Landlord refusing to repay a penny of deposit

You have two separate issues. Let her pursue him via the rtb in relation to the tax credit. But, if she burned the countertop in my property and left marks on a coffee table I would be keeping the deposit 100%.

Her own lookout for not being registered, she should have been looking for her tax credit long ago, you can try the RTB now and hope for the best.

How do you expect the landlord to repair the worktop? Replacing the whole thing seems the only thing possible.

Or do you just expect them to accept the burn?

Hot spoons don't melt workstops. The burning point of a worktop is alot higher. They burnt it with something like a pot or dish touching it.

A countertop for the top and labour would be around 1200.

She needs to cop herself on frankly and I'm normally on tenants side having been burned excuse the pun by a landlord where there was hand on heart not an ounce of damage. She was a toffy charlatan in a range rover and we were young an naive handing over a practically dry cleaned home.

In your case your sister melted a countertop and can't use coasters.

Your sister can still lodge a complaint with the RTB and make her case. Its does n 't matter if the landlord is registered or not the complaint will be dealt with. I 'm sure the RTB would take a dim view of a landlord who is not registered.

A person who does not comply with their responsibility to register their tenancy/ tenancies faces a criminal conviction and a fine of up to €4000 and/ or 6 months imprisonment, if convicted. This might soften her landlords cough if its pointed out to him. Suddenly giving back a €1200 deposit whether merited or not is looking like a bargain

Does she have any kind of lease agreement as evidence. Its also possible the landlord is registered. The RTB website is a disgrace and information on it can be completely inaccurate.

My understanding was a tenant can still claim Tax Relief even if a landlord is not registered.

Its worth checking out - https://itasaccounting.ie/general/rent-credit-for-unregistered-tenancies/

The Tax Credit was a sneaky way of getting Tenants to rat out non compliant landlords to Revenue.

She could fix the counter and table.

Also appeal to the RTB. Tenants don't have to be registered.

It’s not up to the tenant to decide on just doing a repair job. I’d want a new worktop.

They could offer to repair the damage and get their full deposit back,I think they would find it cost them alot more that way.

Doesn't negate my statement in any way, shape, or form.

I'm sure that the odd person would still be after their pound of flesh like a dog with a bone regardless, but most reasonable people would be less bothered if they had received tens of thousands of Euros compared to a scenario where they had received nothing

See what the RTB value it at.

You seem to be looking at the $1200 as a excessive "fine" for the damage. That's not how it works. It's the landlords property that your sister has damaged. The deposit is to cover the costs of replacing or repair. There is no cheap or easy way to do that repair.

Watermarks might been minor, but it is also damage. Most likely its a cheap table and it's more cost effective to replace. Stickers on the wall will need to be cleaned. A bit lazy that your sister didn't bother to do that.

These might seem minor to you, but the cost of correcting these is at least 1200.

Depends how hot the spoon was. Not from a cup of tea that's for sure

Where did I say suggest the landlord decides the price? The OP literally confirms that the landlord will be providing the quote/invoice as evidence. I'm basing my opinion on professional experience, that's pretty normal I'd have thought. It would actually be pretty weird if we needed to see the counter to discuss it.

Marmoleum is midrange as a counter material. More expensive than synthetic laminates. Are you thinking of formica? That would be the standrd cheapo counter. I wasn't assuming it would be anything more premium that that tbh.

It probably is a small section, but countertops are made in fixed lengths typically 2.4m to 3.6m. So you have to by a whole section whether its 1m or 3m. The costs is the labour, not the material supply. They'll need to measure and cut the counter, maybe remove and refit the hob in a new cut out, and reseal the new hob. It's not a big job, but all those little things add up. Plus repair/replace the coffee table and side board. Repair/Clean the walls. There's als oa premium leaving these to the landlord, rather than OP fixing it themselves. If they coud have fixed it all for 400, I'm sure they would have.

The RTB will decide if the damage is more than normal wear and tear.

There are companies who spot repair kitchen worktops. Also places who repair furniture from water marks. Though its probably cheaper to replace.

Are you sure they arent registered with the RTB. Ive had a few friends claim they werent registered with the RTB but it turned out they were. The RTB dont have the best reputation for keeping their registrations up to date.

If I did the damage to a rental property (or any property i happened to be in) that is outlined in the RTB I would get it repaired myself. None of that is normal wear and tear. It could all have been avoided by treating the property with care. If you owned the house you would not have been that careless would you?

I'd say good look getting a tradesman to replace a worktop for under a grand.

Rental anything has a much harder life than your own property.

Anyone who thinks a tenant is going to look after a property as if it's their house is too delicate to last as a LL.

So you would replace the whole car for a dent. Makes sense.

Lol. You think you can repair a lam worktop to remotely look as it was before the person severely damaged it.

I've lived in numerous places over my years never managed to melt a sideboard. Its not normal wear and tear. It's clumsy and you pay to repair it to original. The same as someone would repair to have your car to original before they crashed into you.

You can spot repair a dent.

As a landlord are you saying you've never had tenants do anything other than give a property back in pristine condition after a year or more. I don't believe you.

Because that's the only perspective that matters. Not that you've never broken a oven door, or spilt something on a carpet.

Let the RTB decide. That's exactly what they are for.

I'm not a landlord. And you can't spot fix a melted sideboard. It looks like shite.

Don't assume I'm a landlord because i think it's unreasonable for someone to melt a sideboard and ruin a coffee table and expect a full deposit back.

I wouldn't do this in my home why would I do it to others and pretend it's grand.

Theres wear and tear and there is damage. I dont know how you put a hole in a counter top put of wear and tear no matter what kind of idiot you are. I figure if i cant respect a rental im renting, i should expect anyone else to be able to do that too. Common decency would make me repair anything i break myself without waiting til im "caught".