Landlord charging without deposit OR exit inspection

[mrwiddy]

Hope someone here can provide a little advice. I recently left my rental property after ~5 years. My landlord did not take a deposit when I moved in, nor did they conduct an exit inspection with me present prior to me moving out (I requested that the landlord do this when I handed my notice in, but they did not get back to me about it).

 

The landlord now wishes to charge me for some damages and cleaning which I am happy to pay for, as I simply ran out of time before I had a chance to clean the entire house to the standard I would have liked. I have a few concerns though:

 

• I believe the landlord may charge an unreasonable amount for cleaning, as they are undertaking the job themselves
  
• I believe the landlord may try and charge for as-new repairs, when I know that the damage could be remedied with, for example, spare parts rather than a lock-stock-and-barrel replacement
  

The landlord also wants to charge for a broken appliance that I know for certain was working when I moved out, but not having gone through an exit inspection I don't know how we can get around a situation of my word against theirs.

 

The landlord has also been bombarding me with picture messages of each (small!) item of cleaning they have had to do, and has been on the phone to me accusing me of lying and trying to pull a fast one, even though I have always made clear that, deposit or no, I want to make things right.

 

So what are my rights here? What is the landlord's legal standing given the lack of deposit or exit inspection? I'm happy to pay for reasonable cleaning and repairs, but could this get protracted and horrible if, as I suspect, the landlord comes back with a bill that includes an unreasonable amount of work and some downright fabrications? Am I within my rights to send them a cheque for a reasonable amount along with a covering letter justifying it? What should I do if the unprofessional abuse via phone and text message continues?

Thanks all.

[The Carpet Cleaners]

First question... It doesn't matter that there was no deposit or check out inventory..

 

BUT

 

Was there an inventory when you moved in??

 

The reason that I ask is if there was not... Then LL has not got any chance to prove that you will owe money.. 5 years is a good time in a property and wear and tear is allowed. Malicious damage is not.. You know if you damaged anything, but if the LL can't prove it with a check in inventory/photographs/video etc... Then legally he is whistling up the wind.

[mrwiddy]

There was a check-in inventory, but it doesn't explicitly mention the condition of any of the items that are now damaged or that the landlord is claiming are damaged.

 

I don't have a problem paying for the small amounts of accidental damage to be put right, I just want to know what I best doing if the landlord comes back with unreasonable bills or fabricated jobs...

[The Carpet Cleaners]

If he comes back with fabricated or overly large bills. Offer him what you think is reasonable in writing, and then suggest he sue you for the difference... As I said he has to prove that you caused the amount of damage that he is suggesting.