amydown

We have engineered wood and underfloor heating throughout downstairs. Used to have tiled floors in the kitchen years ago and the grouting got so dirty! We have fairly dark stained oak wooden floor though so haven't had any issues with staining, etc.

We have just had black leathered granite installed and I love it. We used to have shiny jet black granite and it showed up mess really easily. Really happy with the leathered granite. Far more forgiving and beautiful texture.

The agents really did mess up - they have agreed to refund us the price WE paid for the checkin process as the report was never sent to us until some 4 months down the line. When I asked about the deposit protection, they referred me to a section in the standard tenancy agreement that says the deposit WILL be protected under the Scheme with all the relevant info, but we never got the confirmation afterwards as to whether the protection had actually been done (I.e. "The deposit has now been submitted to the scheme for protection and here is the reference" communication never happened). To my mind, the standard agreement that it WILL be protected is not substitute for confirming it has actually been done. I am indeed going to pursue both the dispute resolution on the carpet issue and also submit a penalty claim. I think the case will be agains the landlord and then it's up to the landlord to hold he agents liable for any loss they suffer as a result of the agent not fulfilling their obligation. Again, I am so grateful for all the advice here!

This is so helpful. We are still going through the negotiation at the moment but would be grateful for your thoughts on the following: The angents (under instruction from the Landlord) have asked a local carpet shop for a quote to replace the entire carpet of the bedroom despite our contention that we could not be liabile for the cost of replcing the whole carpet when the area affected is a very small area (would guess less than 2% roughly). I have asked for a quote to repair the affected area only but they are not proceeding on this basis. I also note that no other points have been raised in the check-out report regarding the remaining part of the carpet. We are therefore going to go through Dispute Resolution process for this point. Meanwhile, with regards to the protection of the deposit, the standard tenancy agreement that we signed had all the standard information regarding deposit protection, including which scheme WILL be used once deposit is used. We signed the tenancy agreement, but never received a copy back with the sigature of the landlord or the agent. Also, although the agreement had said that the deposit WILL be protected, we didn't get the confirmation that this had been carried out until last week when I requested it. The deposit had indeed been lodged with the scheme within 30 days of tenancy but the agents didn't confirm this to us until the tenancy ended. I therefore think that the fact that we never received a copy of the signed tenancy agreement from the landlord/ agent and confirmation of deposit protection within the timeframe specified, there is enough evidence to suggest that the regulation had not been followed. Therefore, my question now is, whether we can continue the arbitration process regarding the carpet, but at the same time, can we submit for a penalty order on the grounds of the Deposit Protection law being not followed? The Landlord has released the "undisputed" part of the deposit already although it hasn't reached our bank account yet... It's getting quite hairy!

I had a rough quote from Easigrass today and it's come back too expensive.. I shall give Hagrid a call.

I'm not keen on it but my husband is very keen. I can see the benefit of it but can't shake off the feeling that it will feel really plasticky! Does anyone have this and have any thoughts to share? Does anyone have it for a large ish garden? I wondered whether a large garden means you end up with lines where it's been joined up, etc... Finally, any issues with fox poop!?! Advice and recommendations gratefully received!

So, a bit of a rare thing for me to do but having come across a few really awful tradesmen, I know how important it is for good people to get the recognition they deserve. Now that I'm near the end of our current project (ground floor extension, loft conversion and the lot), I would like to highly recommend our Architect and Building company - Jino of ArchInno Limited. Jino is our architect and he also runs his own building company. Ours was (is) a big project spanning over 6 months and things have been delivered to an impeccable standard so far (and people tell me I'm extremely demanding. ehem), to budget apart from scope changes, and without much delay despite the awful spell of rain we had over x-mas. We had previously used a different team in East Dulwich for a different (smaller) project and the difference was staggering. Key things that made Jino and his team stand out from other builders: - Great communication and responsiveness - Amazing work ethics. The team worked on Saturdays (very understanding neighbours) and we even had a plasterer work this bank holiday weekend to get the job finished - Accomodating to my erratic personality, demanding pedantic changes or changes in plan - Full time site manager (Lee) who oversaw every little detail and really thinks about how small details can affect funtionality from our point of view - Great architectural team that always provides detailed drawings for the smallest details (e.g. cupboard uits) so that I can really visualise everything and comment on things before we finalise - Impeccable finish - my husband and I are a bit OCD about things being aligned and straight, etc and although we are doing a list of snagging issues, we haven't found many yet! Jino's mobile number is 07786 985564. He normally operates in Wimbledon area but is currently spending a lot of time in East Dulwich due to our project. I have been trying to convince him what a great market ED is! If you have any further queries, please feel free to send me a PM.

Thank you so much for this everyone. The estate agents didn't provide us with the information regarding the deposit scheme and with all of the failings on their part with respect to the timeliness (or lack of) of check-in report and other issues, I have submitted a formal letter of complain to them and will be filing a complaint with the OFT and ARLA. I have also suggested two alternative solutions to the landlord regarding the carpet stain and also offered to pay a contribution towards the cost of new carpet in the future as a third option. If these are not accepted, I have formally stated that we will start the formal process of dispute resolution through the deposit protection scheme (if and when the agents tell me who that is!) I shall report back. This was a one-off and temporary arrangement for us but I feel really strongly about making as much noise as possible with this one. Brought back all the horrible memories from when I used to rent as a student and a struggling graduate trainee all those years ago!

Thanks all - Jeremy, you are right in that the house is unfurnished. It is also managed through an agent and therefore I think the deposit is in a protection scheme. The agents however (I won't name them but an ED one) has handled our entirely 6 month tenancy in the most awful way. The check-in report was apparently supposed to be sent to us for sigture within a week of us moving in but they forgot to do this and when I asked 3 months into the tenancy, they then managed to produce it - this was then the first opportunity we had to highlight any disagreements but by that point, all our furniture was in place and therefore we would not have been able to see this area under the bed. I feel that this chain of events, when I set out to the arbitrators, will give us a strong case. In addition, when we were moving into the property, we used a removals firm so we didn't have a chance to look at things propely before the big pieces of furniture were up (was all rather manic with two kids under 4!), hence the exposure. I attach a photo and looking at this again myself, this really is a small area - you can sense the size of the bedroom if you see the number of double wardrobes at the other end of the room. I would be happy to contribute towards the cost of replacing the carpet in the future (as I know for well that the other tenants are in already and the landlord has no intention of ripping out this carpet in the near future) but I guess it comes down to how much is reasonable and that's a tough thing for us to agree on and therefore might need the arbitrators to step in...

Wow, this is so helpful. I will see if the check out report includes a picture and post it on here. Thank you so much everybody.

I can't recall it but it's not on the original check-in report so either our kids spilled it and we didn't know about it or it wasn't on the check-in report and we didn't spot it. Kicking myself over it either way! From my research, it's not that clear in terms of what the landlord's rights are - can he really request the amount for replacing the whole carpet (which he is NOT doing and therefore this is not an incurred cost, which apparently in the US, is the case where you can only charge tenants for actual incurred costs)? There seems to be professional carpet repair firms who claim to do a great, unnoticeable patch job but admittedly I have never used these firms so not sure what the quality will be like. I will also give Lordship Lane Carpets a call in the morning for a chat..

We rented a house for 6 months whilst doing building works and have just received the check-out report. There was a stain on the carpet under the bed which we had not seen until we moved the furniture out and although we had the carpet professionally steamed, it's visible. The stain is the size of a square cushion and this was in the master bedroom (a very big room that fit a super king bed). The landlord is asking for ?750 to be deducted from the deposit which seems extortionate - I would be happy to pay for a professional patch repair and have proposed this option but wondered if anyone has any experience of similar situaion and can offer some advice? Many thanks in advance Amy

We have just done a big refurb and moved out for 6 months. Have moved in and builders will be on site for another month and I'm glad we were out for the most part. I think 6months of chaos would have got me down!

I would recommend a private test. I saw a consultant last week for a suspected cat allergy and having discussed things with me for good 20-minutes, she tested me for about 20 things, including common food items. When my little one was young, we saw a Paediatric Allegy consultant and again, it was great to go through all the history of events with him and doing a comprehensive test without feeling rushed. Well worth it. Pls feel free to PM.

Hi Jenny We suspected cat allergy with our first and decided to go private for a test as NHS appointment would have taken months. We had forgotten to add him onto insurance so just bit the bullet and saw a consultant on Harley Street at London Allergy Clinic. Very quick app although wasn't cheap! We saw a consultant from St Mary's Hospital and our little one was diagnosed with dust mite allergy and potato intolerance. He then wrote to Kings for follow up tests etc through NHS route. I would definitely recommend as he did a prick test there and then and the result was instant.

Hi We had a referral and had it done at the private wing of King's. BUPA paid for this.

If you like Plain English, check out Neptune. We had Howdens in our previous project and although I was very happy with them, once I had my heart set on Plain English look, there was no going back! Plain English too expensive of course and we went to see Neptune kitchen at Woods of London in Blackeath or KitStone in Wandsworth - excellent quality kitchen and you can really feel it but not nearly as expensive as PE. We have ordered them but not fitted yet. Will report back when fitted.

It contains a baby-related item so I thought worth posting here too. A man left it on the 176 bus this afternoon. I think he must have got off the bus between Denmark Hill and East Dulwich. We went to hand it in at ED police station but it's shut. Will try and take it to Peckham station but if you think this belongs to you, please send me a PM.

We had the P&T Promenade which was brilliant. Both seats to flat and up right so really flexible. We used ours for a long time until recently. Just sold it in the forum but we bought ours from Peppermint store in Claphma, I'm sure you can try it in the shop.

Are your specifically looking for a self catering? We stayed at Byfords of Holt last year in the big family room and it was fab. Holt is beautiful and was very child freindly. There is a steam rail way nearby (ant remember name but happy to look up) and also by close to beaches, etc. The hotel itself was really nice and well geared up for kids too.

Same old story but looking to move to Crystal Palace for the easier commute to Canary Wharf and more space. Has anyone done this move recently? If so, could you share your thoughts on safety, how child friendly it is, reliability of transport, etc? Also, any recommendations for particular roads/ areas much appreciated.

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Thank you so much everyone. It's really helpful. The reason I want to serve notice now and make it effective in 3 weeks is so that I can appoint someone else rather than wait for another 9 weeks of inactive marketing by the current agency. Tommy1000, that's a valid point about the intention of the parties. There was no mention of the term being 12 weeks without break option and when we had the valuation done, some of the other agents were offering 2-week rolling contract. I would therefore not have signed up to this if I thought the 3-week notice could only be served after the minimum period. In hindsight, I should have clarified this before signing up. The agency has two directors and the one I signed up with is currently away on other commitments. The other director said I should speak to him directly and is refusing to answer my request for clarification, further adding to my frustration. It has been enormously valuable to have all your thoughts and views.

The contract is completely silent about what happens after the minimum 12 week period ends and I had therefore assumed that (rightly or wrongly) it will be on a rolling basis after the 12 week period on a sole agency basis and that if we go multiple agency for instance, it's a case of notifying them without the requirement of a notice period. Silveffox's point is interesting regarding signing them up and then serving notice the day after, effectively making it a 3-week contract and in fact, this is how I understood it to be. I.e. from agency's point of view, they at least have 3 week period of guaranteed sole agency during that minimum period, unlike after the minimum period where they can lose the "sole agency" status upon notification. If one could only serve the 3-week notice to end the contract on the anniversary of the minimum period itself, what is the meaning of "three weeks written notice may be given at any point"?

Thank you very much both.