Recovering Deposit from Sticky Landlord

[Tman*]

Yeah naa, they cant do that. If anyone accepts that from the landlord then they are fools.
Its not up to a landlord to just decide if they feel like giving the deposit back or not.
Also dont forget to ask for the interest, all deposits that are held need to be in interest bearing accounts and you need to be paid out that interest at the end of the term.

Sure they cant do it, but they get away with it, because:

a) as mentioned in this thread even if you get the rental tribunal to rule in your favour landlords simply ignore it and
b) paying for legal advice to recover the deposit will cost more than the actual deposit, so most tenants just write it off.

I dont think its so much to do with being a fool, but rather to know whats a sensible fight to pick

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

Also dont forget to ask for the interest, all deposits that are held need to be in interest bearing accounts and you need to be paid out that interest at the end of the term.

useful knowledge that, they must give me interest and not stories about nonsense they dream up on the spot.

 

[deweyzeph]

It is possible to contest the council valuation of a property.

1) You do not have to be the owner of the property to do this.
2) Most properties' council valuation is below market value, and after re-valuation the rates bill will usually go up (sometimes by 50%+).

I have politely informed previous difficult landlords of the above information, and (purely coincidentally) received my deposit back almost immediately.

Not in Cape Town. We have the opposite problem. Massively overvalued municipal valuations.

 

[Herr der Verboten]

so I want to give notice to move place,
but many people on the Whats App group of our complex are advising our landlord is Super sticky and difficult in returning deposits,

apparently if there is a single hair in the Bathroom, she will forfeit the deposit and say go F**** yourself!

What are my options? as I don't mind fighting fire with fire and bringing out lawyers and fighting to get my deposit back in full.

how have people managed to get their Deposits back from difficult and uncooperative landlords?

 

[rh1]

Not in Cape Town. We have the opposite problem. Massively overvalued municipal valuations.

Within a year of buying my house, rates went from 700 to 1000

 

[ijacobs3]

so I want to give notice to move place,
but many people on the Whats App group of our complex are advising our landlord is Super sticky and difficult in returning deposits,

apparently if there is a single hair in the Bathroom, she will forfeit the deposit and say go F**** yourself!

What are my options? as I don't mind fighting fire with fire and bringing out lawyers and fighting to get my deposit back in full.

how have people managed to get their Deposits back from difficult and uncooperative landlords?

unless a entry and exit inspection was done by both parties, they cannot withhold , also if he withholds without any grounds, you can go to small claims court , and get the rental tribunal , they looove things like this

 

[deweyzeph]

Within a year of buying my house, rates went from 700 to 1000

Yip, my R2.5 million house was valued at R4.6 million in the last valuation roll. Objected, sent in valuations from estate agents, a professional evaluator, sent them plans of the property, they wouldn't budge on the valuation. Only other option was to take them to court which I didn't have the stomach or budget to do. Can't wait to see what they have in store for me when the next valuation roll is opened.

 

[chrisc]

When we changed shop a few years back, landlord wanted R2300 to change the lock. Seeing it was a locksmith in there, a brand-new lock with 4 keys was provided upon exit

He still invoiced R2300 for a new lock. The actual CISA deadbolt lock cost R550 and fitting took under 2 mins

It took 8 months to get a credit. Another silly excuse was that the hot water did not work. Seeing there was only a cold tap and a sink, I did not even bother to argue about it and just wrote a comment on the invoice

 

[chrisc]

Yip, my R2.5 million house was valued at R4.6 million in the last valuation roll. Objected, sent in valuations from estate agents, a professional evaluator, sent them plans of the property, they wouldn't budge on the valuation. Only other option was to take them to court which I didn't have the stomach or budget to do. Can't wait to see what they have in store for me when the next valuation roll is opened.

City of CT's valuations are sometimes topsy-turvy. My house is on a 1090 sqm plot. In 2017 it was valued at
R2 740 000. The 2018 valuation was R2 680 000 (R60k less). My immediate neighbour has a 3-bedroomed house on 495 sqm and this went up R42000 at that time. She objected (in time) and the increase reduced to R21000

 

[Rocket-Boy]

useful knowledge that, they must give me interest and not stories about nonsense they dream up on the spot.

Exactly, you are in the position of power here. A landlord has as much burden of proof for any damages as you would need defending them.
If you sense its going to be a problem then let them know that you know more than the average person.

 

[DA-LION-619]

so I want to give notice to move place,
but many people on the Whats App group of our complex are advising our landlord is Super sticky and difficult in returning deposits,

apparently if there is a single hair in the Bathroom, she will forfeit the deposit and say go F**** yourself!

What are my options? as I don't mind fighting fire with fire and bringing out lawyers and fighting to get my deposit back in full.

how have people managed to get their Deposits back from difficult and uncooperative landlords?

Tbh this is really weird, complex WA group without the landlord?
Surely you’ve met the landlord before? You must have some idea about how they interact.

 

[zerocool2009]

I like this, sounds like a nice idea,
but wont do it,

will go rental tribunal and lawyers if I need to,
place is new, had many issues, paint peeling from walls, taps that broke,
were fixed (cheaply) and got it signed that they know about the problems,

but apparently, from others that left, this evil B*tch simply wont give you your money back, do what you want.
fixed cost, do your worst.

Why are you putting the cart before the horses?

Listening to others experiences and stories... why not keep your side clean!

Maybe the landlord would surprise you...