After 9 years, a lot of this is wear and tear. You cannot charge for a 9year+ old fridge, nor for 20 year old flooring. Flooring is recommended to be replaced every 9 years, so doubt you have a leg to stand on for the vinyl either.
Other aspects such as damage can be deducted from their deposit though
I understand that from the commentary I've seen on deposits in the past, but at the same time it seems so wrong to me that a fridge freezer which was brand new when they moved in now needs to be fully replaced because of the amount of damage to it - damage which I just cannot understand how it came to be under normal usage of an appliance. I totted up how much all the broken pieces would cost to replace and it came out at over £600. It's an uncommon size for an integrated FF and cost almost £800 to purchase at the time. Thankfully they seem to be cheaper now, perhaps they have become more common! I'm letting the FF go... to the bulk uplift.
I got mine brand new warrantied for £280 from ao.com, Liebherr, one of the quietest I could find on the market at all, and especially the size I needed. It's totally possible. It has both a small freezer and a fridge compartment.
I need an integrated one in 60/40 split, and I cannot find that anywhere for less than a £419 (+£30 delivery) one on Curry's that seems to be an outlier. The cheapest one AO has is a £699 NEFF one.
Aha hmmm.. Any of these? https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/ct/refrigeration/fridge-freezers/60-40?sortOrder=1
The electriq ones or the £241 Fridgemaster (but shorter at 143cm, look at the other Fridgemaster or the £319 Indesit for a full size)
Good luck trying to claim for the items other than the unpaid rent…. Most of it would be wear and tear and in even if you could claim it would be negligible based on the useful life of the items involved.
Chalk it up to experience - you should have evicted or served notice years ago if they were problematic
Presume you’ve saved on any upkeep, renewals, decorating, agents fees so think of it as an offset against those savings.
Do the place up to a nicer standard and check out what the market rent is - probably been undercharging over the years.
I would have served notice long ago, and in fact had it drawn up nearly 2 years ago, but then the Scottish Government banned evictions. The tenant was also an unpleasant and rather abusive man, who TBH I was slightly afraid of. I'm too soft to deal with all the confrontation.
And yes, the market rent is substantially higher than what I was charging, as I never increased it at all. Going rate is now more than double what it was 9 years ago. Now they've finally left they had to move 20 miles away to find somewhere they could afford to rent.
Sounds like a blessing in disguise then. As others have said, this is a good opportunity to do it up to a modern standard and reflect the current rent prices.
Unpaid rent can be claimed, as can the cost of cleaning back to the same standard as it was when they moved in.
If you're selling then you'll want to decorate anyway, sort the patch then.
On the basis that you're selling up, there's no need to do anything with the white goods beyond a clean as they'll be going to the tip anyway once it's sold.
Can probably claim the plinth, but looks at the overall condition of the kitchen. If the new buyer is likely going to tear it all out, then just remove the damaged plinth.
Flooring of that age is likely fair wear and tear. You're not going to claim a new floor if it's 20 years old. If it was 3 or 4 years then maybe.
Broken mirror, repairing the doors and windows can probably also be claimed.
At the end of the day though, just put everything into the deposit protection scheme and let them decide what you can have and what you can't. If the deposit was £1k (for example) and you submit £5k in claims then it's highly likely you're going to be awarded the whole amount, but I wouldn't bother pursuing the tenants through the courts for any more than that.
Deposit is only £700, so by the time the cleaning at £300 and rent at £350 is covered there is not really anything left anyway. Even if I thought I would be awarded more I would not bother to pursue them in the courts for anything else, as it would be like trying to get blood from a stone.
Can I ask why you assume the white goods would be disposed of if we sell? The kitchen is otherwise in good condition and there is a nearly brand new washing machine, tumble dryer, and dishwasher in there as all were replaced within the last 2 years. The appliances are all integrated.
Most of that is wear and tear.
Where in Scotland and how big is the house that your getting charged so much for a clean I run a cleaning company in fife and we just did a landlord/end of tenancy deep clean today it was £300 (2 staff for 6 hours and 1 off clean rate)
3 bed flat with 2 bathrooms in the west end of Glasgow. Also needed several venetian blinds cleaned which seems to add a premium. I've gone with the cheaper quote and they're in today.
TBH I'm not sure if the blinds should have been standard or not! I specifically mentioned them to the companies because I know they are quite a lot of extra labour to clean - one company said it was £100+VAT extra, the other is charging £30 extra. The cleaners came this morning - a team of 2 who have said they'll be finished around 5, so that will be about 7 hours.
It's six and half a dozen on the blinds we just incorporate it into our price for ease of paperwork and quotes but a lot of companies have it as added extras. Fingers crossed they do a good job for you 7 hours for a 3 bed 2 bath property end of tenancy deep clean is fair.
The appliances are all integrated in the kitchen, so I don't think I could really avoid supplying them. I wouldn't have wanted tenants messing about with trying to install the kitchen doors onto their own appliances, seems like a big risk of damage to the kitchen itself.
After 9 years, a lot of this is wear and tear. You cannot charge for a 9year+ old fridge, nor for 20 year old flooring. Flooring is recommended to be replaced every 9 years, so doubt you have a leg to stand on for the vinyl either. Other aspects such as damage can be deducted from their deposit though
Apply for everything with the relevent deposit scheme and let them allow it. But keep it appropriate. Cant be charging for a 9 year old fridge
I understand that from the commentary I've seen on deposits in the past, but at the same time it seems so wrong to me that a fridge freezer which was brand new when they moved in now needs to be fully replaced because of the amount of damage to it - damage which I just cannot understand how it came to be under normal usage of an appliance. I totted up how much all the broken pieces would cost to replace and it came out at over £600. It's an uncommon size for an integrated FF and cost almost £800 to purchase at the time. Thankfully they seem to be cheaper now, perhaps they have become more common! I'm letting the FF go... to the bulk uplift.
I got mine brand new warrantied for £280 from ao.com, Liebherr, one of the quietest I could find on the market at all, and especially the size I needed. It's totally possible. It has both a small freezer and a fridge compartment.
I need an integrated one in 60/40 split, and I cannot find that anywhere for less than a £419 (+£30 delivery) one on Curry's that seems to be an outlier. The cheapest one AO has is a £699 NEFF one.
Aha hmmm.. Any of these? https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/ct/refrigeration/fridge-freezers/60-40?sortOrder=1 The electriq ones or the £241 Fridgemaster (but shorter at 143cm, look at the other Fridgemaster or the £319 Indesit for a full size)
Good luck trying to claim for the items other than the unpaid rent…. Most of it would be wear and tear and in even if you could claim it would be negligible based on the useful life of the items involved. Chalk it up to experience - you should have evicted or served notice years ago if they were problematic Presume you’ve saved on any upkeep, renewals, decorating, agents fees so think of it as an offset against those savings. Do the place up to a nicer standard and check out what the market rent is - probably been undercharging over the years.
I would have served notice long ago, and in fact had it drawn up nearly 2 years ago, but then the Scottish Government banned evictions. The tenant was also an unpleasant and rather abusive man, who TBH I was slightly afraid of. I'm too soft to deal with all the confrontation. And yes, the market rent is substantially higher than what I was charging, as I never increased it at all. Going rate is now more than double what it was 9 years ago. Now they've finally left they had to move 20 miles away to find somewhere they could afford to rent.
Sounds like a blessing in disguise then. As others have said, this is a good opportunity to do it up to a modern standard and reflect the current rent prices.
Unpaid rent can be claimed, as can the cost of cleaning back to the same standard as it was when they moved in. If you're selling then you'll want to decorate anyway, sort the patch then. On the basis that you're selling up, there's no need to do anything with the white goods beyond a clean as they'll be going to the tip anyway once it's sold. Can probably claim the plinth, but looks at the overall condition of the kitchen. If the new buyer is likely going to tear it all out, then just remove the damaged plinth. Flooring of that age is likely fair wear and tear. You're not going to claim a new floor if it's 20 years old. If it was 3 or 4 years then maybe. Broken mirror, repairing the doors and windows can probably also be claimed. At the end of the day though, just put everything into the deposit protection scheme and let them decide what you can have and what you can't. If the deposit was £1k (for example) and you submit £5k in claims then it's highly likely you're going to be awarded the whole amount, but I wouldn't bother pursuing the tenants through the courts for any more than that.
Deposit is only £700, so by the time the cleaning at £300 and rent at £350 is covered there is not really anything left anyway. Even if I thought I would be awarded more I would not bother to pursue them in the courts for anything else, as it would be like trying to get blood from a stone. Can I ask why you assume the white goods would be disposed of if we sell? The kitchen is otherwise in good condition and there is a nearly brand new washing machine, tumble dryer, and dishwasher in there as all were replaced within the last 2 years. The appliances are all integrated.
Most of that is wear and tear. Where in Scotland and how big is the house that your getting charged so much for a clean I run a cleaning company in fife and we just did a landlord/end of tenancy deep clean today it was £300 (2 staff for 6 hours and 1 off clean rate)
3 bed flat with 2 bathrooms in the west end of Glasgow. Also needed several venetian blinds cleaned which seems to add a premium. I've gone with the cheaper quote and they're in today.
Ah ours was a 2 bedroom in Fife. Blinds are standard in our end of tenancy
TBH I'm not sure if the blinds should have been standard or not! I specifically mentioned them to the companies because I know they are quite a lot of extra labour to clean - one company said it was £100+VAT extra, the other is charging £30 extra. The cleaners came this morning - a team of 2 who have said they'll be finished around 5, so that will be about 7 hours.
It's six and half a dozen on the blinds we just incorporate it into our price for ease of paperwork and quotes but a lot of companies have it as added extras. Fingers crossed they do a good job for you 7 hours for a 3 bed 2 bath property end of tenancy deep clean is fair.
Thank you :)
Don’t supply white goods.
The appliances are all integrated in the kitchen, so I don't think I could really avoid supplying them. I wouldn't have wanted tenants messing about with trying to install the kitchen doors onto their own appliances, seems like a big risk of damage to the kitchen itself.
Definitely a high risk! Sorry to hear they’re integrated.