Deposit refund by landlord

Questioner

I am asking this question for our daughter. Our daughter is three months pregnant and is not feeling well at the moment. She rented a house for a year (private). At first she lived there alone, then with her current partner. We knew in advance that the landlord was quite special, which was evident from the somewhat strange house rules that came with the rental contract. For example: it describes in detail what you have to clean and how often. But it is also confusing. The weeds were as high as a man. No plants were allowed to be removed. But at the same time the windows behind them had to be cleaned. We already had doubts, because we had heard 'stories'. But the need was incredibly high. And our daughter was urgently looking for a place to live. The basic rent for the 75 m2 house was 1250 euros. A deposit of 1250 euros was paid. An amount was agreed for service and utilities. This brought the total amount per month to 1400 euros. Later when her partner moved in with her, the amount was increased to 1600 euros per month. During the final inspection there was a discussion about the final cleaning. The landlord went on a rampage, making a normal conversation impossible. For example, she tore the screens off the windows to show that they were not clean enough. My husband, who had come along, got angry. The landlord is now using this. According to her, she has been threatened. In the meantime, she has changed the locks of several houses and wants to recover this from us. She accuses us of withholding keys. She comes up with more and more things that she wants to be paid for. She also accuses us (the parents) of theft. She repeatedly insults us. For example, we are accused of stealing wood pellets. The house is heated with wood pellets. A lot had to be paid extra, but we know that our daughter did not use the heater. She borrowed an electric heater from us. The 'lost' wood pellets the landlord now wants to recover from us. I have all this in writing. Our daughter neglected things. Namely, she did not clean the kitchen appliances properly and she neglected to report that there was a crack in the hob. Not nice, we know that too. And it should not have been discovered afterwards. But during the inspection the landlord did not check this. Due to the aggressive behaviour our daughter was struck out. We find it normal that the landlord charges cleaning costs and wants the hob to be reimbursed. She charges 250 euros for cleaning and the hob costs about 200 euros. We would like advice on how to deal with this. And can a landlord just withhold deposits and have keys copied and accuse people of theft.

Lawyer

How very annoying that it all has to go like this. If the final inspection has been done and signed by both parties, then it cannot be claimed afterwards that damages must be compensated. Then the cleaning costs, these will have to be specified. Without a conviction that things have disappeared, one cannot simply point out a perpetrator and charge him the costs. With your consent I am prepared to assist you free of charge in this matter. I would like to hear from you further.

Questioner

Good morning Mr. Groenewegen, That's incredibly kind. We would very much like to be assisted in this matter. How can we best approach this? What do you need from us? Yours sincerely, Jannie Berlin.

Lawyer

Dear Mrs. Berlijn, Thank you for your trust and your email. For your convenience, you may contact me via email address: groenewegenjuristen@gmail.com, I will then provide you with further information. Until we hear from you. Greetings, Mr. Groenewegen. J.

Questioner

Good morning Mr. Groenewegen, I have emailed you. Thanks again. Yours sincerely, Jannie Berlin.

Lawyer

Dear Mrs. Berlijn, For your convenience, you may contact me via email address: groenewegenjuristen@gmail.com, I will then provide you with further information. Until we hear from you. Greetings, Mr. Groenewegen. J.

Questioner

Good morning Mr. Groenewegen, Have you received all the documents correctly? Yours sincerely, Jannie Berlin