Hi, all, I would like to ask some advises from any law experts or just general experience sharing on here.... I have problem with my landlord about deposit. Basically I understand UK has a law that landlord has to put tenant's deposit into a deposit protection scheme with firm, and it has to be done within 30 days from moving in date. As far as I know my landlord hasn't done it ever since we moved in last year 30th of June, my flatmate and me never received any certificate of it. And every time I asked him about it, he just try to change topic or simply ignored the question. I did send him emails back in new year time about it but never replied, same as text messages. I tried to use text message and e-mail for furture evidence, but he always using phone calls to call me back to settle things. At January this year he called me after read the email and denied he has our deposit, so I went to estate agent to find out the truth is that he managed the property himself, estate agent just advertised the property for him, so all money goes to him, and estate agent showed me the bank statement the money has been transferred into his bank account with rents at early July last year. Now I told him we will be moving out at end of July, and how he prepare to give us deposit back, he said he will bring £1938 cash on the day of check-out and return it in our hand after inspection. But I don't know if he is trustworthy on that, and currently he is going through a divorce court case so I am worry he will not have money to pay our deposit back to us til then since it is clearly to see he has the deposit in his pocket all this time. I don't know if I should take him to court because I am leaving the country for holiday on August, my flatmate will still be in UK so he can sort the stuff out without me, but I am worry if I put my name on the court form that will effect me leaving UK at immigration in airport if the court hearing date happens to be later than August. I am not really seeking compensation by saying take him to court, I just wonder whats the right way to give him pressure and get the guaranteed of getting my deposit back..... I don't really know what next move should be..... I would be appreciate if any of you can give me some suggestions on legal wise or general wise. :? :? Thanks a lot.
Landlords always seem to try and deduct money for repair work or damages on inspection (this is in my experience). Our last landlord wanted us to repaint and get a professional in to get his wood flooring polished. Which we would have done if it was all pristine when we moved in, but the floors were manky and so were the walls. We just witheld the rent for a month which equated to our deposit and vacated a few days before the lease expired. Hope you get it sorted out. Take some photos of the place just before you vacate just incase he tries to claim for made up damages. Kristy
Thats another problem as well, ever since we moved in, there was no inventory done (not sure if its call inventory :? ), basically we never received any files about the inspection report of the condition of the property, I spoke to estate agent about it, and they were saying they don't manage the property so got nothing to do with whatever goes on with the property, so landlord should did all by himself or arrange someone to do it, since he hasn't, then he can't take any deposit off because there is no proof. Don't know if its right? I didn't know all these stuff and law until last month start googling around.....
I would just stop paying rent. He can always deduct what you owe from the deposit if he is above board and if he isn't you have atleast clawed back some money. Doesn't sound like he has done anything properly. Kristy
One of the worst chapters of my life was having to deal with an uncooperative lettings agency. They tried to rape us for everything. New carpets, professionally cleaned oven, paint, tiles, gardening etc. I reluctantly settled for half even though it was completely undeserved but it was ruining my life. Lesson learned though. Take photos of everything when you move in making sure every defect is captured. It's pissing me off having to think about this again.
jeez, sry to hear that..... I remembered back in 2009 at another property I had to swear on my future kid's soul to estate agent that the bookshelf was there in the bedroom already when we moved in, in the end they believed it, but it was really there from the beginning though. I guess previous tenant left it, and they charge them for dumping it but in fact they took the money off deposit but didn't dump it. I did take pictures of everything but damn iphone went dead and erase everything
Hi By the regulations the agent or landlord letting should have placed deposit in a scheme. Not sure if this blog may help http://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2010/0 ... -decision/ If you take them to court it will be a civil matter so dont believe they can put any restriction on your travel. As long as you have proof of paying deposit you should have upper hand and you could always use agent as a witness. Kris-T's suggestion is the other solution to recouping some of your money. The scheme was set up to protect you against unscrupulous land lords but seems like there are still some around- good luck. I'm sure you'll get some more knowledgable advice than mine but thought I'd try lending a helping hand V
Your Landlord has to notify you of how your deposit it protected within 30 days of getting the deposit. If he hasn't done that then you can take legal action in a County Court. I'm sure you know all that though. First thing is to find out if he has protected your deposit. You can find out if he has protected your deposit by contacting the approved schemes: https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection/if-your-landlord-doesnt-protect-your-deposit If he has not then you may want to let him know that you will be taking court action, unless he comes to an amicable settlement. Court action should be your last resort, but it shouldn't affect you leaving the country on holiday. Your legal representative would be able to represent you if you are unable to.
Is it possible to claim everything through small claim court? total amount is close to £8k after working out, I googled small claim court can claim up to £10000 from April this year because they raised the maximum limit. But on landlordzone.co.uk forum I also been told that this matter has to be dealt with in High Court so I will need a solicitor. Does anyone know which is correct info?
I've been a landlord for 2 years I never dreamed I could hold money back for re decorating. The place I rent out I even let the tenants pick the colours. You would not believe the state of them in 2 years, and the new carpets are stained already, very disheartening. :twisted: Sorry to say I don't have the answers for you, but lots for me to look into. Good luck getting your deposit back.
I don't think you can go down the Small Claims track - I think the limit for tenant-landlord disputes is £1000 in the small claims court.
£8k ?!?!?! Did you give that much of a deposit? Or else what in the world are you trying to claim? As per Wyrm's post: There are several things you need to check: 1. Your contract details on deposit - it might just state in there, so you'd waste a lot of time & effort pursuing falsely 2. Your contract type - is it an Assured Shorthold Tenancy? 3. Other contract details 4. The deposit protection scheme's website (whichever claimed to be in use). 5. What you actually want to sue the landlord for. 6. How much this will actually cost you through the courts (there will be court fees & solicitors fees, which will have to be paid for by you regardless of the outcome). 7. Whether you need to pay for a solicitor or not. Small claims track limit is £10k now, but the .gov website states that only applicable for: "any claim which includes a claim by a tenant of residential premises against his landlord for repairs or other work to the premises where the estimated cost of the repairs or other work is not more than £1,000 and the financial value of any other claim for damages is not more than £1,000)" The matter will be at the judge's discretion, so whoever the judge wants to lean towards on the day (your word vs landlord's), or may be a compromise. Furthermore, "The court will not allocate a claim to the small claims track, if it includes a claim by a tenant of residential premises against his landlord for a remedy in respect of harassment or unlawful eviction." Think about whether it is actually worth it & why you want to pursue this.
well, the law states that if landlord failed to put the deposit into a protection scheme, notify the info and send a copy of certificate to tenants within 30 days, then tenant can claim up to 3 times of the amount of deposit plus original deposit, in my case, the sum will be close to £8k. Yes, I learned the news about this deposit matter can not be dealt by small claim court. However, my purpose from the beginning was not seeking compensation, my purpose is to make sure I will have my deposit back with reasonable deduction if there will be any, and as far as I know I never received any info or certificates for deposit protection, and landlord has been ignoring whenever I asked about if my deposit is in a protection scheme or not. So I am worry he will either not give my deposit back or play dirty on the deduction. The contract that we signed at estate agent states the landlord is liable to do deposit protection and inventory by his own arrangement since he doesn't want to pay estate agent to manage the property for him other than just advertise it on the market. And he hasn't done both above! I guess now the only thing I can do is to sit back and wait until the end of tenancy and hope for the best, see what happen.....
If you are owed £750 or more, you can issue something called a "Statutory Demand". It is highly effective, since it gives the person you issue the Demand to, 21 days to respond, else you can start bankruptcy proceedings against them. It is a very serious, legal document, so typically gets a fast response. You can either issue one yourself, or have an agent do it for you. You could issue the Demand if he fails to return the deposit at the end of July. For more info, see https://www.gov.uk/statutory-demands/overview Good luck.
Thanks for the help, guys. One more question, do I have the right to refuse letting estate agent bringing strangers to view the property? apparently my landlord is selling the property after we move out at end of July. It is quite annoying as I am getting calls from different agencies every day.
You have a right to refuse a viewing for whatever reason you want but you have to be prepared to agree for a different time or date. And as Wyrm said - the agent has to give you at least 24h notice.