That'll teach me to make assumptions! keep up the good work. Thanks Again.

Thanks for all your help on this ShortlyTdwarf.... its much appreciated and good to hear that we have not done wrong. It so bad of wealthy landlords to exploit thier tenants for thier own personal gain - perhaps the fact that the property is still empty as the new tenants failed a reference check is some concellation! Cheers.

Our tenancy ran from the 10th initially. On giving notice, I asked, does it run til the 10th or til one month from acceptance of notice? - she commented that we could vacate on the 4th and amend final payment to reflect this. Unfortunately, we were too late to stop the direct debit - she was aware of this. I told her the fridge part had been ordered and would likely arrive on Saturday on the 5th, as soon as we knew. I dont believe this was her grounds for meeting on Saturday - it was simply, the earliest she could fit us into her (oh so busy) schedule.... what if she couldnt make it until the Monday - would we lose it all? She only lives 15 mins away and made no attempt to contact us, as she has not now. An inventory was done but wasn't massively detailled. We didnt agree to meet on the 8th for a handover as such. We agreed on the 4th that we would rectify the problems and notify her to arrange return of the deposit not do a formal handover. At this point, we were told new tenants were moving in on the 7th - this gave us a deadline of the 6th and we needed keys to let the cleaners in and she wasnt willing to do this. There was no option and since all was done by the 5th, I dont believe its reasonable to charge us? The entirety of the contract seems to rely on the term "reasonable" - we think she has been entirely unreasonable. We have been model tenants, always paid rent on time, kept up communication and made sure we notified her of anything she should be aware of. Ok, we tried to save some money when we left but we did clear it with her first and when it wasnt good enough we made it good. During our tenancy we have lived without a curtain that was promised with fitting (from day one), with a bathroom door which wouldnt lock (from month one) and with a heating system that had a mind of its own (from day one) - these were all raised and never rectified so it is massively audacious to make such demands to us - let alone to financially penalise us when we have done all the work to meet these ridiculous demands.

My deposit was paid in Feb 07 so before Tenancy Deposit Scheme. Dont really know where this leaves me - perhaps the next step is to put something in writing? I am sure she is taking liberties - am i right?

Hello, I hope someone can advise me. We moved from our rented property on the 1st March and spent the 2nd/3rd cleaning the entire property. The contract stipulated carpets and oven to be professionally cleaned. Bearing in mind that the flat was brand new when we moved in, we felt that deep cleaning the oven and cleaning carpets with a hired machine would suffice. I notified the landlady of my intentions and she commented that she would let us know if she was happy on inspection. I met my Landlady last week (4th) on the final day of our occupancy and she stated that the carpets and oven were still dirty and needed professional attention. She also insisted that a plastic drawer in the fridge be replaced due to 2 inch crack. Though disappointed our efforts werent accepted, we agreed this would be done. We arranged for the carpet to be professionally cleaned the same day and the oven to be done the next afternoon (5th). Both cleaners commented that neither really needed cleaning and that the landlady was being extremely fussy. The fridge part was ordered from main dealer with delivery on Sat 8th. I contacted landlady on the 5th at around midday to say that the work was done and the property ready for inspection that afternoon. I left a voicemail at home, and on mobile, as well as sending a text message to confirm. The landlady never called me back. When I called her on Thursday 6th to enquire - she said we should meet on Saturday morning (8th). Now our last rent cheque paid up until the 10th (too late to change direct debit) so we are owed one months rent (deposit) and an additonal 6 days rent (to compensate for overpayment). When I met the landlady on Saturday 8th, she stated that she would only pay us deposit and two days rent back, not the 6 we are owed! Her justification being that we didnt handover until the 8th, even though the property was ready on the 5th and the delay was due to her personal commitments. I know this is only a matter of around £110, but it is as much the principal of this. Although we felt her demands were unreasonable, we gave into all of them, within 24 hours, and it was of little inconvenience to her and much cost to us. Any advice is appreciated.