How Much of the Deposit Can a Landlord Retain?

Penny Dreadful

Hi guys, I'm looking for some advice on the deposit issue from a landlords point of view.
I rent out a house and have a couple and a single man renting the house. The terms and conditions of renting were clear especially the no pets whatsoever and no structural work (e.g. putting up shelving, painting, etc) without my knowledge. The couple got a dog in April/May and kept it a secret from me.
Between one thing and another this came to my attention and on Friday of last week I called over to observe the damage caused by the dog and to tell them to get rid of it. I was also going to ask them to leave (with the appropriate period of notice) but the dog had to (and to be fair did) leave immediately.
The dog has chewed away a lot of two shelves at the end of the counter in the kitchen, chewed away (beyond any repair) the beading at the bottom of the blinds at the patio door, has urinated on the curtains there too and they are stained, made some kind of a mess at the top of the stairs where there are two nasty stains on the carpet and the laminate floor in the dining room has bubbled up where the urine was left during the day until the owners came home. The couple has also drilled holes in the bedroom wall to put up a tv, a dvd rack and two shelves. From what I can see everything else seems to be ok and just involves normal wear and tear. Needless to say there will also be a gas and electricity bill to be paid too before they leave although they may just pay this.
Am I within my rights to have all of this repaired and / or replaced out of the deposit this couple gave to me when they first moved in?

D3PO

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

Am I within my rights to have all of this repaired and / or replaced out of the deposit this couple gave to me when they first moved in?

Yes absolutly all the things mentioned are beyond normal wear and tear. You do have an obligation to furnish reciepts to your tennants to prove the cost of the repairs / replacements.

And I dont mean a handwritten reciept from a reciept book, they are entitled to proper reciepts. Once this is done then your are fine.

I would suggest you take pictures of all the damage before repairing however jsu tin case they decide to dispute with the PRTB

Ray Palmer

You can retain the entire deposit and request further payment if the damage is beyond the value of the deposit.

As stated what you mentioned is beyond normal "wear and tear". Like for like replacement is a key element too.

Penny Dreadful

Thanks guys for your replies. I was pretty astonished at the "don't give a damn" attitude this couple seem to have. You hear so much about bad landlords and you try not to be one of those and rent out a house in good repair and a reasonable price and thats the pay back you get:( You live and learn I suppose.
The day I went over I took pictures of the damage caused and that in itself hasn't been contested. When I get the estimates for the repair this may change. As it happened the day I got there the dog had just gone to the toilet in several places in the kitchen dining room and so I was able to get (lucky me) pictures of that too.

swirlser

Well Ive no real love for landlords, Ive had a number of them over the past half a decade and all bar 1 was a pain to deal with.

But it takes all sorts, right? Some do care for their property and have a fair mind and same for tenants. Then of course you get the greedy couldnt care less sort of both kinds.

But taking you at your word, you lucked out on this bunch who dont have respect for themselves or their home by the sounds of it - if it doesnt belong to them they dont care about it.

Hope you get it all sorted and kudos for taking the pics on the spot, that may well save you a potential headache.

Penny Dreadful

swirlser wrote: »

Well Ive no real love for landlords, Ive had a number of them over the past half a decade and all bar 1 was a pain to deal with.

But it takes all sorts, right? Some do care for their property and have a fair mind and same for tenants. Then of course you get the greedy couldnt care less sort of both kinds.

But taking you at your word, you lucked out on this bunch who dont have respect for themselves or their home by the sounds of it - if it doesnt belong to them they dont care about it.

Hope you get it all sorted and kudos for taking the pics on the spot, that may well save you a potential headache.

It sure does I suppose the way I looked at things as a landlord is that I rented myself and appreciated when I had a decent landlord who took care of the property and knew that when things were going well that it was ok to leave us to our own devices. Also I cared about where I lived and although it wasn't mine as such, I still wanted a nice place to go home to. I thought it only fair to provide a similar place to people who would be renting from me.
Anyhow, the end of the month could prove interesting! Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly.

convert

I agree with much of what has been said above. What you have outlined above is beyond normal wear and tear. Retaining the photos (date-stamped, if possible) is vital, as is furnishing receipts to the tenants for all repairs carried out to the premises.

Just on an aside note re. the dog: some landlords who do permit pets often ask for an extra 'pet deposit'. Most responsible pet owners should have no problem giving this as it means they'll still get back their 'normal' deposit, even if their pet caused damage to the landlord's premises (although most responsible pet owners are careful and respectful towards the property and do their utmost to ensure their pet does not cause damage to the house/apartment. And if damage is caused, they'll often offer to repair/pay for it.

Penny Dreadful

Back again. The day for the tennants to move out has arrived and things have gotten difficult.
When things first happened with the dog and the damage caused I made an appointment to meet up with the tennants to discuss things and they failed to show up. I waited over 2 hours for them and nothing. I went over the following day and they weren't there again. We had text converstations about the damage and that it would have to be covered from the deposit. This seemed to be ok with them.
I then made an appointment a week ago to meet with them as I was bringing over a guy to look over the bedroom wall and give an estimate for repair. The tenant got very annoyed at the fact that I was getting things repaired, cleaned, etc and not letting them do the work themselves. I pointed out that I had made efforts to meet with them and they could also have picked up the phone to talk to me but didn't.
I got all of the quotes in and they were fair but have taken up practically the entire deposit. I gave a full breakdown of the costs to them yesterday and they objected insisting on doing it all themselves. I said no, that they were leaving the following day and this is how it was going to be.
A little while later I got an angry abusive phone call from one of them while I was at work and they said that they were going to do all of the repairs themselves that night and I'd have to give back all of their money. I said that I didn't appreciate getting such a phone call at all and certainly not when I was at work. The workmen had been booked for Friday and come what may they were going to do the work.
I'm pretty uneasy about going over there tonight to say the least. I've looked on the Threshold website and it says that a landlord can retain a deposit to repair damage above normal wear and tear and that I am within my rights to have the work carried out. I just thought I'd throw this out there to see if other people who have experience on both sides of the fence have anything to say or suggest?

D3PO

you have a right to have the work done profesionally to a professional standard. they have no right to insist in doing the repairs themselves.

basically touch sh*t to them. tell them if there not happy tell them they can raise a dispute with the PRTB. You will win once you keep everything documented, reciepts for the work, keep text messages have photos of the damage etc.

Snakeblood

Speaking as a tenant, those guys are assholes. They broke the terms of thel ease by having the dog, the place is damaged, and it's up to you to decide how you want to fix your property. I'd have no faith in them given their history that they'd either A: do the thing or B: if they did fix it, fix it correctly. THey don't seem reliable and that's what I'd want in repairs.

D3PO

duplicate post

Penny Dreadful

D3PO wrote: »

you have a right to have the work done profesionally to a professional standard. they have no right to insist in doing the repairs themselves.

basically touch sh*t to them. tell them if there not happy tell them they can raise a dispute with the PRTB. You will win once you keep everything documented, reciepts for the work, keep text messages have photos of the damage etc.

Snakeblood wrote: »

Speaking as a tenant, those guys are assholes. They broke the terms of thel ease by having the dog, the place is damaged, and it's up to you to decide how you want to fix your property. I'd have no faith in them given their history that they'd either A: do the thing or B: if they did fix it, fix it correctly. THey don't seem reliable and that's what I'd want in repairs.

Thanks guys. I didn't think I was being unfair. Yes it sucks to lose the deposit but you reap what you sow and they messed up with the dog. I am (granted IMO) being reasonable as the dog urine being left for so long and so often has caused the wood floor in the dining room to bubble and lift a little and I'm not repairing that as the tennant taking over the property said its small and is happy to leave it as it is once the carpets are cleaned.
If I get over there tonight and find that they've plastered the bedroom wall I'm still going to get my guy to come and sand it and paint it, I think this is ok too.

reganww

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

If I get over there tonight and find that they've plastered the bedroom wall I'm still going to get my guy to come and sand it and paint it, I think this is ok too.

You're totally within your rights to have it repaired correctly. Best of luck.

Penny Dreadful

reganww wrote: »

You're totally within your rights to have it repaired correctly. Best of luck.

Thanks. Think I deserve a large glass of red wine tonight afterward!
Takes all sorts really doesn't it:(

Magicmatilda

As a tenant I would say your course of action is fair and reasonable. If I caused such damage I would expect to loose my deposit. Just make sure to keep sopies of all the receipts, text messages and a log of any dealings you have had. Also possible try and get someone to go along with you tonight.

Penny Dreadful

Just wanted to post quickly to say thanks for the help and advice you all gave me about this situation.When I went over to the house last night I went fully equiped with the receipts and estimates and copies of all of the bills and photos of damage caused. I had also copied some of the stuff off the Threshold website for them to refer to.
There was some resistance but I pointed out that I was in fact down €64.00 and was willing to leave it at that and not request the money from them. Things quietened down after that and they left. One of them was nice enough in the end and we shook hands and said "all the best". I think the other one will make a voodoo doll of me and stick pins into it !
Glad its all over and done with now and thanks again.