the week I got complaints that essentially all the furniture was damaged and the place filthy and I would not get any deposit back from her. She then took photos and got a cleaning agency to sign them, showing that some items were damaged and dirty. Which was not the case when I left.

So I raised a mydeposit disputes and I got the verdict back today.

Basically they gave me just under half back.

They essentially said, they disregard any comments or possibilities of what may have happened and have just gone with photographic evidence.

It appears that they have completely not considered my photographs and have gone with the ones from the landlord - but reduced the amount because they claimed excessive fees.

I'm just wondering what my options are here? Can I take them to court for the remainder? And how likely is it to get a favourable outcome?

I honestly don't know what has gone on but I do know that several people seem to consider this in some regard their home. People have their car registered there. Or maybe some friends had a party there when she was away? I don't know. Maybe she damaged it deliberately to refurbish the place?

Just wondering what to do next? Or is this something I just have to swallow? What else could I have done to prevent this? I don't want this to happen to me in the future.

Thanks

[R0b]

You could write to the deposit scheme and inform them that you disagree with their decision and believe that that have failed to properly take into account the evidence, question why the photos you have taken upon leaving the property are substantially different to those a week later by the landlord etc. and on that basis you intend to initiate legal proceedings to recover the full amount. The deposit scheme would normally withhold the deposit until the outcome of proceedings have been resolved.

Based on the amount of the deposit, it would cost you £80 to issue the claim and then a further £123 if the claim was defended and a hearing had to take place. If you are somehow able to agree the release of the deposit but make it clear you intend to pursue the the remainder of the deposit directly against the landlord then your fees will be reduced to £70 issue fee and £60 hearing fee. Of course if you win then you are entitled to these costs back as well as costs up to £90 for attendance to cover you for things like travel, having to take annual leave from work etc.

Nobody can guarantee you will win, but the LL will need to defend herself and have to explain how or why the state of the property is different to the photographs you had taken. Had you emailed the LL these pictures on departure rather than just holding on to them, it may have been harder for the LL to disprove unless the photos taken don't cover the alleged damaged areas.

Whether you want to go down this path is a decision you will need to make yourself. Legal proceedings have strict deadlines to follow and if you don't follow them or put the time and effort into your claim, you could very quickly either lose your case or shell out more money to keep it running if deadlines are missed which may get to a point where the costs spent exceeds the costs being claim. By the same token, the LL may also need to consider if its worth the hassle of defending the matter. She will have to defend the claim herself or spend more money to instruct a lawyer to act on her behalf and those costs are not going to be recoverable unless you have acted very unreasonably during the course of the proceedings. Again, the cost of hiring lawyer would far exceed the cost being claimed and in that situation, you might have a better chance of success where the LL is representing herself.

If this is someone you wish to do then we are happy to assist but you do need to put the legwork in as we aren't going to hold your hand through the process and do everything for you.

As to what could have been done better, everyone has a different way of doing things but as I mentioned, taking photos on departure and then emailing the LL immediately that same day to confirm the photos you had taken on leaving could prevent the LL from coming up with ways to claim the furniture and other things we damaged.

My experience of renting properties as a tenant taught me to take photos of absolutely everything that might be considered damage and could be charged for. Two photographs of each room at different angles and long distance just might not cut it so I would spend the extra 10 or 15 minutes taking lots of photos both at distance and close up as well as a walk through video of each room. In the event there was a dispute, I would have lots of photos to compare to the LL ones and be in a better position to dispute what they were saying and confirm whether they were pulling a fast one or there was genuine damage beyond wear and tear.

Finally, when doing a check out review of the property, a good guide is to use the check-in inventory report because that's what the LL will be using to measure against. Take your photographs and videos following the inventory report and you will know what the LL is going to be looking for. Rogue LLs will always be out there to make a quick buck and deposits are an easy target so you just need to mitigate any issues and ensure you don't give the LL an excuse to make deductions.