Advice re landlord repairs

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Comments

  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    I appreciate the sentiment GiantMike and for balance I should point out that my former landlord before we moved North was excellent. Inpsected the house and let us know what he planned to deduct for and suggested remedy where he could. This made the DPS process really simple, because there were no surprises and he was able to substantiate costs with receipts. I think we got deducted about £200 from the money deposited for that house and everyone was happy with the transaction.
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    And now an admission that it was never paid in. This was apparantly at my request (doesn't sound like something I'd say). According the them, I was merely playing for time and lying by insisting that they should go through the DPS and they were only going along with it to spin out my evil game. They also allege I never signed a contract.

    Not looking good is it?
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • jibberjim
    jibberjim Posts: 2,810
    disgruntledgoat wrote:
    And now an admission that it was never paid in. This was apparantly at my request (doesn't sound like something I'd say). According the them, I was merely playing for time and lying by insisting that they should go through the DPS and they were only going along with it to spin out my evil game. They also allege I never signed a contract.

    Not looking good is it?

    Call your local council / or legal adviser they will give better advice, in theory your 150 quid for a county court judgement should get you the money back without a problem and hopefully the 3 times penalty (although they can work around that by paying it into a DPS right now I believe)

    But they've clearly broken the law by not protecting it, and you should get the money for that up front, even if you may later be in a small claims court for the rest.
    Jibbering Sports Stuff: http://jibbering.com/sports/
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    I'm happy to go to court for some marks on walls and deterioration of carpets over the period of an 18 month let, as I don't believe they amounted to anything like the amount alleged.
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • jibberjim
    jibberjim Posts: 2,810
    disgruntledgoat wrote:
    I'm happy to go to court for some marks on walls and deterioration of carpets over the period of an 18 month let, as I don't believe they amounted to anything like the amount alleged.

    If you've got the 150 quid (or are elligible for the reduced fees) then I'd just do that, no point wasting further time. Still talk to the council though, most are very keen to hear about bad landlords.
    Jibbering Sports Stuff: http://jibbering.com/sports/
  • mooro
    mooro Posts: 483
    disgruntledgoat wrote:
    And now an admission that it was never paid in. This was apparantly at my request (doesn't sound like something I'd say). According the them, I was merely playing for time and lying by insisting that they should go through the DPS and they were only going along with it to spin out my evil game. They also allege I never signed a contract.

    Not looking good is it?

    Bloody hell DisgruntelyGoat - this is a disgrace and landlords like this give the rest of us a really bad name.

    If they claim you haven't signed a contract, then they haven't got a leg to stand on. If I were you I would seek some quick advice from a local solicitor and ask them to draft a letter to the landlord for you. This will really put the frighteners up them. Hopefully you have receipts for what you have paid them.

    I would stick to the main points in the argument which appear to be the issue about the lack of DPS. At the end of the day they probably have no legal recourse here and wont want to go down that route.

    Reading through the thread, it would also be noting that most washing machine warranties are for sole use only, and are not valid when in a rented property. I got stuck with this a few months ago.

    I appreciate this is a total nightmare at the time, and it is completely consuming so you are better getting some good advice now if you can.
  • Turnbull2000
    Turnbull2000 Posts: 189
    Hi disgruntledgoat,

    If your deposit hasn't been protected in an accredited scheme, the landlady (who sounds a complete muppet) doesn't have a legal leg to stand on. Any reasonable judge will rule in your favour regardless of the landlady's claims. So the chances of you getting sued are vanishingly small, but the chances of getting your deposit back are overwhelming.

    I suggest you register and post your circumstances on the moneysavingexpert.com property forum for more comprehensive advise.

    Good luck.

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