check-out fee at end of tenancy?

Hello,

I am being charged £85 plus VAT at the end of my letting contract for the inventory to be reviewed.

I don't think I should have to pay this final inventory as this house has been put up for sale and sold before we moved out, and the home buyer has conducted their own home inspection a couple months ago to inventory the state of the property.

I don't believe this final check-out will ever be seen by the previous owner (my former landlord) and the property is not being managed by the letting department any longer (but the sales department) besides final correspondence.

Do you think I have a leg to stand on? They want to deduct this fee from my deposit (I've been told I'll receive all the deposit), but I think I'll request the whole deposit back and will pay this fee separately (unless I can make a good case not to).

Any thoughts? Thanks everyone!

Double check your contract. But as far as i understand it, any deductions must be agreed with both parties before the Tenancy Deposit Scheme will release the deposit.
Your tenancy deposit scheme provider is your best port of call for this...these are the sort if issues they were set up to resolve.


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I agree, if it's not in the contract, fight it.

I've never had to pay a fee for the inventory to be carried out.  I've typically paid around £200 in "administration fees" at the start of a contract, but nothing at the end.

As others have said: double check your tenancy agreement.  I also did some searching, and found this site, which has an example similar to yours (labelled as The First Property).   If you were charged an inventory check at the start of your tenancy, it is unfair to pay any fees at the end, and they cannot legally require you to pay (quote the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999). 

Even if you didn't pay at the start, it still doesn't seem fair-- given that the property has been sold!!  I would definitely argue it.  Let us know how you get on!!

In my experience, once you start quoting legal requirements and regulations at letting agents they tend to back down or make the necessary changes quickly. 

Thanks everyone , I'll let you know how this turns out!