Hey
My friend is in a bit of a bind with her former landlord and I wanted to get some advice/opinions to see if we could figure where to go without going to the solicitors again (who charge £145 per hour):
My friend and her husband lived in a privately rented property for over three years. Within the first two months, my friend had a chat with the Landlord about redecorating, which he said was fine. He also told them that he wasn't going to take a deposit as he'd rather have the money. My friend proceeded to redecorate (should have gotten written permission but didn't) - painting the skirting boards brown (wood coloured) along with the woodwork and one wall was painted blue to add a bit of colour. While they were there, the carpet in the hallway, stairs and landing had gone to the point it could no longer be salvaged (it was incredibly old and the underlay underneath had crumbled away), so they removed the carpet, underlay and gripper strips, fixed the floor boards that were in a bad state of repair when they first moved in and painted the floorboards a woodstain brown to redecorate accordingly.
Just before they gave their month's notice to leave, the Landlord came over for an inspection, telling them he "never gave them permission" and they had to put it all back immediately, stating it was covered in the tenancy. My friends didn't put back new carpet due to financial reasons or finish repainting before they left, though they made sure that the property was clean and tidy before they left. The landlord has since sent them a bill for £1250, stating they were in breach of contract and that they should pay up or else he'll sue.
This is where it gets complicated:
1) Returning the property to its' original state of decoration isn't covered in the tenancy agreement. The solicitor confirmed this for them.
2) Although there is a statement saying they had to obtain written permission to redecorate, the solicitor they spoke to told them that, given the circumstances, the Landlord had waived any legal right to insist on giving written confirmation or enforcing breach of contract about the decoration.
3) The Landlord was forced to re-issue his notice of intent as he got it wrong. He also finally sent across invoices for stuff to show he spent out some of the money he's claimed. But we did some number crunching and the figures the Landlord is quoting don't correspond to the invoices detailing the total work - his total and the invoice total are £60 out. I phoned the carpet company quoted who also informed me the prices my friend was quoted were different from the ones they charged. She sent them a letter asking for an accurate breakdown of the costs of materials used (as stated in the invoice), but they haven't got back to her.
4) He's trying to bill for extra bits like materials for a decorator which aren't included in the invoice he's sent them. He is also saying that he had to get a cleaning crew in that cost £100, but hasn't given any evidence of any kind that he did in fact need to spend the money or get the cleaning crew in.
5) The Landlord showed them pictures showing that the underneath of the vinyl in the kitchen that had been stained and replaced, trying to bill them for the costs. He says the pictures were taken after they left, but there's no date, signature or independent signature to back this up so its' not possible to prove it was due to my friend's care. We also got to examine the vinyl and it's clear there's no tearing or ripping or "wear" of the vinyl save for the staining on the underneath.
6) My friend got several statements from professional carpet fitters who all confirmed that the carpet and underlay used would have naturally expired after the amount of time they had been down as quoted by the Landlord, but he's trying to bill them for a brand new carpet. I'm pretty sure he can't do that, especially as he had the wrong type of underlay installed in the wrong area (which we're told reduces the life expectancy of the carpet).
They've offered the Landlord £190 for the decoration as a settlement payment (not because they're in breach of contract, but as a way to get the Landlord to back off) as the solicitor has stated they're not in breach of contract at all. He's now looking to take them to court.
Should my friend just ride it out and hire a solicitor when court proceeding definitely get underway? Or pay the amount he's asked off the bat (which we've proven the figures don't add up)?
Blessings x
They did get a written tenancy (AST), but it doesn't state that the decoration has to be returned to its' original state when they leave, just that they have to clean it (which they did).
To add, he's tried to bill them:
£565 for a decorator for five medium sized rooms - but he's ignored the fact the paintwork was over five years old and he gave them permission to redecorate. According to the solicitor, the Landlord waived his right to claim they're in breach of contract due to not having written consent.
Roughly £250 for carpet and underlay - but he paid a higher price than he had to and my friend has written statements from several carpet fitters to show that the carpet and underlay had expired anyway.
£100 for cleaning costs as he claimed the property was left uninhabitable - but I got called in to help with the move along with family and we cleaned the property ourselves. No evidence has been provided by the Landlord to show the property was dirty beyond any reasonable extent.
£75 for materials for the decorator - the invoice he sent them doesn't include materials as having being billed to the Landlord.
£100 for something else the Landlord has claimed but can't pro
 |
HOME
· Carpet flooring
BUY & FIT CARPET FLOORING
· Carpet Fitting
· Wholesale Carpet
· Carpeting Quotes
· DIY Carpets
· Carpet stairs
· Carpet Right
· Wilton Carpet
· Allied Carpet
CARPET MAINTENANCE & CLEANING
· Carpet Cleaning
· Carpet Cleaning Service
· Carpet Cleaner
· Vax Carpet Washer
· Carpet Steam Cleaner
· Karcher Carpet Cleaner
· Carpet Cleaner Kent
· Bissell Carpet Shampoo
TYPES OF CARPET
· Bathroom Carpet
· Kitchen Carpet
CARPET FLOORING ON THE WEB
· Carpet articles and questions
MORE LINKS
|
