Landlord retaining deposit

Solair

It's a normal domestic appliance, approved to European CE standards and connected via a standard Irish fused plug and socket. It's simply not dangerous unless being used in some crazy way.

She would quite likely have a serious case to answer at the PRTB had she evicted the OP on those grounds.

People need to realise that when a house is let, the tenant had a right to live there in peace and without interference.

You're their landlord, not their overbearing mammy or school teacher.

This is why I think landlords need training eg a weekend course before you can register to let.

There's a lot of ambiguity and lack of professionalism in the sector. Many people don't seem to understand what their role is and what their rights are.

Considering that you can't open a pub or hotel without a license I'm not sure that you should be able to rent our property without some basic level of training either.

Victor

Pkiernan wrote: »

Try growing up

Behave

Moderator

johnwest288

What is the story with deposits are you meant to get it back the day of the move-out or are you meant to wait till the landlord has inspected the property when you leave a day or two later

TheBigKahuna

Met with the Landlord on Saturday morning. Came out very upset by the whole thing. Was accused of "Living in filth", beaing too mean to heat the property and of lying to her too. She claims my finacee needs "lessons in cleaning", that "I need my glasses checked" and that we hadn't been lving there for 2 weeks.

I've never been mor insulted in my life by anyone. There was no attempt to come to come to agreement about anything - it was pure accusations and insults. Calling me a sneery smart-arse too.:(

Mr.Wemmick

johnwest288 wrote: »

What is the story with deposits are you meant to get it back the day of the move-out or are you meant to wait till the landlord has inspected the property when you leave a day or two later

I am not surprised in the slightest that you do not know. It's a funny business renting in Ireland.

By rights, the LL should have the deposit with them on the last day of inspection - the moving out date - and once all has been checked to the satisfaction of both tenant and LL, the deposit should be signed for and handed back. Any monies deducted should be agreed to by both parties in the event of damage or missing items etc.

The fact is most LLs are not professional and do not communicate effectively with the tenant regarding repairs or the standard of cleanliness expected. No surprise then that this makes for a stressful time for any tenant when a LL holds on to the money in the hope of being able to keep part or all, not inspecting the property with the tenant and being vague about the details/procedures, or expecting them to jump through hoops by hounding them with complaints..

An unpleasant business for most people, unfortunately.

groovyg

TheBigKahuna wrote: »

Met with the Landlord on Saturday morning. Came out very upset by the whole thing. Was accused of "Living in filth", beaing too mean to heat the property and of lying to her too. She claims my finacee needs "lessons in cleaning", that "I need my glasses checked" and that we hadn't been lving there for 2 weeks.

I've never been mor insulted in my life by anyone. There was no attempt to come to come to agreement about anything - it was pure accusations and insults. Calling me a sneery smart-arse too.:(

Have you contacted the PRTB?

TheBigKahuna

Be on it soon. Talking to Threshold first, to get the procedure, then onto PRTB. It's not becasue of the money anymore, it's because of the insults.

djimi

johnwest288 wrote: »

What is the story with deposits are you meant to get it back the day of the move-out or are you meant to wait till the landlord has inspected the property when you leave a day or two later

Its my opinion that a landlord would want to have a very good reason not to have the deposit ready for you on the day you hand back the keys. Its not that hard to do a full inspection of a property while the tenant waits. Personally I would not be impressed if I had to wait a week after I moved out to get my deposit back, considering I would need it to move into the next place.

djimi

TheBigKahuna wrote: »

Met with the Landlord on Saturday morning. Came out very upset by the whole thing. Was accused of "Living in filth", beaing too mean to heat the property and of lying to her too. She claims my finacee needs "lessons in cleaning", that "I need my glasses checked" and that we hadn't been lving there for 2 weeks.

I've never been mor insulted in my life by anyone. There was no attempt to come to come to agreement about anything - it was pure accusations and insults. Calling me a sneery smart-arse too.:(

Cut all verbal contact, insist on any future contact being in writing, open case with PRTB immediately.

Zil2011

We are landlords and we put €50 aside every month from the rent to cater for the place to be painted and any maintenance issues that arise during the rental period. Most contracts are for a year, and husband goes over and paints the rooms before the next set of tenants move in. When the first couple who rented were leaving, they rang and said they were moved out and house was available for inspection. (Now, the estate agent was in and out with people viewing during the months notice.) I went over to inspect the place the following day as I wanted to get it tidied out and a push on it for next viewing - the place was a dump, they hadn't even moved out properly. There was overflowing ashtrays (despite been asked not to smoke in the place), clothes still lying around place, oven and sink were manky, 2 bin bags full of household rubbish (smelt rank). I turned on my heel, went into the estate agent, told her I was giving the couple until the weekend to tidy up or they weren't getting their deposit back, also had strong words with the estate agent for not letting us know the place was like that and her showing people around the place, was no wonder no-one was interested! Went back at the weekend and the place was tidied up, now it was by no means immaculate, but once the tenants made the effort and there is no damage done to the place I would certainly refund the deposit to them.

On saying that, my son is renting for college and it says in his contract that there is a fee included in his rent for 'professional cleaning'. Hopefully his landlord is not like yours when it comes to moving out day though!

I''d definitely go to the PTRB. Let us know how you get on with it?

D3PO

Zil2011 wrote: »

We are landlords and we put €50 aside every month from the rent to cater for the place to be painted and any maintenance issues that arise during the rental period. Most contracts are for a year, and husband goes over and paints the rooms before the next set of tenants move in. When the first couple who rented were leaving, they rang and said they were moved out and house was available for inspection. (Now, the estate agent was in and out with people viewing during the months notice.) I went over to inspect the place the following day as I wanted to get it tidied out and a push on it for next viewing - the place was a dump, they hadn't even moved out properly. There was overflowing ashtrays (despite been asked not to smoke in the place), clothes still lying around place, oven and sink were manky, 2 bin bags full of household rubbish (smelt rank). I turned on my heel, went into the estate agent, told her I was giving the couple until the weekend to tidy up or they weren't getting their deposit back, also had strong words with the estate agent for not letting us know the place was like that and her showing people around the place, was no wonder no-one was interested! Went back at the weekend and the place was tidied up, now it was by no means immaculate, but once the tenants made the effort and there is no damage done to the place I would certainly refund the deposit to them.

On saying that, my son is renting for college and it says in his contract that there is a fee included in his rent for 'professional cleaning'. Hopefully his landlord is not like yours when it comes to moving out day though!

I''d definitely go to the PTRB. Let us know how you get on with it?

Two things to mention regarding this. Firstly the initial response in your scenario to you saying im keeping the deposit. Thats irrational and not how a landlord should work. If theres something that requires the deposit be used the rational response is I will keep the amount that it costs to rectify said work not im keeping it all.

secondly in the case you mention you would have been absolutely entitled to keep deposit for repainting if they broke their lease terms by smoking in a non smoking let. That causes yellowing of paint and smells in things like carpets curtains etc.

You would have been fully vindicated in making deductions (which may or may not have been the full deposit amount) to rectify.

back to this case like I said before the OP should absolutely be expected to be deducted if they damaged the paintwork by hanging pictures, but regards cleaning no way.

hawkwind23

TheBigKahuna wrote: »

Met with the Landlord on Saturday morning. Came out very upset by the whole thing. Was accused of "Living in filth", beaing too mean to heat the property and of lying to her too. She claims my finacee needs "lessons in cleaning", that "I need my glasses checked" and that we hadn't been lving there for 2 weeks.

I've never been mor insulted in my life by anyone. There was no attempt to come to come to agreement about anything - it was pure accusations and insults. Calling me a sneery smart-arse too.:(

ah know you know they are taking the piss!
sounds a bit of a class thing too.
nows the time (as hard as it is) to take a massive step back , take a deep breath and prepare to fight these sleazeballs through the system that protects them.
as stated above make formal contact only from now on and record everything.
also start to take notes of what exactly was said and dates times etc.
dont put any emotion into it nor exaggerate , record the truth and keep it factual, not emotional.
make this a crusade so these scum cannot do what they have done to you on another innocent victim. its a moral right to ensure you take this as far as you can.
forget about the money , maybe worth contacting a few local radio shows and papers asking if they are interested in a running the story.
also the local TD's can be excellent it getting your voice to the right people.

makes me so angry as i used to rent many years ago and i had a very similar case , myself and my then partner were also accused of "living in filth" , she was very houseproud and it really affected her for months after.
saddens me to think there are still many landpersons like this even after all the regulations.

just dont let it get to you , as i say it wasnt pleasant seeing how upset it made my ex.
i took a step back and fought through the proper channels and of course got my money back and an apology.
good luck with it

Couple of things.

If the paint is damaged anywhere else on the said wall or immediate area, or if the property hasn't been painted in two years then you can push a hard line regarding the wall.

When the Landlord said the property was unclean, ask her specifically what is dirty, and in front of her ask what needs to be done to rectify it, do it, ask if this is ok, then do it for the rest of the property and arrange for a second inspection. It leaves them no where to go.

Also be honest, if the place is untidy then get it up to a really good standard of clean. It may placate them and it also strengthens your case.

It sounds like the Landlord is a bully and for the betterment of mankind you should pursue them for absolutely everything. I had an extremely strict landlord who didn't mind a little bit of wall damage cause by a child gate. I sanded and repainted with a paint sampler in the same blue color and despite being quite a stickler about things he was fine with this.

You have been unlucky and probably will be out of pocket for a while - but the satisfaction when you get the money back will be more than worth it and if you have been fully honest above then I think you have a good chance.

D3PO

Deleted User wrote: »

Couple of things.

If the paint is damaged anywhere else on the said wall or immediate area, or if the property hasn't been painted in two years then you can push a hard line regarding the wall.

.

sorry but i totally disagree. Firstly if its damaged elsewhere the landlord will claim they caused the other damage (weather they did or not) secondly where are you getting your if it isnt pained in the last two years from ?

there is no obligation for any landlord to repaint every two years so thats totally irrelevent.

TheBigKahuna

Venjur wrote: »

Couple of things.

If the paint is damaged anywhere else on the said wall or immediate area, or if the property hasn't been painted in two years then you can push a hard line regarding the wall.

When the Landlord said the property was unclean, ask her specifically what is dirty, and in front of her ask what needs to be done to rectify it, do it, ask if this is ok, then do it for the rest of the property and arrange for a second inspection. It leaves them no where to go.

Also be honest, if the place is untidy then get it up to a really good standard of clean. It may placate them and it also strengthens your case.

It sounds like the Landlord is a bully and for the betterment of mankind you should pursue them for absolutely everything. I had an extremely strict landlord who didn't mind a little bit of wall damage cause by a child gate. I sanded and repainted with a paint sampler in the same blue color and despite being quite a stickler about things he was fine with this.

You have been unlucky and probably will be out of pocket for a while - but the satisfaction when you get the money back will be more than worth it and if you have been fully honest above then I think you have a good chance.

I'm willing to accept the paint damage, but I'll querying the price of the paint she wants to use - she says it's a particularly expensive paint she has to use. WHY, I don't know. I offered to clean the place to her standard that same afternoon, but she refused. I have photos taken on the evening we left, showing the property in an immaculately tidy state - you can even see some of the Cleaning products we were using hadn't been put away! I'll be sending her one more letter stating my case, and if I don't get a reasonable response I will continue to the PRTB.

D3PO

TheBigKahuna wrote: »

I'm willing to accept the paint damage, but I'll querying the price of the paint she wants to use - she says it's a particularly expensive paint she has to use. WHY, I don't know. I offered to clean the place to her standard that same afternoon, but she refused. I have photos taken on the evening we left, showing the property in an immaculately tidy state - you can even see some of the Cleaning products we were using hadn't been put away! I'll be sending her one more letter stating my case, and if I don't get a reasonable response I will continue to the PRTB.

this is the best course of action. Re the paint she can only use the same quality of paint already on the wall. HOWEVER your libel for the labour costs of rectifying it aswell so shes entitled to get a painter / decorator to do the work. Clearly more expensive but shes entitled to it.

You are entitled to a full vat reciept for materials and labour however. Re the cleaning she cannot charge you for it so regardless of resolving the wall matter you will have to take a PRTB case.

TheBigKahuna

Quick bump for anyone interested - heading to PRTB soon for case hearing. We filed case saying we didn't feel that retaining ALL of our deposit was justified. The landlord then filed a case against us looking for damages against us and making false allegations.

Fun times. Thankfully, we've plenty of evidence to disprove these allegations.

TheBigKahuna

This is an old thread, but I hate to see it unfinished.

For anyone still interested - I went to PRTB, the landlord looked for €3000+ in damages (threatened legal action), but got €250 - even less than I was willing to give them before any 3rd parties stepped in.