SMF - Just Installed!

New Landlord charging me to decorate

Started by CuriousTenant, March 23, 2021, 06:03:32 PM

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CuriousTenant

Hi,

I'm just hoping for a bit of guidance on this matter. I've lived in a property for five years with three young children. For 2.5 to 3 years I had one landlord. Throughout this time he took the fireplace out of the front room due to it being used as a bedroom, a radiator fell of a wall upstairs several times due to the wall not being strong enough, prior to me moving in all doors in the house had some form of damage and after a week of me moving in the kitchen checking fell due to there being faulty pipes under the bath.

Half way through the occupancy he sold the house to his daughter. Everything had been fine with frequent property inspections from a letting agent. After I've moved out my new landlord has sent me a letter saying she wants me to pay for the fireplace (which was taken out by the previous landlord), that she wants me to pay for the radiator upstairs (despite this being a reoccurring issue), that she wants me to pay for all new doors (despite them being damaged prior to me moving in five years ago and me replacing two of them before I moved out) and that the kitchen ceiling had fallen through days after I left the property due to a flood after I have left the property so I had to pay for the plasterer.

She didn't come to inspect the property either prior to buying it or after buying it and had no idea of what the property was like. She is referring to an inventory which took place five years ago when I moved in but obviously things had changed whilst the previous landlord owned the property.

My dad was a guarantor for the previous landlord but the new one seems to be under the impression that the deed of guarantee instantly transferred to her when she bought the property despite my dad not being aware of this and she is now threatening to take the money off him.

Where do I stand in terms of not being held accountable for things in which the previous landlord did to the property but failed to make the new owner aware of?

Many thanks

Inspector

Essentially from the landlord's point of view there are 3 ways to get the money.

1) come to an agreement with the tenant - I suggest you refuse to pay anything.
2) make deductions from the deposit if the tenant moved out within the last 90 days - if they try this raise a deposit dispute.
3) take legal action and go to a small claims court - unlikely that you would be liable.

From your side I hope you have emails and written correspondence to back up everything that happened in the property. 

heavykarma

I would write a strongly-worded letter,and keep proof of postage.List all the issues you mention here,attaching any photos or other proof. Make it plain that you will contest this. I should also add that I never take tenants who need a guarantor, the reason being that the contract is not worth the paper it's written on. Was your deposit protected by both the landlords,and did you receive all the relevant documents at the start of the tenancies?