question r.e. landlords being complete and utter welts

[AgentDaleCooper]

basically, my landlord is taking £135 out of my deposit of £365, to purchase a new mattress because the one i left had tea spilled on it which left a stain.

there's some debate as to whether this is fair wear and tear...he says no, some say yes, i don't really know.

what i'm pissed off about is that he didn't mention to me that stains on the mattress would be an issue - he did mention it to my flatmate, but he's been using her as something of a secretary (which she's raging about), and i've not been about, so she hadn't been able to relay that to me. he also used extreme examples where mattresses had basically been completely black on one side and so on...this is a frikking tea stain.

he also didn't make any attempt to clean it himself - simply informed me that he was buying a new one and that it was coming out my deposit. he then gave me very last minute opportunities to clean it, making out that there was a big rush and that it had to be done that day - he's now saying that i can buy one from ikea myself and deliver it, to save the delivery charge, and that i have 5 working days - in this time, i could get the stain out the old one...i said that there's one in glasgow on ebay for £30, same model and spec - he's now not returning my texts and simply telling me to speak to his lawyer, wasting time that could be spent looking at this mattress and buying it.

one thing i have is that he didn't get an HMO for the flat we were in, and there were 4 of us in it - so i can threaten to report him if he continues to ignore me. i'm probably going to anyway, because he's an ********.

my question - does anyone know what my legal position is here?

[Elephant Stone]

Give Shelter a shout, I think they give advice about tenancy and what have you.

http://scotland.shelter.org.uk/home

[ArabHibee]

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basically, my landlord is taking £135 out of my deposit of £365, to purchase a new mattress because the one i left had tea spilled on it which left a stain.

there's some debate as to whether this is fair wear and tear...he says no, some say yes, i don't really know.

what i'm pissed off about is that he didn't mention to me that stains on the mattress would be an issue - he did mention it to my flatmate, but he's been using her as something of a secretary (which she's raging about), and i've not been about, so she hadn't been able to relay that to me. he also used extreme examples where mattresses had basically been completely black on one side and so on...this is a frikking tea stain.

he also didn't make any attempt to clean it himself - simply informed me that he was buying a new one and that it was coming out my deposit. he then gave me very last minute opportunities to clean it, making out that there was a big rush and that it had to be done that day - he's now saying that i can buy one from ikea myself and deliver it, to save the delivery charge, and that i have 5 working days - in this time, i could get the stain out the old one...i said that there's one in glasgow on ebay for £30, same model and spec - he's now not returning my texts and simply telling me to speak to his lawyer, wasting time that could be spent looking at this mattress and buying it.

one thing i have is that he didn't get an HMO for the flat we were in, and there were 4 of us in it - so i can threaten to report him if he continues to ignore me. i'm probably going to anyway, because he's an ********.

my question - does anyone know what my legal position is here?

Don't know your legal position but I'm not being funny, you've stained the mattress and I assume made no attempt at the time to clean it so, lets be honest here, it probably looks like a urine stain.
So he really can't expect a new tenant to accept the mattress as it is.
However, he does sound like he is being arsey as if you are willing to replace the mattress (and able to do so at a cheaper cost than what he is taking out of your deposit), then he should allow you to do so.
It's difficult, as he has your deposit.

[Hibby D]

Arab's hit the nail on the head re the mattress. I think you should replace it asap and save yourself some ££££'s.

You however, could stir it up if you know he's not licenced. How long were you there for? Is there Gas in the property? If so, did your landlord arrange for a Gas Safe engineer to carry out a safety check? If not, you could rattle his cage a bit there too

I'd buy a new mattress and move on - it's not worth the stress

[Beefster]

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Don't know your legal position but I'm not being funny, you've stained the mattress and I assume made no attempt at the time to clean it so, lets be honest here, it probably looks like a urine stain.
So he really can't expect a new tenant to accept the mattress as it is.
However, he does sound like he is being arsey as if you are willing to replace the mattress (and able to do so at a cheaper cost than what he is taking out of your deposit), then he should allow you to do so.
It's difficult, as he has your deposit.

I'm afraid I agree with you. If I was moving into a rented flat and there was a yellow/brown stain on the mattress, I'd be demanding that it was replaced before I used it.

I wouldn't be getting into a tit for tat dispute either. Buy a new mattress as cheaply as you can find one and get the situation resolved.

[lapsedhibee]

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I'm afraid I agree with you. If I was moving into a rented flat and there was a yellow/brown stain on the mattress, I'd be demanding that it was replaced before I used it.

The landlord, though, could turn the mattress over before showing you round. If he's illegally operating an HMO, after the now several years of council campaigns, my guess is he might be at it with the deposit and will not rush out and buy a new mattress.

Is he registered at all here?

[--------]

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Don't know your legal position but I'm not being funny, you've stained the mattress and I assume made no attempt at the time to clean it so, lets be honest here, it probably looks like a urine stain.
So he really can't expect a new tenant to accept the mattress as it is.
However, he does sound like he is being arsey as if you are willing to replace the mattress (and able to do so at a cheaper cost than what he is taking out of your deposit), then he should allow you to do so.
It's difficult, as he has your deposit.

I tend to agree with you here. The house I hope to retire to is at present rented out through an agency to tenants whose rent pays a fair chunk of the mortgage. Without going into detail, we had one tenant I'd happily put on a blacklist as unfit to live in anything other than a dustbin.

But I do think that the replacement of the mattress like for like or getting the mattress cleaned would be a perfectly fair solution.

It's not as if ADC isn't willing to sort the situation out now.

I have to say I'm MUCH more reasonable with my tenants than this guy seems to be with his...

[Beefster]

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my guess is he might be at it with the deposit

It's definitely possible but he has given the OP the opportunity of replacing the mattress to resolve the situation, by the sounds of it.

[ArabHibee]

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It's definitely possible but he has given the OP the opportunity of replacing the mattress to resolve the situation, by the sounds of it.

Aye, but he wants it bought from IKEA and I think the OP has found the same mattress on Ebay for a lesser price? And now the landlord won't return his calls. That's just childish on the part of the landlord.

[--------]

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Aye, but he wants it bought from IKEA and I think the OP has found the same mattress on Ebay for a lesser price? And now the landlord won't return his calls. That's just childish on the part of the landlord.

IF you get a mattress from IKEA, do you have to put it together yourself?

You're right, though - ADC has agreed to make good the damage - seems to me the issue should be sorted now.

[HibsMax]

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IF you get a mattress from IKEA, do you have to put it together yourself?

You're right, though - ADC has agreed to make good the damage - seems to me the issue should be sorted now.

Mattresses don't need assembly. :)

[lapsedhibee]

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Mattresses don't need assembly. :)

"Beds don't make themselves"!

[HibsMax]

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"Beds don't make themselves"!

Very true, but usually mattresses come ready to drop on top of a box spring. I'm guessing that's what Doddie was meaning.

[(((Fergus)))]

C'mon, you're among friends here...did you pee the bed?

[AgentDaleCooper]

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C'mon, you're among friends here...did you pee the bed?

kinda wish i had now.




to clear one thing up - he's not offering me the opportunity to find a suitable mattress to replace it. i've pointed him in the direction of one in glasgow that is identical to the one i've allegedly ruined, same make, same spec - but he's not returning me calls. i'm pretty sure he's at it with the deposit.

[Wilson]

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kinda wish i had now.

Damn good piss... and hot.

[ArabHibee]

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kinda wish i had now.
to clear one thing up - he's not offering me the opportunity to find a suitable mattress to replace it. i've pointed him in the direction of one in glasgow that is identical to the one i've allegedly ruined, same make, same spec - but he's not returning me calls. i'm pretty sure he's at it with the deposit.

In your original post, you said that he wanted you to buy one from IKEA. If I was you, I would buy the one you've seen in Glasgow, it its like for like then I don't see the problem with it. Ask for a receipt when you go to pick it up and you can clearly show that you have purchased a new mattress if you have to take this further for getting your deposit back.

[AgentDaleCooper]

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Damn good piss... and hot.

[Cool_Hand_Luke]

Why dont you take him up on his offer to speak to his lawyer? Am pretty sure he has said this in an attempt to scare you off.
If he does actually have a lawyer, and you explain to him that you are replacing like for like (with the one off ebay), then i dont think the lawyer can turn this down

[AgentDaleCooper]

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Why dont you take him up on his offer to speak to his lawyer? Am pretty sure he has said this in an attempt to scare you off.
If he does actually have a lawyer, and you explain to him that you are replacing like for like (with the one off ebay), then i dont think the lawyer can turn this down

i did earlier today, but the lawyer is on holiday...someone in their office has sent the landlord a message though

[heretoday]

Landlords are ghastly. They don't like shelling out for anything.

If you stay in a common stair, the last flat owners to pay their share of roof, common repairs are always the landlords. They become hard to get hold of all of a sudden!

[ArabHibee]

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Landlords are ghastly. They don't like shelling out for anything.

If you stay in a common stair, the last flat owners to pay their share of roof, common repairs are always the landlords. They become hard to get hold of all of a sudden!

That's a bit harsh, not all of them are.

[Removed]

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That's a bit harsh, not all of them are.

You got that hedge cut yet

[goosano]

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basically, my landlord is taking £135 out of my deposit of £365

I'm puzzled as to how he can do this as under the government’s Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS), landlords are prevented from holding the deposit or claiming from it without the tenant’s permission

[ArabHibee]

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You got that hedge cut yet

Nope, but came home tonight and the next door neighbour had done it!!
It pays to live in an estate that would put the Stepford Wives gardens to shame!

[ArabHibee]

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I'm puzzled as to how he can do this as under the government’s Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS), landlords are prevented from holding the deposit or claiming from it without the tenant’s permission

That's only in Engerlund, as far as I am aware.