Deposit problems - please advise!

Executive Steve

hi there, the glory of boards.ie - never saw this board before today and its a goldmine of useful stuff...

here's the questions we have:

we rented a lovely house in shankill for two years from a letting agency. four tenants, deposit was €2250 overall.

we received notice that the lease was not up for renewal - about two weeks before the lease was due for renewal. there had been an inspection prior to this where all they had to say about the state of the house was that our grass needed mowing.

there was one dodgy chair [in the garage out of harms way] at the end of the tenancy and a table that needed repairs.

there was an issue with a bulge in the kitchen floor [leakage in washing machine caused wooden veneer to warp] which we had been calling the agency about for two months without any response or action.

we cleaned the house from top to bottom before we left, one pair of curtains was shrunk in the wash.

we left on the 24th of august, the agency said they would get in touch to refund our deposit.

we are still waiting, they are rude to us on the phone, [we have been calling them regularly to try and acertain what the story is] they have been stalling for months now, without any sign of our money.

meanwhile, the new tenant [we called around to pick up post etc] confims they have done no work on the house [shrunken curtains are still there - as is the dodgy chair and the broken table, not to mention the bulge on the floor]

the agency say there was "a lot of paperwork" invloved with the house. they "don't have the invoices" they need.

when we FINALLY managed to talk to somebody who could take our call [who wasnt "in a meeting"] we asked when we would be getting the deposit back and how much of it we would be getting. the lady said "there isn't much to get back"]

we've obviously asked for a properly itemised bill, but there doesn't appear to be one forthcoming - and trying to get in touch with these people is a nightmare.

we're out of the place three months now, and haven't seen a penny back, and they have categorically not spent a penny fixing the house up.

we don't mind taking a hit for whatever damage beyond normal wear and tear may have occurred, but we honestly can't see what damage beyond normal wear and tear there might actually be....

we have tried contacting the ptrb [they don't seem to answer] and we are considering getting a solicitor to give the agency a shout...

we were just wondering if anybody had any advice? or any haelpful hints and tips on getting the ptrb to answer our phonecalls, info on how long it takes them to process complaints etc...

thanks very much for your time!

homeOwner

Start documenting all your efforts at contacting them. Put any dealings with them in writing and ask for responses from them in writing. Get onto threshold and explain your situation, they should be able to advise you. Can you take photos of the house as proof that these things have not been fixed? Was it through an agency or a private rental? I think the threat of a solicitors letter is a good idea and could get things moving.

If you get no joy find out if they are registered with the new landlord agency (cant remember what they are called) and inform the tax man if they are not:D

good luck.

copacetic

as homeowner says, put everything in writing, start off with a list of the efforts you have made so far in a letter and take it from there, contact threshold and ask them what way to word it..

FreeAnd..

Get onto the PRTB (Private Residents or Rented Tenants Board). They were set up to deal with things like this and in many cases the mention of them will spped up the process of getting the deposit back. If you are unhappy with what they deduct you can challenge it. I am moving out next week and I know I face similar problems going on the track record of the agency I deal with. Best of Luck with it anyway

muffler

Yip, as stated above, put everything in writing. Phone calls are a very informal and useless means of communication if there is a problem.