UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi, I have just come across this website and i'm hoping someone can give me some advice.

To cut a very long story short, our tenants have said we breached the contract, we have email trails to prove we haven't etc.  They have moved out 2 months early and have stated that they are not paying us any more rent!

We have checked the property and they have not painted the rooms back to the original color, nor taken down the wallpaper as they promised they would.

We are obviously going through the correct procedures now, i.e letters then court.

My question is:-

Their deposit is held at a stakeholder so they cannot get it back until all parties agree.  Although they think we have broken the contract, should they have still painted the walls, took the wallpaper down before leaving?

I look forward to your replies

Hi Landlady1977,

Just to clarify, when you say the deposit is held by a stakeholder, are you referring to a tenancy deposit scheme?

In principle, the tenant's should return the property in the condition that they received it, minus wear and tear. So yes, they should have painted the rooms back to their original colour and taken down the wallpaper if that's what was agreed upon, despite their allegation of you breaking the rules of the tenancy.

The question is, however, do you have proof that they agreed to strip the wallpaper and repaint the rooms to their original colour? And do you have pictures of what the property looked like before they decorated? That's what it will eventually boil down to.

Hi, thanks for your reply.

The deposit was taken by the lettings agency then put into somewhere where they are a stake holder.

We have an email trail of agreeing to them painting and also wallpapering so long as they put it back to the original condition.  I also have photos of what it was like before they moved in.

Ahh ok, that makes sense.

Then yes, they should have returned the property in it's original condition!

Good luck! Please let us know how it turns out

Will do 

Quote from: propertyfagThen yes, they should have returned the property in it's original condition!

Indeed. Whenever a Tenant asks me if they can redecorate I ensure I get, at least, an email with their request and a response from me showing my agreement, or not, and whether the room should be returned to its original condition, or not. It's not always a hard-and-fast rule - so that's why we both get to keep the emails, as non-contestable proof for both sides.

In a small study, Tenants asked if they could repaint a magnolia to a pink for a child's bedroom - I said, of course, as long as it is returned to the original colour upon departure - and I provided them with details of the colour and the paint type used.

In a bedroom, Tenants asked if they could repaint a lilac to a more neutral colour - I said, of course, as long as it's done to a professional standard, then I see no reason to change it back to lilac upon departure.

But I always get it documented, even if only by email (which suits me). If your Tenants have left and haven't done what they agreed to, then they are the ones that have broken the terms you both agreed to. It would be good to know what their reasoning is - it can't be "tit-for-tat" just because they assert you breached the contract... two wrongs and all that. In that scenario I would hope that it's a valid deposit deduction.