Landlord Retroactively Charging For Waste Bin Charges After 5 Years.

goz83

Something is missing here. OP says that the LL told him that he does this with all tenancies....but also says that the other tenants pay regularly for waste

Outkast_IRE

Brego888 wrote: »

Ah come on now OP, initially I was on your side but with that kind of evidence of knowledge you can't plead ignorance to the fact that refuse had to be paid for.

Literally every tennant has a different arrangement, its a very haphazard approach

Outkast_IRE

goz83 wrote: »

Something is missing here. OP says that the LL told him that he does this with all tenancies....but also says that the other tenants pay regularly for waste

Thats exactly the root of the problem, the landlord has different arrangments with each tennant, he honestly cant remember exactly what he has agreed with each at this stage.

Stheno

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

Literally every tennant has a different arrangement, its a very haphazard approach

So how did the meeting go?

Outkast_IRE

Hi all an update as promised.

The landlord called round, viewed the rent book and immediately agreed that he was thinking he had a different arrangement.

As i have stated we were willing to comprimise on the matter and put forward that we were glad to make a payment to the landlord but 5 years was too much without a bill in the intervening period.

The landlord admitted he was partially at fault for not billing as he stated he would, he also admitted that he should of regularily signed the rent book as it would of been a reminder to himself and us about the refuse.

He stated that as all bills and rents that were previously owed were paid on time every time in the past 5 years he would only take €150. He also thanked my OH for being one of the nicest tenants he has dealt with.

So all were happy with the result up to that point.

He then tried to tack on a €40 cleaning charge, stating that himself and the wife come in and will spend a day cleaning. My OH then invited him to perfom a quick inspection there and then so they could discuss if this charge was necessary, the landlord admitted the place was spotlessly clean. My OH explained that she would give all areas a thorough cleaning the day before leaving, and would be taking photos so that all parties were satisfied. The landlord said he takes this charge from all tenants but the OH was insistent that she would not accept it. The landlord agreed that he would not deduct anything else from the deposit except for the agreed €150 for refuse.

The landlord asked politely if it was ok to refund the deposit the month after the tenancy ends as he is away on a trip at that time. My OH agreed that it was acceptable and she would check in with him once he was home from his trip.

When the landlord was leaving he gave my OH a hug and said he was glad to be able to end this on a postive note after such a good relationship for 5 years.

He apologised again for the misunderstanding and explained that with some tenants he writes in the rent book that the refuse will be deducted at the end of the tenancy from the deposit and had mistakenly thought this was the case this time.

So all in all an amicable result for all parties.

I honestly enjoyed reading all of the responses both good and bad, i suppose it is difficult to convey the setup the landlord has, as he has different arrangements with each tennant and has trouble keeping track of them. It does worry me that he seems to consider it normal to try and take a cleaning charge out of the deposit but in our particular case i think it will turn out ok.

Thanks for reading and contributing .

TheChizler

Glad it all worked out amicably but that landlord should really read up on tenancy law. They sound well intentioned but they're not allowed to charge for cleaning that they carry out themselves or plan to take utilities and things from the deposit unless they're left out of pocket by the tenant, or walk into the house without notice and permission.