Landlord problems!

[trouble1987]

I'm a student and until last week was living in a static caravan (one of those massive ones) with 2 mates. We had lived there for 5 weeks. There was a little bit of damage (couple of broken glasses etc) which was minor and i figured it would be easily taken care of with the £100 deposit. However, the landlord is now demanding £500 in damages for things that we did not break. Hes calining we broke the sofa although he said that he'd had to repair it previously anyway and that we'd kicked in the front of one of the cupboards and broken the tv (which was working the day we left). Obviously we cannot prove that we didn't do any of this (who on earth takes photos of the interior of a sofa?!). However, to get this caravan all we had to do was fill in a booking form which was literally name and address, not even any signatures. It also made no mention of terms and conditions. I have never seen or signed any terms and conditions for the place and there was no tenancy agreement. Do you think he has any leg to stand on with regard to the demands for cash? Any replies much appreciated. xx

[morris mouse]

A good place to start would be the Citizens Advice Bureau.

[ILoveChristmas]

You normally have to agree to and sign terms and conditions of rent (as you point out), which would state that your deposit is non-refundable in the event of damages being incurred.

In any case, I would ask to see your landlord's proof that you damaged the items. My family own and rent a number of flats and it is standard practise for the landlord to photograph everything in the place. In addition, he should have kept a detailed inventory of everything and made written notes of anything showing higher than average signs of wear and tear or outright damage. You would both then sign this.

Without this proof (if he doesn't have it), I don't see how his demands will succeed; he can't prove you damaged them, which in Scotland at least he has an obligation to do. Likewise, I think you'll have a hard time getting your £100 back. It's not worth taking him to a small claims court for that much either, unless that's £100 per person and not for the whole place.

[shell]

hi,,,i think if i were you i would lose the 100 pound and then lose myself, i have a few friends who let property and they have an anormous amount of problems with tenants, and they all use the same people to get the money out of them, by dubious means.
there are so many rules with tenants at the moment and it always means that the landlords lose out, if you have done damage then pay as much as you can then apologise and leave the county, thats what i would do!!!.and if there has been no damage he will just forget about you and let it out to somone else.

[snail]

This was posted in 2008 so I expect it is sorted one way or the other by now.