FAQs:
Will we be told exactly what the deductions are from the deposit and will Coapt tell us who should pay for what?
We will provide a detailed breakdown of any deductions from your deposit on a room-by-room basis so you can easily negotiate any discrepancies with your housemates. There will be separate sections for items such as keys, unpaid admin fees etc. Each room will also be itemised and there will be a cost per item listed. As the deposit is treated as a whole (due to a joint and severally liable tenancy agreement) this will help you to divide up who is responsible for each deduction, if at all.
What is the check-out report?
The check out report is a condition report compiled by a third party inventory company, who will use the original inventory document to independently assess if the property has been handed back to its original condition, taking into consideration fair wear and tear. The inventory company are a professional, independent company employed to provide an unbiased report of condition. These reports are very detailed and will not list anything that is considered to be fair wear and tear. Any items listed as tenant charges are areas the inventory clerk has identified as in need of cleaning, gardening or as damage that is in excess of fair wear and tear. Any items that were in a room on the original inventory that are not in the room at checkout, will be listed as missing items even if they have been moved to another room.
Do the inventory company take into account fair wear and tear at the check-out?
Fair wear and tear is taken into account by the third party inventory company. They have undertaken thorough training to be able to decide what is fair wear and tear. It is dependent on many factors, for example the length of the tenancy, the type of tenancy and where in the property the affected area is. For example, if the tenancy was over 6 years it is expected that there will be more marks to walls than a tenancy of 6 months. The walls on a staircase or hallway are likely to become slightly marked as opposed to walls to a bedroom, due to heavier traffic.
There are items that will never be considered fair wear and tear. For example, but not limited to: Dirt and dust, burn marks or staining on floors and carpets, lost keys, broken windows, burnt on food to ovens / grills, grease build up on walls, hair, limescale, water marks, heavy scratching, pet hair / damage, avoidable damage to an item or area, staining to mattresses, allowing water damage to a property, misuse or abuse of an item, replacing an item with a similar one, but of poor quality,excessive usage causing damage, broken items disposed of, impact marks and blu tac.
Do I need to contact Coapt once I have moved out to request my deposit back?
You don’t need to contact us about your deposit – we have a process in place to ensure we contact everyone after they have moved out. Once you have moved out we will send you an email confirming what happens next. If there are any deductions from your deposit these will be broken down clearly for you and sent to you, along with a copy of the check out report, within one month of your check out date. As you can imagine, we have a lot of student tenants that move out at a similar time. We work through them in order of each property moving out and will send them across as quickly as possible.
I have read my check-out report and the Inventory company have highlighted some dilapidations that I forgot to do, can I go back in the house after the check-out so that I can sort them out and avoid deposit deductions?
Once you have left the property and your check-out has been completed, you are not able to re-enter the property to carry out any cleaning etc. We will give you lots of notice and information in the months and weeks leading up to your check out, so you will know exactly what you need to do and when, before moving out. Unfortunately, due to the tight schedules in turning the property around for the new tenancy, we are unable to allow permission for you to go back to the property. We use tried and tested contractors to remedy any missed areas/items.
I have just realised that I have left some items at the property that I would like back, what do I do?
Please do contact us and let us know if there is anything you have left in the property that you need back. There is a very short period of time where items can be returned and we will try our best to keep anything for you. However we would recommend that you double check every room, cupboard etc. before you leave. It’s important that all of your belongings have been removed as we are unable to guarantee they can be returned to you after works have begun or the new tenants have moved in.
Will we get charged for everything that is listed in the check-out report?
Not necessarily. As the report is conducted by a third party company, they will not have been involved in your tenancy and therefore will not be aware of certain changes. For example, they may list a blind as missing, however this could have been removed by the landlord mid-tenancy. Or they may list a washing machine as having been changed by the tenants, but this could have been replaced by the landlord mid-tenancy as the machine had broken. It is then our job to go through each check-out report and address these issues on a case- by- case basis and work out what has been legitimately changed and what has not. We will also look out for any items listed as missing that have actually been moved to other rooms. Please do not panic if there are lots of items that are listed that you feel you are not responsible for, we will look at these and work out if any of it is your responsibility. We do keep a log of changes like this on our management system (as long as we’ve been notified of them throughout your tenancy), so whilst it’s often a time-consuming tasks it’s usually very straightforward for us to work out what’s what.
I am not the lead tenant, and this person is not around at the moment, can I be the spokesperson for the house regarding the deposit return?
Yes, of course. We only require one spokesperson for each property. It is best if you nominate a person and all speak together before coming back to us with any points you do not agree with in one go. It does not need to be the lead tenant that is nominated for this.
The check-out report states that there is an item missing but I know it is in the house, just in a different room.
We do ask that all items are returned to the rooms they were in at the start of the tenancy to avoid any confusion on the check-out report. We will look at the check-out report when we visit the property to work out if any of the missing items have been left in a different room. Please note any large items (e.g. wardrobes etc.) that have been moved MUST be returned to the correct rooms as we may have to charge for a contractor to move these if they are too large for us to move (if it took four of you, it’s probably going to take that many of us!).
It has been over 1 month since I moved out and I still haven’t heard anything about my deposit return, do I need to call the office?
We work really hard to get your deposit breakdown across to you within 1 month of your check-out as we know how important that money is in taking your next steps – whether you’re moving into a new place, paying of bills or treating yourself. We process returns in order of move out dates, so please do bear with us as it is an incredibly busy time of year. It helps us to process everyone’s breakdowns more quickly if we can focus on these, so please avoid contacting us within this period. If you have not heard from us within this timeframe, please email finance@coapt.co.uk and we will let you know when you will receive your breakdown.
