My Landlord Won’t Give My Deposit Back

Mike Grimwade2011-04-01 18:34:10 My Ex Landlord has kept £600 from my deposit for because we replaced the worn carpet in our flat with laminate flooring. He has since had a new tenent move in but has not replaced the carpet. Is he allowed to do this? What's to stop him from charging the new tenant for damaging the laminate at the end of this new tenancy? Thus making a nice tidy profit for himself.

I had considered taking him to court for failing to protect our deposit under the laws regarding Tenancy Deposit Protection Schemes and actually got legal advice from a soliciter (see quote below). I think some of you may find it useful.

---Start Quote---
The schemes to protect tenancy deposits and provide a fairer system for settling disputes about the return of a deposit at the end of a tenancy were introduced in 2007. With the new schemes, an independent service helps to resolve disputes about deposits at the end of a tenancy. This service is free for tenants. Your landlord does not have to use a tenancy deposit protection scheme for deposits you paid before 6 April 2007 unless you renewed your tenancy after this date. Assuming you paid your deposit after this date, my advice is as follows.

If your landlord has not protected your deposit using a tenancy deposit protection scheme, you may be able to take them to court.

However, before taking court action you must write to your landlord first to instruct him to protect your deposit. If he does nothing and you take court action, the landlord can protect the deposit up until the date of the court hearing.

If by the time of the hearing your deposit has still not been protected, the court can either order your landlord to pay you back the deposit or to pay it into one of the schemes.

It may also order your landlord to pay you three times the amount of the deposit as a fine. This used to be considered a mandatory fine but the law on this is very unclear at present.

As an aside, the rules on how your landlord can evict you also changes if your deposit is not protected. There is a special procedure under a s21 of the Housing Act 1988 Notice which private landlords can use to evict tenants without having to give reasons and without a court hearing. However, your landlord is not allowed to use this procedure if he does not protect your deposit. Therefore, as long as there is no breach of contract allowing the landlord to evict you, your landlord will be unable to use the s21 Notice procedure.

As the x3 deposit penalty for the non-protection of deposit can be avoided by the landlord right up until the hearing and may even be discretionary in the event of a hearing, the legal costs of preparing a case would be likely to exceed the amount recovered in any court proceedings. I therefore would not advise issuing proceedings. However, a solicitor’s letter demanding the landlord to protect your deposit may be effective. Once protected, you will be able to use the free alternative dispute resolution procedure if the landlord does not repay your deposit at the end of the tenancy.

---End Quote--- 121

Joe2011-04-21 12:10:11 Hi all, seems like there is a great deal of help on these forums so I'm wondering if someone might be able to help me with this query:
1. I recently moved out of my house and the landlady claims there has been a stain on the carpet that needs to be cleaned and will be comming out of my deposit. I however do not recal myself spilling anything on her carpet and if there is a stain it was likely to be there before.

2. When we moved in there was a problem with the freezer which we informed her about within the first week. The seal was broken and therefore ice built up. To open the draws ment we had to break the ice off wich eventually resulted in several of the draws breaking (not to mention an increased electricity bill). It took 1 month before she looked at the freezer and another week and several phonecalls before a replacement was provided. She now wants to charge us £40 per draw.

My question is: is it justified for her to want to take this out of our deposit? If not how can I go about getting my deposit back? It has now been 21 days since we moved out and have not heard anything about getting our money back.

Thankyou for any help! 122

Rebecca2011-05-08 22:19:14 Hi there,

I'm a very confused tenant at the moment and it's nothing the Landlady did, but the letting agents used to rent my former home. I vacated the property as of 1/5/11 and after speaking to my landlady she said once she has inspected the house providing it was in good condition that the letting agent told her to ring them and they would send out a cheque on the Tuesday (3/5/11) so she inspected the house, was really pleased that we did a fresh lick of paint and scrubbed the house clean and agreed for the deposit to be paid back to us. I waited and waited and nothing came in the post, then I got an email on Thursday 5/5/11 from the letting agent saying the landlady had agreed release of our deposit and that it would take 28 days to process? That rang alarm bells so I rang the agents up and was told by a lady that it would take that long because they needed to reclaim it from the Deposit Protection Service. So I took her word for initially. Now Saturday just gone I was clearing out my junk mail when I noticed one had landed in there on the Friday 6/5/11 and as far as I can tell it's a confirmation of our deposit being entered into the scheme and sure enough I logged on using the details in the confirmation email and tried to click to have my deposit repaid a message appeared saying they were unable to refund until my deposit had been protected for atleast 28 days. So I now have to wait 28 days plus the actual 10 days thereafter it takes to process a refund of the deposit and to say I am pissed off at being lied to is an understatement. Where do I stand in this situation? They have protected my deposit 2 1/2 years after my tenancy started and after I've left the property. I've a feeling they have gotten themselves out of being sued for 3x but is there a governing body I can report them to? I have to do something, I HATE liars and want them to pay. If they never entered our deposit into the scheme before now you can bet your backside they are doing the same to others. I just kick mysel for not knowing my rights before now!! Any advice appreciated! Thanks :) 123

Mike2011-05-09 13:27:27 Joe,

1) This would be down to a difference of opinion between yourself and the landlord - unless the condition of the carpet was properly documented in the inventory prepared at the beginning of the tenancy, you may have difficulty proving that this was not your responsibility. As an aside, it's always worth ensuring all such marks and stains are noted on the inventory - the inventory is as much for your protection as the landlord's

2) Slightly different case, as the freezer draws were in working condition at the time you took the property. (even if the freezer wasn't.)In this case I recommend referring the details to the dispute resolution process of the deposit scheme where your deposit is held - your landlord must abide by their decision. Provide them with any copies of letters etc sent to your landlord about the damage to the fridge.

In both cases, you can ask the scheme to adjudicate whether the amounts deducted are fair and equitable, and take into account wear and tear on the items.

Rebecca,

If you want to take things further, you could see which industry bodies the agent are registered with (NAEA? ARLA? etc) and talk to them about how you have been treated. They may be willing to take up your complaint with the agent. - i've never tried this, but it seems the obvious next step, and if the failing is systemic (ie they're doing this to everyone) and not just an oversight, it probably breaches their members code of conduct.

Hope this helps 124

Becky2011-05-17 20:48:34 Hi,
My daughter and her boyfriend are unable to get theit £500 deposit back from their landlord.
They took out a tennency on 15th March 2010 and gave £1000 cash - one months rent in advance and the £500 deposit.
They had nothing but trouble from this landlord, leaking taps, pipes, electrical items not working in the home, the plumber had to call out on 3 occasions during the 1 year tennency.
Once they had decided to leave they gave 6 weeks notice in writing, and paid rent up until Feb 15th 2011 (obv they didnt pay until march 15th as they paid 1 mth in advance) when they tried to hand the keys back to the landlord, he refused to take them. (He owns a local shop) He kept saying to call back next week when i have time to come around the house with you etc. But if they had have waited until the following week, the time would have lapsed over the contract, so my daughters boyfriend went into the shop on 14th March 2011 and handed the keys back on the counter to the landlord.
Since then, the landlord has avoided any contact with them and has stated via text message that he was going to use the deposit to clean the sofa as he claimed it was dirty. They aggreed to this, which i dont think they should have, wear and tear and all that! - and said please get us a quote and we will wait until the job is done (knowing it would NEVER cost £500) and you can pay us once the job is done.
April 15th (a month later they still hadnt recived no money so they rung him and text him - no reply. A week later they contacted him again and he rung and said that they had broken the cooker so they wernt going to get no deposit back. They hadnt broke the cooker, the cooker had NO SHELF in the oven when they moved in. They told him this when they moved in but he never did anything about it and so they used the cooker for a full year without a shelf, and placed their food on the bottom of the oven!
So, we are now at the situation where he hasnt been in touch with them and they havent been in touch with him. he owns a LOT of houses in our area and i am so annoyed that he can get away with this. The kids had paid right up until moving date, and done everything by the book, they cleaned that house from top to bottom upon moving out, and he is being so petty ... its £500 - how do we go about getting this deposit back??? Thanks 125

tracey2011-05-18 23:54:21 I have received housing benefit previously which was paid directly to my landlord. Since then I stopped the claim as I secured employment. Unfortunately since then I have been laid off so have had to put a fresh claim in. I have requested in my new claim that payment goes into my bank account. Will the council do that? As it is only 7 weeks inbetween jobs I didn't tell my landlord that I lost my job as I have secured a new job and the rent has been paid on time as stated in my lease. Help..some advise would be great! Thank you ;) 126

Makethempay2011-05-20 13:45:18 I posted on here a while back asking for advice but got no replys anyway i took it into my own hands and after allot of re-searching laws applicable to landlords and a bit of help from a lawer who is a freind i drafted the following letter and recieved every last pennie of my deposit back without a word. Thought this might be a good template to go by for those of you who are in similar possitions:

Dear your landlords name,

Further to your email dated .... , I have contacted Mydeposit.com who have advised me that I am in a strong position to dispute the issues you have raised regarding the return of my deposit.

On that basis, I request the return of the remainder of my deposit (minus the water bill which has already been agreed) in full (the sum of £128.90) within the next 7 working days. Failing this, you will be put to strict proof to show that I am responsible for the damage to the freezer and the stain on the carpet for which you are holding me liable.

Please note that I am aware that the freezer is still not operational and that the replacement is still in use. This somewhat contradicts your statement that it was merely an issue to do with being de-frosted. As previously mentioned, we informed you that it was not working properly and you failed to act within a reasonable period of time. I also assert that the stain was not of my doing. I have not used any products on the carpet; I gave the carpets a clean before leaving. The carpet was in the same condition at the termination of my tenancy as it was at the commencement. The replacement tenant moved in the day after I left and I find it hard to believe you were able to do a proper inspection within this time frame. In any event, I consider that I left my room in a better condition than it was in when I moved in. I personally repaired furniture that was broken when I moved in (handles on cupboards) and put up the curtains.

I would also like to point out that during the last month of my tenancy agreement, you were in breach of the tenancy agreement by not providing 24 hours notice before entering the property on several occasions. On one occasion in particular you contacted me (by SMS) approximately three hours before entering the property, despite not receiving a response from me. You entered my room and re-arranged my possessions prior to showing a prospective tenant around. Not only is this a breach of contract but also my common law right to peaceful enjoyment of the property.


I have also taken legal advice in respect of the obligations placed on landlords of residential properties, including:



- Landlord and Tenant Act 1990

- Building Regulations 2000

- Fire Safety, Housing Act 2004

- The Furniture and Furnishings Regulation 1993

- Taxation of Income from Land (Non-Residents) Regulations 1995

- Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)



I do not wish for this dispute to be prolonged. I trust that you will return the sum of £128.90 within the time limit stipulated above, otherwise I feel that I will have to consider filing a complaint and reporting this situation (to include breaches of contract and breaches of the above legislation) to the Housing Ombudsman.



Regards,

Your Name 127

Arv2011-05-25 23:01:31 Hi,

Here is my suitation..

I rent a property through a letting agent.It was a standard 12 month contract with 6 months break clause. The property was not managed by the letting agent, but in turn a sub agent who works for the landlord acting on his behalf on the premises of the development.

Near the end of my 12 months contract i phone the sub agent and tell him i want to extend the contract and he was absolutely fine with it. But he never gave me a written agreement or contract. I continued to live there for another 6 months. All the time while i was renting the property i paid my rent to the landlord's account through direct debit. When i decided to vacate the property i phone the sub agent and gave him a months notice. The sub agent comes around to inspect the apartment and all is OK..He promises i will have my deposit back in 2 weeks.

This subagent has being paying me in installments over 6 months now and suddenly he has turned around and says he does not work for that landlord anymore and i need to seek the remaining deposit money direct from the landlord.

I know for a fact my deposit has not been protect by DPS. I still need to get 400 quid back on my initial deposit.

Somebody please advise.Its been 7 months since i vacated the apartment. To my astonishment the landlord does not even know the sub agent has paid me some of the money.

Can i take the landlord to court ? Can i sue for the 3x the money for not protecting my deposit ?

Thanks
Arv 128

Catherine2011-05-27 11:52:31 I'm looking for a bit of advice on getting the full deposit back.

We moved into out flat last May and when we moved in there was food on the wall behind the bin, hand marks on the walls throughout and was generally a bit grubby. In the first couple of months we asked repeatedly for the check-in report to sign off on but got passed around and in the end never got our hands on it.

In the run up to the end of our tenanct we received a letter claiming that we needed to get the property professionally cleaned upon which i emailed them saying we did not believe the place to have been professionally cleaned prior to our tenancy and unless they could show us otherwise we wouldn't be getting in professional cleaners. they came back with a answer which basically said we don't expect you to do anything more than what is on the contract. they did not dispute my comments about the cleaning at all and we had nothing to refer ie the check in report of check if there was (supposedly) a professional clean done.

Since moving out they are trying to charge us £200 for a professional cleaning service even though new tenants have moved in. i would just like to know really if they have a legal resposibilty to inform us prior to the end of the tenancy if it has been previously professionally cleaned especially when i made it very clear that we did not believe it to be so? i feel that their response to my email was very misleading and they should have let us know then that it would need to be professionally cleaned so that we could have sourced our own cleaners rather than pay their rates.

any advice in this would be fantastic
thanks 129

Klara2011-05-27 13:49:28 I'm not an expert, but I had a similar situation and did some research and as I understand it, even if there is a clause in your contract saying that you must have the property professionally cleaned it is unenforceable - you are ONLY responsible for returning the property in the condition in which you took it. I also believe that it is the landlord's responsibility to prove what that condition was. Do you have proof that you repeatedly requested it (i.e. emails)?
You need to find out ASAP if your deposit was protected in one of the 3 deposit protection schemes, as required by law - your landlord/agent should have notified you of this within 14 days of receiving the deposit. If you haven't been told, contact all 3 schemes to find out (they are the TDS, DPS and MyDeposit).
If your deposit was protected, write to the landlord stating your case (get proof of postage/send recorded) that you are only liable to return the property as you took it, whether or not htere are clauses in your contract or if they send you a letter demanding a professional clean. If your landlord continues to demand payment, you can go through the arbitration provided by the deposit scheme - make sure you provide any evidence that you repeatedly asked for a copy of the inventory etc. I don't think they would accept an unsigned inventory list as sufficient proof of the property's original conditon. There is more advice on the websites for the deposit protection schemes.
If your deposit was not protected, you have the opportunity to take your landlord to court for non-protection - although this is a whole other issue!
Make sure any communication you make with them now is IN WRITING, keep copies, and send recorded or at least with proof of postage.
In future, the best advice I can give is to ensure that you take your own photos when you move in, and when you move out, that way if you don't receive a copy of the inventory or if you dispute its contents you have evidence of your own.
Hope that helps - any probs or questions, post again and I'll try to help.
Good luck! 130

cardifflandlord2011-05-27 15:17:20 @Klara: you are correct! Well written and easily understandable.

Only bits I have an issue with is the non-protection of deposit. Recent legal rulings have made the deposit schemes pretty much unenforceable and as a result 99% useless!

Also recorded dely is not a good way of sending documents as the receiver can refuse to sign for them. Best send 1st class with proof of postage or special delivery or even better - hand deliver them and stick them in the LL grubby little paw!

Well done

Cardifflandlord 131

Klara2011-05-27 15:50:23 Thanks!
It's amazing what one bad experience can teach you! Whilst my landlady tried it on, I was lucky that she had protected the deposit, so I never had to go as far as court, but I know what you mean about the non-protection issue. However I think the threat of court action may persuade a landlord to give way on the whole issue (makes them realise the tenant knows what their rights are) or at least to protect the deposit, thus opening the arbitration route - but I understand it's not as simple as many think! Hence why I said it was a whole other issue - too many people hear that they can get 3 x deposit back without realising that the landlord can place it in a scheme as late as the day before court and not suffer any consequences, whilst lumbering the tenant with large court costs. As I understand it, going through small claims court for only the amount of the original deposit is a more realistic option, as the fees are so much cheaper. Hope I've got that right?!
Klara 132

Becky2011-05-27 22:14:36 Hiya,
I posted on here a few comments back ...

i would really like some help on how to claim back my kids deposit. Its been 2 and half mths now since they moved out and still the landlord refuses to anwser his phone to them or to speak to them ... please help!! 133

TEEA2011-05-31 11:51:02 HI, We vaccated our flat on May29th 2011 and Our home owner came one day before i.e on 28th may 2011, verified flat and gave back our deposit as a cheque £600..he now cancelled the cheque and claiming that he is not happy with the flat as there is food left in th e fridge we left milk which we kept as safe side for our 1 year old baby.Please can you advice what i cna do ? 134

khan2011-06-16 11:18:19 Hello, I am writing this letter to get the best advice or Help from you.
A week ago I was looking for a one bedroom flat on www.gumtree.com web site and i found a private landlord. I spoke to him, we met and he also shown me the flat. This guy looked quite good to me and I really believed him that he will not cheat me. I transfered him the security deposit £500 in his wife’s bank account. But I didn`t get any receipt or contract from him. The landlord said that time that the flat will be free on 1 July, but now he refuses to attend my call. I am 99% sure that this guy has Mugged me.
The bad thing is that I have no personal address of him or some other information, the only thing I know about him is his wife`s bank account`s detail in which I transferred the security deposit of £500 from MY account and the rental property address and his contact number.
I believe that I done wrong to sent him money without any receipt, but I also believe that there is also someone who can help me to get my money back.
I am REALLY looking forward for your help in this matter. 135

Mike2011-06-16 12:42:38 Hey Khan,

Your "landlord" sounds like someone running a scam, like number (1) on the list below:

http://www.propertyinvestmentproject.co.uk/blog/rental-scams-tenants-should-be-aware-of/


If the guy refuses to take your calls, the only things I can suggest are to get in touch with your bank, and potentially with the police. You also might want to contact someone at Gumtree to see if you can prevent anyone else falling into the same trap - hold that--- the police might want to respond to the same advert to try a reverse sting :) (that's if you get one of the remaining staff that care about crime on this scale) 136

morges2011-06-19 22:30:17 Hello

I wonder if anyone would be able to give me some advice?
My mother gave her landlord a months notice at the end of April.
The landlord came to pick up the keys and check the property on the last day of May. I was there and he started saying that my mother needed to get the carpets cleaned because it stunk of cats which wasn't true as her cats were never in the actual house only in the porch which didn't have carpets only floor cover.
She did have the carpets cleaned and it cost her £130. I feel angry that she had to pay for someone to clean the carpets considering the state of the house when she moved in. The whole place needed to be scrubbed from top to bottom.
That was the first thing then when my mother asked him about her bond he said that the estate agents had it. Then when my mother went to the estate agent they said they did not have it and that the landlord had it and to contact him. When my mother then spoke to him he then said that he would give her the bond when they new tenants exchanged the contract. Which don't think can be right, what if he hadn't had any tenants for months? That isn't my mothers problem and shouldn't have anything to do with her getting her bond back.
She has texted him a number of times asking for her bond and he hasn't even replied to her.
What can she do about this? What are her rights? 137

Paulina2011-06-22 09:59:21 Hi,
I would be very happy if you could help me.
I rent the house 5 months ago for 6 months contract.
the landlord gave me contract to sign and it says he will keep the deposit.
I ask him,why and why he doent want to send it to dps,but he said they will charge him 20 % ,and of course he can...but in the end he didnt.
I want to move out next month,because he is so unfair giving me promises that he is going to fic,change this and that,but he never kept any of them.I am worried that he will not give me my deposit back and if it will happen i am not sure what to do next.
It my contact valid???Or it is illegal to sign it? 138

Jamie2011-06-29 06:37:22 Can I just post a brief note here concerning the Tenancy Deposit Scheme? It is important to understand that this scheme is only suitable if you have agreed and signed a 'secured shorthold tenancy' it does not apply to rooms that have been let out under informal agreements such as a flat/house share or under a 'licence to occupy'. It is always best to have an inventory and a note (or take a picture) of the condition of the property which is agreed between both parties before you move in.

I am not a landlord, I am a tenant but have in the past let out a room in my rented flat and am so happy that I produced proper agreements as I've just got rid of a tenant from hell! The key is here to ensure that you have a written understanding of expecatations in preparation for when you vacate - If you are sharing it helps if you agree things like 'houserules' - it all sounds so formal but worth it's weight in gold when things go wrong. You can download free agreements from most flatshare websites. Good luck. 139

jayne2011-07-11 19:36:13 i av a landlord n becoz i told him to do the repairs as there that many of them but the main repair is a broken window that was done befor we moved in .n my partner cut his hand on it he said he wud change it n then gave me eviction order wat a idiot 140

Mason 12342011-07-27 20:35:54 Heres one, sign a 12 month contract then say youve lost the copy when you want to move out 6 months later!
Is it fair that I as a landlord ask for a gesture payment to cover the costs of a tenant find?
I charge 2 months rent in advance opposed to a bond as it makes it simpler to cover these eventualities!
The tenant won't even offer £150 towards the new tenants find fee and agreement.

Thanks your thought please 141

phil irving2011-08-07 15:15:32 My mate was renting a room privately from a guy. He had paid a deposit. The guy recently asked my mate to move out because his partner was going to move in. He gave my mate a cheque for the deposit. He has now sent my mate a text saying don't pay the cheque in because it will bounce and he will sort it out in a few weeks. My mate has already paid the cheque into his account and paid some bills against it. So it is going to bounce and he is going to be overdrawn and accumulate bank charges. What rights does he have to (a) get his deposit back and (b) get the dickhead landlord to pay the bank charges that he is going to incur. Is there any place or anyone he can turn to?

Thanks for any help you can give. 142

Jon Easdown2011-08-13 22:41:54 Got a bid of a crazy situation.

On August 12th I moved out of the flat i was renting. I called the landlord 1 month prior to give him notice, as per the contract.

Anyway to cut a long story short...The poor landlord has passed away within the last month and his brother turned up at the flat the day before i moved out. I asked about our deposit and he said we have to get it from the property agents. So i tried calling them and the number is no longer in use. I fear they may have gone out of business. So now the landlord says to contact the GDS. Thats all he told me, 'contact the GDS, they have your deposit.'

When we handed the deposit to the estate agent he didnt mention anythign about the GDS or give us a ref. number or anything.

I really dont know who has our deposit and dont know how to find out.

If anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your time,
Jon 143

emma2011-08-17 19:50:01 im just in the process of moving out and dont know if im entitled to my deposit back i broke the front pvc and paid £400 to have a new door put back on my at request of my landlady but wen she came out and she didnt like the door and said it was cheap as id already paid £400 i couldnt afford to pay again we agreed she would pay to get the old door replaced and fixed or whatever and i would pay ex amount each month it was verbally agreed and she had told me she would get somebody out to quote a price she never did so i never paid am i entitled to my deposit ??? help pleaseeee 144

Shale2011-08-18 17:17:55 I am a landlord myself and I am amazed by how many landlords are such arses. However on the opposite side of the fence I have had tenants trash my property and do all sort of weird and awful things. I have lost a pot of money in the past. I have come to the conclusion Bonds dont work and I no longer take bonds from tenants. I charge a small non returable fee for any work that needs doing when they leave and everyone loves it. Much cheaper than a bond and if they trash the room so what...I just get it fixed. The law is an arse and sadly most landlords greedy buggers. 145

Jimmy2011-08-19 10:07:26 Hi guys

I have a problem - my bastard landlord agency is holding my £300 deposit for my tenancy agreement from June 2010 - June 2011. The reason being that they've asked us to provide proof that we've settled bills for water, gas, electricity and council tax. Now, we've proved all but the council tax. And I'll let you in on a little secret, we never actually paid any, we just ignored the original letter and no more came thereafter, it was more out of laziness than actually evading it. Now the landlord is demanding proof that is has been paid or that we were exempt. We had 2 masters students and 2 in full-time employment. As far as we know there is no law which allows the agency to hold our money for council tax issues as they do not own the house, the just let it, surely the issue should be between the tenants, house owner and the council? Do we have a leg to stand on in here?

Also, in a bid to get some money back off them, we were wondering if there is some sort of tribunal or 3rd party we can go through to claim that the rent we were paying was not justified in the quality of the house, which was a complete shithole charged at £62 per person per week.

Any ideas guys? I'd sooner the council had my money than the cunting letting agency. 146

Shale2011-08-19 13:21:48 Hi Jimmy
You cannot seek reimbursement for rent after the fact.No matter what the quality of the house, you must have signed a contract agreeing to pay x amount for the rent, so this wont work.

Council Tax: I cant see what this is to do with your landlord at all. I am a landlord and I pay council tax for my tenants so it is my responsibility. However if the council tax was your responsibility then why is the landlord getting involved? I smell a rat! Maybe the landlord is using this as an excuse to keep your money. Or maybe he is telling the truth and he has had to cough up the council tax in which case, he will have documentation and bank statements etc to prove he paid it on your behalf.

The thing to do is "check mate" him. You need to ring up the local council and be honest...ish. Tell then when you were at the house and that there was students there (exempt from counicl tax) and a full time employed person.You get a deduction for just one employed person. They will then tell you if the landlord paid the council tax on your behalf during this period or not. Ask them to detail as much as possible on email (for your records) so you have written proof. If they tell you that the landlord didnt pay the counicl tax during the period you lived there, then he does not have a legal leg to stand on as basically this is fraud.

However IF he did pay the bill for you then yes....you owe him some money. The people responsible for paying this are the 2 employed people and NOT the students. If you were one of the employed people, just pay half.

Was your bond in a deposit protection scheme. If yes, then you can dispute the non payment of the bond if indeed he lied about the council tax or the amount.
If he didnt put it in a deposit protection scheme, then contact ARLA for advise on what to do next.

One other thing....is the amount you owe or he paid for the council tax is less than the amount he is charging you - keep stum and loose the money.

I smell a big rat and think hes lying. Most counicl taxes are around £125 a month in an out of town area....more for cities. £300 sounds too cheap to me. But please please contact the local council. Keep it all legal and be above board and these guys will protect you from crooks. Hope this helps. 147

SJX2011-08-21 18:09:39 I broke a cooker top in my last flat. The appliance still worked and the damage was localised to the top left hand corner. We informed the letting agency and the landlord who came to view it the next day. they asked us to claim on our household insurance. We were told by our insurance that we could not claim as this was a fixture. We told the agency this and had no reply. we lived happily in the flat for 3 years and never hid the fact that it was broken and that it was logged on our annual inspections! We have now moved out and they are stating we have to pay £311 from the single quote provided to us. They state that ' all electrical appliances should be left in good working condition'- it works as it did throughout our tenancy. We offered to pay the excess on their insurance but this has been declined. Where can we go from here? 148

JCL2011-08-26 11:30:38 I was moving to Reading for a new job and needed to find a place to stay. I viewed this one property and decided to take the room. All of this has happened in the last week, starting on the 17th of August 2011. The tenancy was supposed to start on the 29th of August 2011 but I have had to pull out of the let due to family issues. The landlord is now saying that he will not pay back any of the £400 deposit because he will lose money by having to re-advertise the room and lost rent. Can he do this? I can understand if he keeps some of the deposit, but not all of it. He could for all I know get a new tenant for the room next week. Is there anything I can do about this? 149

leanne lewis2011-09-26 21:24:43 hi i dont know if we have a claim i took out one year tenancy and all has been fine that year wen we moved in ewe took pics of all repairs aND NOTIFIED LANDLADY AND SHE SAID ALL WOULD BE REAPIRED ASAP SO WE SIGNED AND PAID A £550 DEPOSIT then time rolled around this may to re sign so we did we are 4 months in to our 2nd year and our landlady is becoming horrible with us british gas came to fit new meters and showed us that there was live wires exposed and gas boiler needed fixing so wen i repeatedly demanded this stuff to be done as i have a 6 month old snd a 6 yr old in the house she said she was giving us a months notice to get out as we are costing her to much money..l. i said ok kick us out and we will take you to court as we know this house is not covered by insurance or safty certificate. which wefound out is true as we were bluffing and she dumped herself and rang back half hour later and arranged to fix wires n boiler. but now we have misplaced our tenancy agreement but my hubbys work hours have been cut in half so now we need to claim some financial help from benefits til his hours pick up again so we can pay the rent but she is refusing to send a copy of agreement or even fax a letter to them as and i quote "she doesnt have time". so now she keeps holding the threat over us to kick us out n im sick of it. so if she cant help us i dont wanna be therepay her another months rent and then be kicked out so we were going to say we pay a month in advance so we will just leave early but she is saying she wont give us deposit back ...is she allowed to do that if it is her stubborness to give us copy for benefit claim that has made us not able to pay the rent? xxxc 150

lisa2011-09-27 10:21:48 i left my rented property my landlord wrote me a cheque for my bond which later bounced he will not answer my calls which is strange i want to take him to court but dont know were to start i also found out he stopped protecting my bond which i was charged to protect it what can i do 151

Nigel2011-10-15 12:11:26 Hi,

Here's my story.

I signed a 12months contract for a 7 bedroom house with my landlord for sub-letting the property with £1800 rent per month and £1800 deposit. I have completed the 12 month period and decided not to renew the contract. The owner has deducted around £1200 claiming for damages which I feel is very unfair.

My main question is that the owner did not register my deposit under the new government scheme. What are my chances of winning the case on that basis? and finally how long do I have to file a case against him as I am going out of country for 3 months.

Please reply back with your words of wisdom, I would really really appreciate any help from you.

Regards,
Nigel 152

Fiona Graham2011-10-24 19:05:08 Well, I'm in shite right up to my eyebrows !! I signed a 6 month Fixed-Term AST in Dec 2008, having paid a Deposit of £1315. We did not receive a renewal at the end of the 6 months, so we carried on as usual. However, in January 2010 (13 months later), we received another 6 month Fixed Term AST, along with a Deposit Protection Certificate (dated 12.12.09 - 12 months after we moved in), but no explanation as to what it was. There were, however, some inconsistencies with the address on the Certificate and we refused to sign our copy. We also refused to sign the AST renewal, as they changed the Paragraph regarding pets (we had paid a £500 Bond to keep pets) and would not correct it.

We moved out of that property on 8th September 2011 and used the 3 remaining days of our Tenancy to have the property professionally cleaned, including the carpets. The Landlord turned up on the morning of the 8th, with Decorators in tow and was pissed off to find us still in the process of moving (we had until the 11th !), as he wanted to carry out long-standing repairs (that he'd been promising us would be done for over a year !) and re-decorate the Bungalow, prior to the new tenant moving in on the 12th Sept. He had no intention of walking round with us and hadn't even brought a copy of the Inventory with him, but by turning up with his decorators in tow (having not seen the interior of the property for best part of a year), I fully believe he had every intention of re-decorating it, regardless of what it looked like. Anyway, having remarked that the Bathroom and Kitchen still looked as new as the day they were fitted (3 years previously), he did comment that a couple of carpets were grubby and I reminded him that we had booked and paid for a complete exit clean, including the carpets. (He has since acknowledged in writing that the 'carpets came up very well'). Having lived in the bungalow for just short of 3 years, with 2 adults, 2 teenage boys, a 9st Bullmastiff and 2 cats, I feel it is highly unlikely that magnolia paint will still look pristine, however the only areas of concern were in the main bedroom (where the bed had been against the wall) and the 2nd bedroom, under the windowsill (once again, where the bed had been). I pointed these out to the Landlord and offered to re-decorate them in time for the new Tenant on Monday (this was Thursday), but he stated it wasn't necessary, as his decorators were there anyway. I then offered to contribute towards the cost of the Magnolia Emulsion required to cover these two minor areas but, once again, the Landlord refused our offer, stating that the cost was 'negligible'. Before we left, we shook hands, thanked him for letting us live in the Bungalow and even joked that, should we return to Kent, he'd better have a house waiting for us !! We also asked him, at this point, about the return of Deposit. In return, he thanked us for being 'great Tenants' and told us 'not to worry' about the Deposit and it would be returned within 14 days. Therefore, we left the property believing (and rightly so) that everything was in order and, providing the carpets came up clean (which they did), that our Deposit would be returned in full.

Having not heard a word for 14 days, I emailed the Landlord and, having not received a reply for 2 days, I phoned his office. I was told by the Office Assistant she was in the process of typing the letter and would email it to me (which she did). To my absolute horror, it stated that they were withholding £700 of our Deposit for 're-decoration costs' and that they were being generous 'because the Landlord liked us as people' !!! Fuck knows what it would've cost if he didn't like us !!! Equally, it said they were enclosing a cheque for £615, that being the remainder of our deposit (but it obviously couldn't be emailed !).

I immediately emailed the Landlord's office and asked for a breakdown of the costs and an explanation, but didn't receive a reply. I then sent a further email, addressed directly to the Landlord, stating my displeasure and listing several questions to which I required answers. I also requested that we might negotiate on the amount withheld. I received a response stating, and I quote, 'When XX (his name) does a check out on a property he expects it to be ready for handover. His decision is final and he is not in a position to consult about this'. So, by now, I've 'lost' £700 and the Landlord states 'no comment' ... charming ! I emailed again and stated I was not in agreement with the amount withheld (£700) and requested that my Deposit remain protected until further notice. I also asked for clarification of when the undisputed amount of £615 was going to be returned to me.

I received an email back stating I could only have the 'undisputed' £615 back IF I agreed in writing NOT to appeal about the £700. I emailed straight back and, once again, requested clarification, along the lines of "You are under obligation to return the undisputed amount of £615 to me within 10 days and I would like it back NOW .... are you seriously telling me that I can only have it back once I've declared in writing that I will NOT appeal against the withheld £700 ????" .... there's me thinking they CANNOT mean what they're saying, 'coz that's surely BLACKMAIL ?? The reply I received stated "We have your cheque for £615 waiting, but cannot send it to you until you confirm that this is the final settlement" .... so, YES, they are blackmailing me !!

I then spoke to MyDeposits, who were alledgedly protecting the Deposit and (regettably) asked them for advice and how they react to Landlords that are blatantly abusing their rules. Having looked at the two AST's (one signed, the other unsigned), they asked me to get Legal Advice as to which AST was the legal one. I did as they asked and promptly received a letter from them stating that the Deposit had been illegally protected (as the first AST was the legally binding one and they don't protect deposits on rolling tenancies) and therefore my Deposit is no longer protected and will count as never having been.

So now, I'm left in the position of being £1315 out of pocket, fighting a Landlord who obviously doesn't play by the rules and is blackmailing me into accepting ludicrous charges and having no deposit protection in place either.

I have repeatedly tried to get advice - I even went to the CAB, but it seems my only option is to take the Landlord to Court and, despite all his dishonesty and apparent fraud, plus blackmail, I stand little chance of getting anything back, let alone prosecuting him. In fact, the Solictor I spoke to even told me to 'forget it - it'll cost more in Legal Fees than you'll ever get back via a Court'.

How can this be possible ? This Landlord held onto my Deposit for 13 months, then fraudulently placed it into a Deposit Scheme (which has now washed its hands of it), knowingly gave falsified information to MyDeposits (and signed the Certificate stating it was correct to the best of his knowledge, when he knew it wasn't), is blackmailing me into accepting less than half of my deposit back (without justifying any charges at all) and yet I don't appear to have a leg to stand on, because I'm no longer in the property !

I thought this Tenancy Deposit Scheme was meant to protect Tenants, but it seems a complete load of shite to me ! I also thought MyDeposits would offer some backing, having taken the decision that the deposit was fraudulently protected, but it seems not ! They even stated on the phone that refusing to give me my 'Undisputed' £615 back was illegal and by making me choose between all or nothing was, indeed, blackmail (and against their rules), but I seem to be the only one who's being punished here, as they've cancelled my protection and left me high and dry.

Has anyone got any ideas where I go from here ? How do I get to stop this Bastard from stitching other Tenants up too ? Do I have any legal rights, or should I just send him a nice letter asking for my money back (on top of the other 10) ? The only other option I can think of, is to settle for the £615 and let him keep the £700 ... thus letting him get away with all his fraudulent activities and bully-boy tactics. Why should I though ? I've done nothing wrong and didn't know he had, until we'd moved out and all this shit started to hit the fan :((

If anyone's got an ideas, PLEASE let me know.

Thanks xxx 153

Karunakaran2011-12-04 12:15:20 Hi,
I Made 6 months contract with my Landlord, and due to my personal reason and Bedbug issue on this flat, I need to vacate in 4 months, so informed my landlord my situation, He committed me by words that, when new tenancy come, then I will return my deposit Money, and he signed on my contract with date of leaving the flat and return my keys and all my holding on the flat to him. hen I Moved to different city, After this happened, the first 2 weeks he responded my call, and told that still no new tenancy come. then when ever I called him he is not picking my call, and not responding my voice mail as well.

What Can I do now? how will I get my deposit from my land lord?

Please advice or suggest me on this issue?

Thanks
karuna.ms gamil.com
07869634246 154

carpet cleaning dublin2011-12-30 18:57:22 Thank you. It was indeed definitely worth the read. 155

carpet cleaning2011-12-30 19:30:58 Hi and thanks. It was indeed well worth the read. 156

Dustin Ordazzo2012-02-17 04:12:44 There may be noticeably a bundle to find out about this. I assume you made certain good points in options also. 157

Paige2012-02-19 20:21:38 Hey hope some one can help!
Is my landlord allowed to keep my bond (£300) if I leave my property 2 month early but still give him 28 days notice as he says I am in breech of my tenancy bur I only want to leave due to the fact that my landlord doesnt seem to be doing all my repairs he has done some ( any example he left me with a gas leak for 2 months and he was aware of this and put cellar tape on it // he left me with no hot water or any thing for 9 day ) my boiler is leakin and has been for 10 months and the pressure is always droppin and wen I report it it takes him days to sort it and I have a young child

What can I do !! 158

Jeremy2012-02-19 22:15:10 Hello Paige,

If you want to an Alternative Dispute Resolution service or the Court, you could argue that ths house had been kept in a delapidated state, which promed your leaving. Hence it would not be reasonable to make a deduction for early termination of contract, as he has 28 days to put right the problems and you would agree not to leave.

But you would need good evidence to rely on this getting your the right result: Otherwise you're into a "he said - she said" situation which you can nto rely upon the certainty of the decision. 159

Kate2012-03-01 10:32:06 I have seen a property and been asked to pay £100 to secure the room.
I paid £200 so that can go towards my rent too. Nothing has ever been signed, no contract nothing. All verbal.

I however have changed my mind, and asked for the deposit back. And because I did feel like it was unfair on the landlord I actually only asked for my £100 back.
He has been ignoring me and when finally I managed to get a response out of him he said" Why should I pay you for you indecision?"
What can I do? Any advice would be very helpful. 160

Keiran2012-03-02 11:04:05 Hi,

My landlord is withholding £350 of our £550 deposit for basic wear and tear but they claim that this is not the case.

We didn't receive a receipt for our deposit therefore this is a breach of contract. I have seen the above legislation as of 6th April 2007 however I live in Scotland and not sure if this applies as I don't think my deposit was protected! I have been told this legislation does not apply to Scotland.

What can I do to get my money back? They have been so unreasonable and indirectly accused us of living like tinks and it's so embarrassing.

Please can someone shed light on this.

Thanks, Keiran. 161

Jeremy2012-03-04 16:18:35 Hello Kate,

My advice is that I think you're stuffed. Sorry. I can't beleive you'd give someone £200 when they asked for only £100.

I think this might have to go down as a "live and learn" experience. 162

hanna2012-04-06 18:28:22 Hi everyone well my story is a little bit diffrent I pay my rent every month I have receipts for everything im always on time with it some times early I oftern have my dad come and fix things so I dont have to wait ages for the landlord to pull out his finger and acturly do something but today the landlord came round even after I told him not today as I am extremely busy my oven needed fixing and he was supposed to do it ages ago and the one day he wants to come over I wont be around my neighbour rang me and told me some man was knocking on the door and ringing the bell and wont go away when I came back home and told him u can not come in he was upset he bring his wife she had the cheek to tell me she was sick of getting calls every minute which is a lie cause one I wont have his number everything goes threw the estate agent and two cause I never have credit and like said I did I ask my dad and I was shocked when she said to me ill be over taking the flat when ur tenancy is.up which is probly another lie oh yea they lie lie lie they tell me everything is new which makes. Me laugh cause the bed had blood stains and the carpet had iron marks I could go on any way the thing is what do I do now 163

Lizzy2012-05-16 12:00:57 I went to view a house around 4 week ago and it seemed pretty decent and the landlord says if you are interested its a 500 bond and then nxt week you can come sign tenancy amd so on... anyway like an idiot i gave him 500 with no tenancy agreement there and then and he gave me a key in return, then a few days later he told me i couldnt go to the house to sort out the tenancy and he would meet me in leeds train st again i was fine with this as he seemed a decent guy... here is where it goes bad.. my mum had cancer a few years back but everything went and she was given the all clear now its back again and we only found this out 2 week ago and nothing they can do, (i know this has nothing to do with the landlord) I rang him the day after we found out my mums news and told him to keep 150 out of the 500 as it not his fault he was fine about it and told me he would send my cheque the next day. since then i have tried to contact him several times and he text once about a wk ago saying he posted it and then just turns off his phone. I have had to take time off work as my mum is really ill and this is a massive stress as i could really do with that money for my own bills now, i know its partly my fault for being naive, by the way the landlord wouldnt have lost any money as house wasnt ready to be let out it still needed painting and the sink was leaking. any advise would be appreciated. lizzy 164

Jeremy2012-05-29 22:16:54 Lizzy,

I'm sorry to say this but you have two choices:
+ Forget it and put it down to learning lessons on life;
+ Conduct a time consuming, expensive and probably fruitless legal case against the landlord. All at a time when you probably want to spend as much time with your mum as you possibly can.

Some people aren't nice. This landlord soulds like one of these people. Don't let his nastiness eat you up. 165

steve2012-08-06 19:25:53 Hi iv got a complicated problem we moved into an all inclusive rented property then the problem started when we asked for proof our council tax was being payed we received no evidence then my wife lost her job when we wanted to apply for housing benefit our landlord told us they didn't want our sort in there property and issued a months notice to quit. we took legal advice and was assured that the minimum notice was 2 months and needed to be issued under section 21 of the housing act, so I ignored the notice to quit . however we started to fall behind with rent due to the landlord trying to evict us for wanting to generate the rent short fall through housing benefit but we were never more than 1 month behind. I contacted the council about my concerns they told me that the property according to their records was listed as a commercial industrial unit so as far as they were concerned wasn't liable for a housing benefit charge. they were keen for me to go into there offices for an interview but I declined because we felt threatened a vaunrable as it is an isolated property. the plot then thickened because we were informed by our insurer that our household insurance wasn't valid because it was an industrial let not domestic . Then we inqured about the response by emergence sevices and it was suggested that all the above my undermine the attendance by the firebrigade to an emergency . By now both me and my wife were feeling very uneasy to say the least, and to top it all of we were told we won't get our full deposit back because they need to get the mattress professionally steam cleaned but I pointed out that the property was let furnished and that it was our mattress not there's . Then we discovered that our deposit was not in a bonded account and had no way of getting our deposit back other than withholding the equivalent in rent . Can you give me any advice other that shooting myself , that's if you still have the will to live after reading this ? 166

comfort2012-11-18 18:53:35 Hello,
I am wondering if I could get advices and help in reference to my deposit being withheld by my letting agency morgan and sons. I saw a flat that i was ready to rent and few days before i move in my guarantor called to tell me that he would not fill the documents given him by the agency and that he did not want to be my guarantor anymore.

I paid 250pounds as deposit fee and on the form i signed it is said that "once rental acceptance is authorised the holding fee is non-refundable if my circumstances change, except where a tenant does not pass any referencing carried out. in these cases the holding fee will be returned to me less the cost of the crdit check,which is 20 per person.

I want to know if I can claim my deposit.
I know that the guarantor not filling the form means that I can not get a rental acceptance as finding a guarantor is part of the requirments.

The agency asked me if I could pay 3months rent up front when i told them i could not find another guarantor.

I have been the one chasing after the agency with phone calls an,d emails that are never replied to and each time they did they told me new things they did not say during our first meeting.

A day befroe I was supposed to move in I called them and they told me that I could not move in if I do not produce documents for proof of my spouse's identity.I send them a copy of his passport.

I am finding it hard to believe that any court will find it equitable for the letting agency to withhold my holding fee on the grounds that the referencing passed.

How can the rental acceptance be authorised without a guarantor?
And if there is no rental acceptance,why should they withold my deposit?

please let me know what you think and what I shlould do. 167

peter arnold cowell2013-03-26 02:30:17 my land lord passed away last novemeber 2012 and before he passed away he has handing the property to a letting agnecy he didnt pay our deposit into a bond and every time we got into augument i kept reminding him of the law

how ever at the end of November we was servved a section 21 and was told we had to be out by the middle of Febuary so we did what we was told

we are now having a problem only part of the deposit has been paid back to use dispite us not being in any contract with the letting agents how ever they have deducted cleaning of the property and also moving out fees from our deposit from septeber last year we was left with no hot water and the land lord was on the ferge of getting it sorted but he come ill and passed away we informed the letting agents and they never did any thing about it can any body help please

also as soon as they served the section 21 they started pestering use to show people round the property however the property is still empty today and my old naigbour says no ones been there to do any work

i have been told i can claim back rent for the hot water but what about the fees they took out of our deposit 168

Jeremy2013-03-31 10:41:44 Hello peter arnold cowell,

The agent can deduct for the cost of cleaning if you left the place less clean then when you moved in. This is evidenced by the moving in inventory. If the letting agents do not have an inventory (unlikely if they 'inherited' the running of the property from someone deceased) then they can not deduct for cleaning because they can't prove it was less clean than when you rented it out.

I'm guessing the moving out fee is something the agents charge. I'm guessing a moving out fee would not be on the tenancy agreement. Therefore it is illegal to charge for this.

Also, the deposit has not been protected in a govt approved scheme. My suggestion is:

Go to a solicitor to draft up court papers pointing out the deposit was not protected and you want the full return of the deposit and consideration given to a fine payable to you. This should, at least, scare the agents into paying up in full and, if you follow through with the court action, provide some recompense for your inconvenience during the tenancy. 169

Susan2013-05-16 22:20:04 My landlord wants to keep all 750.00 I am not happy about this the letting agent have hassled me into accepting this but if refused and I wrote to landlord. He told me not to contact him and deal with the A's gents. Im going t o small cc claims court coz I feel it's wrong to steal my money. 170