chickpea Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 So, we are finally shot of our tenants and have possession of our property back (but not without a whole load of verbal abuse from the female tenant and her father at the checking-out). We want to retain £200 of the deposit, held with the DPS, to cover the plumber's bills. What's the best way to present our case? We have the plumber's reports and bills, but as he said, his job wasn't to attribute blame so the reports describe the technical issues of the problems, without going so far as to say "and this was obviously caused by the tenants leaving the tap on". (if I remember rightly, that particular part of the report says something like " this would only cause a problem when the tap was turned on a diverted to the deck shower") Should we include a covering letter, putting into plain English what the plumber found and what we know from what the tenants said? Or are we wasting our time - will only what is stated in the reports be taken into account? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richlist Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 Good news that you have regained possession. It turned out relatively painless for you compared to some of the horror stories that get posted from time to time. As far as the deposit is concerned.......I would never risk using the adjudication process within the deposit protection scheme. Statistics indicate that landlords get a rough deal unless they have cast iron evidence. Better you refund the deposit in full and then take action through the small claims court. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 Tracey, By all means try but I think you are wasting your time. As I recall at least part of your plumbing problem was a leak from behind the overflow knob finding its way to a ceiling. To my knowledge this can only leak if the sealed fitting to the bath had become loose, braking the flange seal between the fitting and the bath. To reseal and tighten up would need access both sides by removing the 'loose' knob and from behind the bath panel - a landlord's responsibility. In short I would not expect any tenant to fix this. A 'good' tenant might have reported it as soon as possible before any serious damage caused, as previously suggested, but not all tenants are that good..... Your best value is your repossession - move on and good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James74 Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 You have nothing to lose by disputing the deposit, provide as much evidence as you can. As Richlist says this will be very difficult to prove, and they adjudication process always favors the tenant as the onus is on the landlord to prove damage etc. You may be lucky and they don't submit their evidence on time. But worst case if you don't win, then the tenants have had to wait for the deposit whilst it was disputed which may bring you some satisfaction ! James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carryon Regardless Posted January 27, 2012 Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 It's good for our experience, go for it. But I wouldn't, I've better things to do. Come to think of it I should be doing them now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mortitia Posted January 27, 2012 Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 Actually I could go along with the last 3 posts. You might get lucky with the DPS - often tenants who are full of the verbal don't pursue things on paper. If you've got the time go for it but keep an open mind. Mortitia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickpea Posted January 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Thanks for all the replies - quite a mixed bag! We have decided to go down the DPS route as the path of least resistance - if we win, great, if not, we'll have to put it down to experience. In the meantime, as James says, it may cheese our tenants off, which can only be a good thing! We are doubtful of getting the money from the loosened overflow, for the reasons Chesnut gives but think the info supplied in the plumber's report concerning the loose shower head and tap left on will be enough to claim back the other part - plus we have detailed costs to re-decorate the lounge ceiling to cover the water staining from that leak. I'll let you know what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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