I had a really nice message put through to the blog clinic recently:
This is really a message to say thank you. A while ago I found an article on this site about how to make a claim if a deposit had been retained unfairly.
That article led myself and my two housemates to make a successful claim. So I am letting other tenants know that it is worth the effort. Don’t just give in!
Our landlord withheld virtually all our deposit mainly for cleaning and new carpets but also for the breakage of cheap and poor quality items (which we reported in a timely manner).
We (my mum) cleaned the house from top to bottom and the carpets were in no worse shape than they were before we moved in – aside from one or two minor blemishes.
The deposit scheme ruled that the landlords deductions were excessive and reduced the amount by nearly three quarters which is much more acceptable.
Thank you on behalf of me and my two housemates
Isn’t that lovely! Its so nice to get some feedback from readers who have found the site helpful.
Note by the way, that I now have a special tenancy deposit claim website where you can check to see if you have a claim or not for the penalty which you can claim if your landlord fails to protect your deposit.
I am also writing a do it yourself kit which I hope to be able to sell there shortly, but what with one thing and another, its taking a while to do!
Going to arbitration, and even more, going to court, is always a very intimidating propsect if you have never done it before. However the arbitrators and Judges are (on the whole) VERY fair and decent and if they think you have been messed around and been taken advantage of by your landlord, they won’t like that.
In tenancy deposits adjudications, tenants also start off with an initial advantage as the money is actually yours. It is up to the landlord to prove he is entitled to all or part of Your Money!
So if the deductions are unfair, it is worth giving it a go.
UPDATE – the do it yourself kit is now done – read about it >> here.
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