UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi there.
Right this is a bit of a long story so ill try and keep it brief.
My tenant has just moved out of my property and some things have come to light that she has trashed. Really nothing major but just want some advise really as I can see this being hard to fight.
The deposit was made for her by the local council in a rent and deposit scheme (RADS) and so i think its now even harder to get back.

The agent is being pretty unhelpful by just relaying what i said to her and what she said to me and all that nonsense. With no help or advice on what to do and how to go about things in this situation.

Now my main issue and yes i know its not huge but there is a radiator in the bathroom that was brand new in 2009 and she has destroyed it. Its rusty and broken and she has claimed and I quote.
Rusty radiator ladder and disintegrated fittings.   'As stated this is rusty and disintegrated.  This has been overtime and due to the environment of the bathroom i.e. damp and steam.  The bathroom has no ventilation and leaving the window open makes my house insurance void and puts my family's safety at risk.  I would also like to point out I have not broken this.  This is nature and its course.

There was mould on the windows and i mean thick and black.
The mould to windows is natures doing not mine.  There is no ventilation in the property or around the windows.  If I opened the windows all the time this would be unsafe for my children/family and make my house insurance void.

so you can see what sort of thing i am up against so i know its going to be a hard one to fight or convince the agent that this is her fault. She has claimed no responsibilty for any of it.
She has also trashed the radiator in the utility room and has said that its wear and tear.

Any help and advice would be great.
Thanks in advance.
That is just two of the problems.

I would say given the 5 year life of the Radiator, they are rubbish radiators.

Cost of replacement with decent ones, materials £60, labour £150 - £200.

Doesn't seem bad after 50+ Rent cheques.

So I would say leave it, but it's your choice really.

I'd struggle to make a radiator rusty on purpose, sounds like something that would happen by itself.

A quick rub down and a spray with White Enamel spray paint, would take 20 minutes and cost £12 max in paint.

I love spray paint at the minute, you can get it for plastic too, and in the units I am doing there are blue pipes and lots of old and faded trunking for power, a little spray and they disappear into the emulsion.

Did you have an independent Check-In Inventory and Check-Out Inventory done? If so, you use those to substantiate your claim. If not, you could attempt to make the deduction from her deposit, but if she raises a dispute and you don't have the above, you likely lose as most deposit protection schemes are bias toward the tenant unless you can prove that you've followed due process.

One of the things that wind me up most about agents, are those that simply pass on messages !
I think it must be some misplaced idea of loyalty to both parties, thinking that by passing on the
messages they will not offend either party. What they fail to realize is that without us landlords and
our properties, they wouldn't be able to make the obscene fees they get from incoming tenants....

OK rant over, back to point of the post .....

I have been in similar situations, and sadly, in most cases, even if armed with a professionally
prepared photo inventory, ended up losing.

These days, I look at how long it takes to get a new tenant; what the real cost of the fix will be;
how much better off I will be with rent coming in, and concentrate on those, than fretting about
the pathetic grub of a now ex tenant and what they have done.

Oh yeah, and get a different agent, that one does not deserve your business.

Good luck.

Mr C

I am not really sure what "trashed" means in this situation. I am even more unsure how it could refer to damage done to a radiator. Maybe if we had a more descriptive bit of text? I mean, is it just some rust, or a few paint chips... or is it the fact it's been painted bright yellow, or it's hanging off the wall somehow? Some of those would be wear-and-tear and others would be damage (accidental or purposeful).

I think the advice given so far is spot on... you can agonise over this or you can bite the bullet and get the next Tenant in. The sooner you are shot of this one, who has caused you this hassle, the better... even better to not let this Tenant think you are that bothered by it all. If there is a ventilation issue in any room, though, I would use your time to address that - or the problem could easily come back. I'm sure there's a clause in your swanky AST about condensation, but always best to avoid the possibility if at all possible.

A house I'd lived in for 13 years, which never had condensation, was eventually let to Tenants... within their first year they complained about condensation and the start of mould. I was incredulous. It was difficult to broach the subject with them... but they had not been ventilating and they'd had the heat on really high. I said it was down to their own lifestyle and - thankfully, for me - it was... there are some properties, though, where something needs doing to address this. Better to get anything that might cause this addressed when you have the time between Tenants.

You say this is just two of the problems and you might be looking for ammunition rather than for us to say "roll over and have your belly tickled", but we are all saying this because we think it's what'll give you the easiest life and we all - presumably - presume you are not currently living hand-to-mouth.

Hi there. Thanks for the comments. Yes I did have the agent do an inventory and they got someone from outside to do it.
Although the people that they got to do it no longer exist and the inventory is very poor.
So its not been much help at all.
I have photos to prove a lot of things but i am unsure how they will hold up if it goes to a third party to contest it all.
The agent is not being very helpful at all with any of it.

cheers

Right just read the latest comments. Thanks guys.
I mean the radiator was red rusty. So clearly she has not had the radiator on to dry the wet clothes that have been placed on it. The windows have not been opened to vent the property and she has never cleaned anything.
The fixings on the front of the radiator have been broken off. Clearly not wear and tear over the years.

But I am still fighting it with the agent but your right its really not worth it at the end of the day. I just wanted to see what your comments would be.
Yes there is a clause in my new AST about venting the property properly.

I agree I have had this issue with most of the rooms in the house. The loft hatch was mouldy and one of the bedrooms was just mould everywhere. And again its her not opening the windows at all.

Most of the issues have been dealt with now but I have only had a couple of weeks to get it ready for the next tenant who moved in today.