Screwed over by landlord on deposit.

Grimlock

Hi
I've been screwed by my landlord over the deposit on a house my self and some friends where renting for a nearly 3 years. After finishing college we spent the summer there and moved out last month, we spent 2 days cleaning the house down, to leave as we got it. A week after we left I met the landlord for an inspection and he was more than a little unfair, and docked €430 from the deposit.
He's charging us for things which we were not responsible for and his charging us exorbitant prices for everything, some of which we were responsible for.
Yesterday I got a check in the post and he had docked us €700!
He had added stuff he said he wouldn't for example €180 for 2 small net curtains which were missing, turns out they are in a drawer in the bedroom, I didn't know this cos it's not my room. And a large curtain in the sitting room for a rip which was there when we moved in! He has doubled the price of some things he said he'd charge us for and to top it all off his list of items and their costs does not even add up to 700, only 680!
He posted it to me on the morning that he fu*ked off for 2 weeks on holiday :mad:
During the year he did stuff like show people around with out telling us/ asking us if it was ok if, on 2 occasions he brought people into rooms where my house mates where still sleeping!
I'm pretty sure he's not paying tax on the place.
Any advice as to how I can get the cash I deserve back?
No aggressive suggestions please.
Thanks

okidoki987

After everybody else tells you how to go about getting your dosh back,
report him to the Revenue!
At least then you will get some enjoyment out of it.

Hagar

The Revenue will sort that "gentleman" out

HashSlinging

how does one go about reporting a leech. I can see myself in this situation in a couple of days, as im having on-going problems with my landlord. broken doors, noisy neighboors who are related to the landlord.. he demands i pay cash every month (pain as im self employed) .. but signs a rent book. do I have any grounds to report him or should i just move out....

frodi

Small claims court? for money
Then Revenue. for revenge

grumpytrousers

DON'T TO TO THE REVENUE...at least not yet.

Once you do, you've shot your bolt. Keep it as a threat...it should 'focus' his mind.

Was there an inventory when you signed the lease...i.e. a list of things that were there and their state of repair/disrepair. You should have a look-see and check where you are on that position.

Certain wear-and-tear things are his responsibitility. In other words the downside of him getting a constant income on his property is that he has to 'service' his property. You might want to point this out to him.

May i suggest you point out these things to him, taking care to sound as reasonable as possible.

"Lookit, you know there's' been a lot of deductions, and really, 700 is quite a lot when you consider that we actually showed good faith in noticiably tidying the property. We always made a good impression when you brought people, unannounced, to the property, and never any issue with you entering onto the premises without notice"

find a few other things to butter him up.

If you get no joy with that, then you should maintain the sh!t-eating grin you're wearing and ask how his tax affairs are....He'll tell you they're okay, probably, but at that point you should start to investigate ratting him out.

Again, take your time with this, it's a marathon not a sprint and you'll have far more fun making the c*** sweat about being found out than actually having him BE found out.

my 2 cents...

okidoki987

I would deffo leave the Revenue until last, after all if he is Revenue compliant, what do you do then?

egan007

OH YES - YA BEAUTY
well that's what you will be saying when you go to these
Ths was setup on july to stop assholes like this.
Please let us know how ya get on

"The Private Residential Tenancies Board is an organisation set up by the Government to mediate disputes between landlords and tenants in private rented accommodation. The mediator helps landlords and tenants to come to an agreement that works for both of them.

The Residential Tenancies Act, 2004, which was enacted in July 2004, has placed the Private Residential Tenancies Board on a statutory basis and provides for a new legislative framework for the private rented residential sector in Ireland."


http://www.oasis.gov.ie/housing/renting_a_flat_or_house/private_residential_tenancies_board.html

Grimlock

thanks for the replies guys, but my problem is getting the proper cash back from him for the desposit, like HashSlinging we paid in cash every month and he signed a rent book, which I think he took at the end.....
Thing is there are outstanding bills in my name and the returned deposit, all 100 yoyo's of it does not cover the ESB & NTL for the 2 final months.
So The revenue may be a means to threaten him but I'd prefer to get the cash back.
HashSlinging if it's causing you too much of an annoyance, which it sounds like it is then I'd cut your loses and leave.
GrumpyTrousers you are dead right, and we do have a list but the problem is that some of the things, ie the base of a bed is not something you would immediately check is broken and when it's at the foot, it's difficult to notice.
Also the hover which was working perfectly on the day we moved out was totally unreponsive when I turned up to meet him for the inspection, it was the first thing he checked in front of me, I've a feeling he took the fuse out or something but with out a screw driver I can't prove a thing!

grumpytrousers

GrumpyTrousers you are dead right, and we do have a list but the problem is that some of the things, ie the base of a bed is not something you would immediately check is broken and when it's at the foot, it's difficult to notice.
Also the hover which was working perfectly on the day we moved out was totally unreponsive when I turned up to meet him for the inspection, it was the first thing he checked in front of me, I've a feeling he took the fuse out or something but with out a screw driver I can't prove a thing!

Okay...it pains me to say this, but in terms of you getting money back, you might have to chalk some down to the file marked 'Live and learn'. FWIW, it happens us all...

I'd still think that you should make the point that even if a load of trappist monks had lived there then certain things would just 'pack in'. What kind of valuation does he have on, for instance, the Hoover? I'm no accountant, but prudentially, he should have bought it for 50 euro, reckon it'll be fecked in 5 years therefore after the 3 years ye were there, it's only worth 20 max. D'you get my drift. it might cost him 50 for a new one, but the one ye broke (if indeed you did *ahem* break it) wouldn't have been worth that if he tried to sell it.

The bills. Bummer.

As i said, and i realise that i'm not the person here who needs the €€€ yesterday(!), if you can afford to play this slow and steady, then do so. Like Al Capone says in the untouchable, you can get a lot further with a kind word and a gun then you can with just a kind word.

Seeing as his downfall was 'cos of the Revenue, I'm sure there's a pithy comment one could make tying it all up nicely

f***ed if I can do it mind!

Grimlock

Amoung the costs is:
100 cleaning!!!!
100 hoover
100 bed base
180 curtains.
then the rest is misc crap.
All of which are rediculously over priced.
The guys I lived with are expecting cash back, and some of them only moved in during the summer so they are not responsible for some of the misc things like broken chair etc. that we are being charged for so they want cash back, which isn't unreasonable!
This is turning into a real headache for me!

grumpytrousers

just shows what tight pricks some landlords are....as i say, work on the reasonable side of things...if you can work out some compromise.

see, my own pinko lefty instinct sees that money he's lifting from you as money he'll invest to make his property more rentable to the next gang of tenants. To continue the accounting analogy I unwisely brought in up above, it's fair enough that you contribute to his Gross Profit without feckin' absorbing his Expenses as well...

I mean, he already (in rent) took €x from you, and now he's trying to retrospectively cover the cost of upkeep of the house. That's a landlords "business" - to take money and keep up the repair of the house. Did you have any wild mad parties (to his knowledge!). If not, then it's normal wear and tear...

Do you know if he has a property portfolio. Most 'professional' landlords tend to see things as I outlined them...so your fella might be a chancer (just cos he issued you with a rent book doesn't mean he's paying tax)

substr

Contact threshold asap!
They are there to help you, dont delay it and just contact them
www.threshold.ie

jd

If he is paying tax, I believe he can depreciate stuff over 5 years , and write it off against tax. So you can hardly be responsible for the full cost of the items..
Ah, here it is..
http://p200.ezboard.com/faskaboutmoneyfrm21.showMessage?topicID=1270.topic

small claims cout is your man though, i reckon

okidoki987

Grumpytrousers
Where would you get a new hoover for 50 Euro?

Imposter

Grimlock wrote:

Amoung the costs is:
100 cleaning!!!!
100 hoover
100 bed base
180 curtains.
then the rest is misc crap.
All of which are rediculously over priced.
The guys I lived with are expecting cash back, and some of them only moved in during the summer so they are not responsible for some of the misc things like broken chair etc. that we are being charged for so they want cash back, which isn't unreasonable!
This is turning into a real headache for me!

Go through threshold, whoever else and eventually the revenue if you have to. If you get no joy from any of those you must be entitled to the Hoover, the curtains and the bed base seeing as you've paid for their replacement. Also look for receipts for the cleaning. Be nice but firm when asking for these things! If you're not going ot get things the way you think you should then do as much as possible to make sure he's not getting away with being an asshöle.

grumpytrousers

okidoki987 wrote:

Grumpytrousers
Where would you get a new hoover for 50 Euro?

QVC, innit

as you can guess, I ain't bought a hoover recently....

argument remains the same though....it's unfair of the landlord to replace his hoover that was frigged with a top of the range one and expect m'laddo here to pay for it...whatever the cost

Grimlock

Guys thanks a million for all the advice,
just out of interest I added up the frent we've paid over 3 years and it comes to just under €50000, just a grand off!
That's a LOT of cash for doing nothin and he never had any trouble getting the cash.
will talk to the other guys later and will keep progress updated!
Thanks again

okidoki987

Grimlock
Ever thought of buying a house yourself and letting the other bedrooms to
help pay the mortgage?
Imposter
Like the idea of claiming the goods seeing as "I've paid full whack to replace them!"