We strongly suggest you (tenant) engage your own contractor to produce a 2nd opinion on the current condition of the tiles and also have your contractor compare the photos you have before you moved in to the current condition of the tiles to see whether they are the same stains.
Secondly, the landlord is entitled to withhold your deposit until such time that all matters have been resolved though the landlord is typically not entitled to unilaterally decide on how to use the deposit funds for repairs which may or may not be caused by you. Hence, time is of the essence and you should immediately inform the landlord that you will have a 3rd party contractor intervene to evaluate and assess the situation.
Our firm will be able to assist with negotiating the way forward with the landlord on your behalf and to request the landlord to withhold from using the deposit funds until both parties consent on the way forward with repairing the tile(s). in the event that the contractor is able to show that the various other stains may not have been caused by you after you moved in and if you are able to repair the same without having to use the deposit funds, then we will further assist with demanding the landlord to return the remaining deposit funds to you subject to various repairs undertaken on or before the end of the lease term.
If the Landlord is in breach of these ‘negotiable’ terms then we can further file a claim against the landlord for the return of the deposit funds if you can show that the landlord was not cooperating and has unilaterally used the funds for his/her own purposes.
If you have any questions please contact
Olivia Dong for assistance.