Landlord Keeping deposit for Silly small things

Dara Robinson

Hi Guys,

I have 2 friends in work who are moving out from their current place in to a new place. They are Chinese so there is a little bit of a communication problem with the finer point although I have to say that they have excellent English.

They handed back the keys to their landlord today but no deposit. The landlord seems to be giving a mountain of small issues, Things like:

• 1 bulb being gone in the hall way (says it will come out of their deposit)
• Shower is leaking and will need to be fixed
• Tray in Fridge is broken (was broken before they moved in)
• The grass needs to be cut
• Hinges on wardrobe door broke, they fixed it cause she did not and now she says she needs someone one to fix it properly as its not "perfect"

There is more but I wont bore you. But you get the idea.

Also she is saying that she cant pay deposit because her husband is out of the country and wont be back until Monday.

Any thoughts on this one? I feel bad for the 2 girls as they are extremely nice and would not disturb a mouse. Its their first experience and they are quite shocked at the way they are being treated.

John_Mc

Dara Robinson wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I have 2 friends in work who are moving out from their current place in to a new place. They are Chinese so there is a little bit of a communication problem with the finer point although I have to say that they have excellent English.

They handed back the keys to their landlord today but no deposit. The landlord seems to be giving a mountain of small issues, Things like:

• 1 bulb being gone in the hall way (says it will come out of their deposit)
• Shower is leaking and will need to be fixed
• Tray in Fridge is broken (was broken before they moved in)
• The grass needs to be cut
• Hinges on wardrobe door broke, they fixed it cause she did not and now she says she needs someone one to fix it properly as its not "perfect"

There is more but I wont bore you. But you get the idea.

Also she is saying that she cant pay deposit because her husband is out of the country and wont be back until Monday.

Any thoughts on this one? I feel bad for the 2 girls as they are extremely nice and would not disturb a mouse. Its their first experience and they are quite shocked at the way they are being treated.

They lost a lot of leverage when they handed the keys over. Never do this until you have the deposit back!

Those issues seem to be general wear and tear, and those that arent would not accumulate to the total deposit.

Contact Threshold, but you're going to find it difficult to get the deposit back now that the landlord has no reason to deal with them.

billbond4

Are they claiming rent-relief?
If not, you could always "threaten" the landlord with telling the revenue about her status as a non-registered landlord, and afterwards ring up the revenue anyway
Also I assume the nice landlord has their BER certification?

Dara Robinson

billbond4 wrote: »

Also I assume the nice landlord has their BER certification?

When did that come into effect?

billbond4

I think the 1st January, but I could be wrong

Ste.phen

Only applies to new leases from the 1st jan

blah

First time I looked at www.threshold.ie, although that and www.prtb.ie are suggested on this forum all the time

Threshold wrote:

10 Tips on Getting Back Your Deposit

...

8. When you leave, your landlord must promptly return your deposit. The landlord may only keep some or all of the deposit to cover rent arrears or the costs of repairing any damage above normal wear and tear.

9. Remember your rent deposit belongs to you, not to the landlord.

10. If your landlord fails to return your money or makes unfair deductions, please contact your nearest Threshold advice centre:


21 Stoneybatter, Dublin 7
T: 01 678 60 96
email: info@threshold.ie

22 South Mall, Cork
T: 021 427 88 48
email: threshold@eircom.net

3 Victoria Place, Merchants Rd., Galway
T: 091-563 080
Email: thresholdgalway@eircom.net

I wouldn't consider a broken shower or uncut grass to be damage above normal wear and tear. :mad:

robd

Dara,

Perhaps a gentle inquiry from yourself to landlord/landlady (as their agent) on Monday re return of deposit. This should get around language and taking advantage of non Irish people. If you're given the same reasons then a reminder of rules for deduction of deposit as per Threshold/PRTB may suffice and that all problems listed are normal wear and tear.

Dara Robinson

Thanks guys for the help.

Robd, I actually had that planned already tbh. More than anything else I just wanted to have others confirm what I already felt myself.

I will be using a few things to put pressure on her, one of them is the BER and the fact that her place has not had a certificate yet (as I know she is already trying to rent it out again), also is she registered for this? As the girls will need her tax number to claim back their Tax back and also the PRTB as a final threat. I hope this will resolve it.

It really gets on my nerves when people are treated differantly because they are not loacal and dont know the normal customs and there is a language barrier. Especially when its an Irish person the one who is the one taking the advantage of others.

Thanks again, I'll still keep an eye on the thread incase anyone else has any more gems

miju

best of luck Dara let us know how you get on. Nothing worse than a shyster of a landlord effectively trying to scam money out of people

NickCarraway

Dara Robinson wrote: »

Thanks guys for the help.

Robd, I actually had that planned already tbh. More than anything else I just wanted to have others confirm what I already felt myself.

I will be using a few things to put pressure on her, one of them is the BER and the fact that her place has not had a certificate yet (as I know she is already trying to rent it out again), also is she registered for this? As the girls will need her tax number to claim back their Tax back and also the PRTB as a final threat. I hope this will resolve it.

It really gets on my nerves when people are treated differantly because they are not loacal and dont know the normal customs and there is a language barrier. Especially when its an Irish person the one who is the one taking the advantage of others.

Thanks again, I'll still keep an eye on the thread incase anyone else has any more gems

Good on you, let us know how it works out. The LLs case is very weak, and the thing about her husband being away is obviously an excuse no to pay. Hopefully having a "local" with them will change her mind.

ceacht

Take a look at threshold website:

"When you leave, your landlord must promptly return your deposit. The landlord may only keep some or all of the deposit to cover rent arrears or the costs of repairing any damage above normal wear and tear.

Remember your rent deposit belongs to you, not to the landlord.

If your landlord fails to return your money or makes unfair deductions, please contact your nearest Threshold advice centre:

21 Stoneybatter, Dublin 7
T: [URL="livecall:016786096"]01 678 60 96[/URL]
email: info@threshold.ie "

The grass too long-in fairness! All the other things seem to fall into normal wear and tear. Make the call to landlady and good for you for helping out your friends.

Capt'n Midnight

landlord could hold part of the deposit to cover replacement of a broken light fitting but even so you would need dozens of things like this to make a grand

if it's a bulb gone then obviously wear and tear and someone is taking the piss


Was cutting the grass part of the contract ? :rolleyes:

you could ask for an itemised list and query each and every one and demand receipts
is it worth saying that you would shop the handyman to the revenue too , after you get the recepits just to stir it up a bit ??

whizzbang

as far as I am aware they would have been within their rights to call the landlord to ask them to change the bulb, fix the wardrobe (assuming they didn't break it) and repair the shower.. They rented the place with these things working so now the LL needs to come in and return the place to the state it was rented in before the equipment failed. Most tenants couldn't be bothered to call the LL for a bulb but its just the same as anything else in the house stopping working.

They should take the landlord to the PRTB to resolve it.

Also, you could mention taking them to the equality tribunal if you feel they are being treated this way because they are Chinese.

Traditional

Before they moved in , did they get a list of contents and responsibilities ? if not its non and void , they could always say they have forgotten some item go in and look for it and refuse to leave until the boys in blue arive and then and get the landlord charged with fraud .
A lot of people think oh lets report them to the PRTB and Threshold and the latest thing the Ber cert and soon to follow will be a Gas Cert like in the UK , this line wont get you far , the only other way is through a solictor , take my advice , been there , done that and have got paid .

Victor

Strong smell of irony there OP.

astrofool

You don't need a Lanlord's pps to claim rent relief, the field is optional.