Landlord withholding deposit

pauldoo

Hey

We moved out of a place a couple of months ago. At the start of tenancy the lighting fixture broke, through no fault of our own, we turned on the light and it blew! Now the landlord is saying that since we didn't notify him when it happened we have to pay for it.

He is also trying to claim a number of other very pretty things.

The estate agent has a cheque for us, less the amount of the lighting fixture.

Two issues;

1. Can he take money from our deposit like that
2. If i accept part of the deposit, does that mean i accept what he is saying and wont be able to dispute it

Thanks

Paul

djimi

You are supposed to inform the landlord of any issues that arise with the tenancy so they are right to take issue with anything like the light fixture that they find upon inspection after you leave. Whether or not they could take the money from your deposit for it given that its pretty clearly not your fault is something I am not sure about; you may need to call Threshold for advice on that.

If you wish to dispute the amount being returned then do not accept the cheque they want to give you. While it does not consistute a legal agreement, they may take it as the matter being closed and it will be harder to persue them.

pauldoo

was just onto threshold, they said;

1. He must provide proof of payment for the work carried out
2. We can accept the cheque
3. If we dispute it, we have a very strong chance of winning
4. As it has to do with Electricity, very strong argument that it the up keep of the house.

Going to fight it, on principal alone

D3PO

pauldoo wrote: »

was just onto threshold, they said;

1. He must provide proof of payment for the work carried out
2. We can accept the cheque
3. If we dispute it, we have a very strong chance of winning
4. As it has to do with Electricity, very strong argument that it the up keep of the house.

Going to fight it, on principal alone

Who says its to do with electricity ? If I were a landlord and a light fitting "broke" and the tennant didnt mention it id correctly assume they didnt becasue they damaged it. as for it being upkeep of the hous ffs if you didnt tel lhim abotu it how is he supposed to fix it. Jeez

as for "other petty little things" petty in your eyes but the ll may have a genuine reason to sue these as deductions. Always two sides to a story and you havent mentioned what these "things" are.

pauldoo

D3PO wrote: »

Who says its to do with electricity ? If I were a landlord and a light fitting "broke" and the tennant didnt mention it id correctly assume they didnt becasue they damaged it. as for it being upkeep of the hous ffs if you didnt tel lhim abotu it how is he supposed to fix it. Jeez

as for "other petty little things" petty in your eyes but the ll may have a genuine reason to sue these as deductions. Always two sides to a story and you havent mentioned what these "things" are.

Who said i asked him to fix it, or that was the issue. Maybe reading the posts above might help you out, i like your attitude by the way

The other petty things;
1. Remove a bag from the shed
2. Missing tea caddy (that was never actually there)
3. And trying to claim other missing stuff that was never there in the first place, and once disputed the landlord stopped claiming them
4. €8 to fix an air lock on the central heating

the_syco

pauldoo wrote: »

Maybe reading the posts above might help you out

Maybe if you provide us with information, it would help us have a better understanding of your situation? Also, if you do win your PTRB case, it doesn't mean he will pay; the PTRB is fairly toothless.

StillWaters

So you did inform the LL when the light fixing broke?

In that case it should have been ascertained at that stage if it was an electrical fault.

Removal of your rubbish from the shed is a fair enough expense to deduct. Probably not the €8 to remove the airlock.

djimi

To be honest it seems that you have a pretty sound case and I would be persuing it, but just to be aware that by not informing the landlord of the broken fitting you were in breach of your obligations as a tenant (http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/renting_a_home/tenants_rights_and_obligations.html) and it is understandable that the landlord took issue with the fact that they had to find out about the issue on their own after you moved out. A blown light fitting could be a sign of a much bigger problem (a leak in the attic perhaps or an electrical fault) and not getting it dealt with properly at the time could have lead to a more serious issue.

Rasmus

Accept the cheque and submit a claim. No point in not taking money that is being offered and it does not preclude you from getting the rest back down the line.

BostonB

StillWaters wrote: »

...Probably not the €8 to remove the airlock.

Depends what caused it. For example, was it a fault in the system or did someone let the oil run out.

StillWaters

BostonB wrote: »

Depends what caused it. For example, was it a fault in the system or did someone let the oil run out.

Fair point.