I moved out of my old flat 6 weeks ago and have been battling with my landlord with regards to the deposit.  He is holding Ã,£800 deposit and is prepared to give me Ã,£130 back.  Now, given my partner and I left the flat in a better condition than what I moved into it - we spent over a day cleaning, hoovering and polishing everything and left it spotless.  The inventory clerk felt it was one of the best flats she has had to do an inventory on.  The Ã,£700 is supposedly going on small cosmetic issues which 80% are not my fault and he knows this the case.  The lesson learnt is that you shuold always read your inventory and get it 100% correct on moving in.  This landlord ripped off my old neighbours who lived below me and also the guy he evicted who lived above me.  This guy is a nasty piece of work, he is incredibly posh and speaks down to you and nothing is a conversation, its always what he says gos and he even shouts at you down the phone.  The breakdown of the Ã,£700, is Ã,£280 on dry cleaning of curtains - this is a 1 bedroom flat and the curtains were dirty and old when I moved in, although contract does say they need cleaning on exit.  Ã,£70 carpet cleaning, Ã,£40 window cleaning, Ã,£60 repair a crack in window (his builders caused this - my bedroom ceiling caved in and so I had a team of them in for about 2 weeks), Ã,£50 inventory costs, Ã,£70 for fixing toilet seat as its wobbly along with a couple of other little things which are all not my fault.  He basically is doing this deliberatly as he knows the contract is written in his favour.  I have a friend who works for citizens advice who has said that in a small claims court the judge will only look at what is down on paper, she has said that I would get some of the dry cleaning costs back - due to a fair ruling, although other stuff he ultimately will win on even though it is unfair but based on contract.  

Now basically, I am getting married in september and this is already caused numerous arguments with my partner who says to just leave it.  I have not been able to sleep for the past couple of nights, he has made me so angry.  I have always looked after the places I have resided in and am so upset that some to**er can do this. I want to kick his head in, although to be honest know it would not do any good.  Now, I have his email address and postal addresss, any thoughts as to how to make his life miserable in a few months time when he has forgotten about me?

Thanks for reading.

ugpm

Dude that man needs a kickin. im available most of august and are ready for most types of mob lynchin  

"Get the van, the boys and bring some pipes, were going to Croydon"

Direct quote from a conversation into a mobile phone by a guy I know in Wimbledon (hes shouth african too if you picture the accent).

Everybody knows someone....

We were not desperate for the deposit back financially and never expected to get it back in full.  I had already explained to him that I was happy to pay for dry cleaning of curtains as per contract, although tbh would you ever expect a bill that expensive for old scabby curtains.  As for the carpet, well the inventory states it is threadbare and fraying around the edge, the money for the cleaning should go on a new one!  I am just so annoyed someone has totally got the better of me in such a big way given I have lived there for 2 years and always paid rent on time.  I was tempted to keep the last months rent as I had a feeling he was going to rip me off, although my fiance does her best to keep me down the honest path.

Thanks for your replies, especially knighty ygpm, he he!!!  I am going to leave it for 6 months and hit him hard with it!!  For anyone who is curious as to Knighty post .... well you are just gonna have to ask him.

brummie ... is there something you want to share with us, he he!!

Porch Monkey ... you are scarier than Brummie.

Thanks, made me smile!

EDIT: Have cheered myself up with a new avatar, ha ha!

* the pipes  i will make the *er back down with my black an decker

Anyone seen the scene in Ichy the killer with the hooks and hot oil?

Get a lawyer to write up some scary papers and serve them to him yourself. Tell him that he can make it difficult, or you will make it very hard.

I had a landlord who thought he was badass once. He decided to kick out the  entire building to rehab it for condos. I kicked his ass in front of the entire building after he informed us. He changed my locks that night. I got a battering ram and changed them back and lived there without paying rent for months with police protection. Not recommended, but when you have the law in your favor, use it. I dont recommend the ass kickin part, as you can be arrested for assault.

max youll get *ed if you do that over here

stupid laws

Meh, Ive messed with the head of many a landlord, including moving back in for a month when they refused to refund my deposit. The place was spotless, just like th OP, better than when I moved in, and I said, "You wanna charge a fixed cleaning fee as a part of the contract, thats just fine, make it honest, you want to steal $XXX from me in the guise of phoney damage, then Ill just live here another month. Got a problem with that, then get a f***ing lawyer." Conversely, if I actually damaged stuff, I have no problem having it taken out of a deposit. Assholes should be shown their place in society.