Kjartan Langskog in Aberdeen

Landlord ignored emails and essential repairs for weeks and never carried out promised non-essential ones. We were without an oven for a month, and without a functioning working machine for over 6 weeks. This was after he assured us there was no need to name emergency services as he was available 24/7 for any repairs. The deposit process was dragged out for as long as possible and the landlord asked for more than the deposit, threatening court action if we did not agree to his terms.

The landlord was friendly but took months at a time to do replacements that were promised before the start of the tenancy. The real kicker is this: my flatmate and I were very careful with the flat, had no parties, animals or otherwise in the flat, and yet the landlord took off with hundreds of pounds out of our deposits because of 'wear and tear' of the flat (landlord's words). If you rent with this landlord, be sure to document every single crack, spot or scuff on the wall, the kitchen, bathroom at the beginning of the tenancy because you will get charged premium for it at the end if you didn't mention it. The document he sends you with the costs of the above-mentioned wear and tear pre-emptively threatens with legal action should you refuse to pay the full amount, which implies that earlier tenants were similarly shocked by the practice. As always, read the contract carefully before you sign.