I took my landlord to court after he tried to take £800 from my deposit over tiny dent in the kitchen sink – and I won
A TENANT challenged his landlord who tried to keep his £800 deposit over a tiny dent in the kitchen sink - and he won.
The man, from Sydney, Australia, was left outraged after he was told his landlord wanted to use the bond to replace the entire stainless steel sink because of the 1cm mark.
He filed a bond dispute with the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) and a virtual hearing was held to find a resolution.
The man offered £283 but the agent representing the landlord denied it.
In a post on Reddit, he explained how the events unfolded in his favour.
He said: "I tell them that the agent is demanding I replace the entire sink because of this dent, and that no agreement could be reached because they were adamant that to fix it, they had to replace the entire sink.
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"Agent says they'd be willing to work with me, and take maybe $1,000 (£566).
"After a bit of questioning and back and forth, the judge throws out $400. I begrudgingly agree, but the agent has to call the landlord, who objects.
"He won't take less than AUD$800. The judge doesn't budge on the AUD$400, deeming it 'more than fair'.
"At this point, I realize that I don't need to argue this because the judge sees through the bulls**t."
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After an ongoing dispute between the agent and the judge, it was deemed the man only had to pay £226.
He said: "So I'm getting AUD$1,185 back as opposed to the AUD$210 I was due for before. But honestly, the chance to listen to the estate agent try and fail to garner any sort of win with the judge made the cost worthwhile.
"I don't even care if they appeal. It just means I get to hear them cry more."
Commenters on the thread shared their own stories of over-the-top landlords trying to keep bonds for minor repairs.
One person said: "I was charged $175 for chipped paint on the bathroom cabinet in my last rental. The paint was chipped because they had painted the cabinet shut.
"They also tried to claim I stole window blinds, good thing I had taken photos on move in to prove that there was never blinds in that window."
Others agreed with the man taking action and were pleased at the result.
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One person said: "Brilliant! Nothing like getting a good and fair judge."
Another said: "A dent is absolutely within normal wear and tear for a kitchen sink. OP (original poster) should have got their entire deposit back, not had to pay $400 for something that won't ever actually get replaced anyway."
