Updating post from Reddit.
I’m currently renting a house from an agent. Have expressed interest in another property and looking to place a holding deposit on it so I’ll be leaving. There will be a deduction in the deposit return as I have a cat who was abit naughty as a kitten🤣. However over the years there have been a few problems that I’ve reported to the agent and they’ve stalled that long in getting it repaired that I just decided to repair it myself (fwiw I am a professional in a trade so my work is done to a correct standard) Examples of work done are:- Swapping the kitchen disc cartridge when damaged so had no running water Fixing the toilet when water was flowing constantly Putting a whole new roof on the shed as it was about to collapse Repaired the fence when there was a storm and it was about to fall over Anyway, I was hoping how I go about potentially trying to recoup any costs of these repairs if they try to nitpick at the state of the property. I have saved them hundreds by undertaking these repairs myself. Thanks for any help!
You won't be able to recoup any of that if you did it of your own accord and didn't agree to compensation with your landlord.
I don’t think you can legally use the repairs to offset but you could let the agent know that you are willing to look at things in a fair and balanced way. Do you have the contact details for your landlord?
Potentially you could undo some of the work if you have proof of the state things were in and the agent not getting it sorted.
You cannot request compensation for any work you have done on the property without landlord's consent and prior agreement of compensation. Depending on the quality of work you have done (ie. if poor) the LL can pursue you for damages and repair costs, especially if you had not reported the issue to them and gained permission to do the work.
The LL can claim any necessary deductions from your deposit irrespective of repairs you have done to save then money. It is highly unlikely a deposit holding scheme would look at your self fixes favourably and refuse the LL's deposit claims on that basis.