Going to rent a new place (unrelated) and remembered I never received or heard regarding my deposit from the tenancy I finished 3 months ago. Going through my papers and phone logs they did phone me once after 15 days the contract ended and I moved out, which I missed. I also have not contacted them at all either.

From what I’ve read I only have 25 days to make a claim but I was not formally contacted (or rather talked to). Will this be a issue?

P.S *Quite simply I learned my other housemates have all been charged and lost their deposits, but I have not and haven’t been contacted at all regarding mine. Does this mean despite the lateness and lack of contact I can just claim my deposit?

Just preparing my strategy atm, don’t want to lose £300, have the advantage of pretending to be in the dark and can only pull this off once…

Advise much appreciated.

“I haven’t seen or signed a contract, do I have to pay the money which she is demanding?”

If you agreed to rent the room from the LL and agreed to a rental value, then yes, you do within reason. However, the money would be paid to the LL, not the LL’s daughter, who by extension, has no right to demand money from you.

“She is also saying I have broken the contract – can I do this without signing anything? (the contract started in sept).”

Technically, yes you could well be. If you have agreed with the LL to rent the property, then even if you do not sign the contract, you will have an “Oral Tenancy”. Essentially it is still a legally binding agreement that, in many cases, takes on the standard contract clauses for your type of tenancy. As a result, it is perfectly possible you could be considered in breach of tenancy even if you have not signed it, as long as you agreed with the LL to stay there.

You will be in breach of contract at this time for not paying the rent you owe to date (which is a legal requirement). However, while many tenancies normally have a “fixed term”, as you are a lodger, this may not be the case in your tenancy agreement.

“Also how does a DPS work? because I transferred the £150 into her dad’s (the LL) account. Does he then put this money into a DPS?”

Normally yes, but in your case, possibly not. For any tenancy that is an AST (Assured Shorthold Tenancy), the LL is required to secure the deposit with a deposit protection scheme (such as the DPS) within fourteen days of receiving payment. This is only a legal requirement for AST’s under a certain value (£100,000 per year) however, and the only way your tenancy could be considered an AST is if your LL does not live in the same building as yourself. Even then, there’s no guarantee that your tenancy is an AST.

As for using the deposit to cover half the rent for October, the deposit is typically kept for the Landlord to cover the costs of any reasonable damages incurred during your time and thus should not be used to cover rent at all.

Why are you dealing with the LL’s daughter and not the LL?

Toodles

I paid a deposit of £150 mid September which was meant to be £560 (Security Deposit + September’s rent) and the LL daughter who i was dealing with agreed to this. I agreed through text that I would pay the rest of the deposit in October when my loan comes through. (I’m a student living in a house with the LL daughter). My loan hasn’t yet come through, so she said when it does I can pay the rest.

Within 3 days of living there I wasn’t happy and wanted to move out. I only told the daughter a week later (so I have been living there for 2 weeks). She now demands that I pay the rest of the deposit + October’s rent.

I haven’t seen or signed a contract, do I have to pay the money which she is demanding? She is also saying I have broken the contract – can I do this without signing anything? (the contract started in sept).

Also how does a DPS work? because I transferred the £150 into her dad’s (the LL) account. Does he then put this money into a DPS?

Please help because I want to know if I can walk out without paying anything! I am willing to pay either £130 to make up 1 month’s rent which is £280 or pay £420 (september’s rent (£280) + half of october’s rent (£140) and she has £150 to cover the 2nd half of october – so essentially I am willing to pay 2 months rent.

Thanks!!

No Problems!!!

Will be in touch!!

Mike

Glad to hear the ball is rolling (hopefully in your favour). If its’ alright with you I would like to hear the outcome of this case when everything has settled down for posterity’s sake.

Best of luck,

Toodles

Apologies for the delay in replying to you and again thank you for all your kind attention and the advise you have given.

I have now instructed a solicitor to handle the matter for me and following his comprehensive inspection of all the paperwork I have furnished him, is absolutely confident that the tenant is simply chancing his arm and that serving him an eviction order through the court would be successful even with the minor errors I have previously made.

He is also extremely confident in me being able to recover the ever increasing amount of rent arrears he is accruing.

Again thank you, and having read many of the messages and replies you have posted to other concerned authors regarding their own unique predicaments, you clearly provide an invaluable knowledgeable service which goes also to offer peace of mind.

Kindest regards

Mike

Had a bit more of a think about the predicament you’re in. Just to clarify:

The tenant has clearly had some legal advice somewhere. They are correct in stating that if they do not have a UK address to send all corresponding mail to, then they are not legally obliged to pay the rent. As you failed to secure the deposit in good time, it is quite possible that a judge would rule any Section 21(A) form invalid even if they do not give out the full 3 x deposit amount.

As I see it now, you have two options, though neither of them are ideal:

1) Take the tenant to court after serving a Section 8 “Notice to Quit” Under Ground 8 (failiure to pay rent for two or more months in a row at the time the notice is served). This one is risky given the circumstances involved and may backfire horribly. You would have to point out to the judge that at the time of signing the tenancy and for the eight months that followed, the tenant paid rent as per normal and thus lays down a precedent that the tenant accepts that rent should be due while already being aware of your circumstances. You would also need:

a) Any type of proof of postage for the letter you sent detailing your information when you sent it. You will need to prove the likelihood that you sent the letter rather then specifically proving that the tenant has the letter.
b) A statement from your mother along with her copy of the letter stating that she received it in good time.
c) A statement showing that your mother has been acting on your behalf while you are out of the country, including carrying out any inspections as per necessary (which the tenant clearly accepted). Use this to show grounds that the tenant was well aware of the arrangement of the time.
d) If your mother handed her contact details to the tenant at any time, a statement to this effect. If she has done this, this would show that the tenant had in fact received a UK contact address and details as appropriate.
e) To return the deposit in full the moment the tenant looks like they could be raising the issue. If you return it in full before he attempts to counter-sue you, then it is very unlikely he will win this case.

2) This one is a bit long winded, but it will mean that you can evict your tenant without needing to go to court. You would also need the co-operation of someone you trust.

The trick would be to sell the property at minimal cost to a friend or family member, the current tenant would become a “sitting tenant” and the new owner would become their new Landlord who would be expected to honour the current tenancy agreement. Once the new Landlord is officially recognised as the new Landlord and handed out any contact details as appropriate, he can then serve him with a Section 21(A) notice immediately as the fixed term has already expired. Because the issue of the deposit was with yourself and not with the new Landlord, the new Landlord’s Section 21(A) notice would not be invalidated by the deposit not being secured.

This may seem expensive, but the trick would be to sell the property at the lowest price possible (I’d recommend £1, which you can legally do) and then sort out all paper work as appropriate. The only way that this idea might not work so well is if you have a mortgage on the property, which you would have to talk to the Bank as normal.

After the current tenant has left the property, you could either buy it back at the same price or else rent it out yourself. But that way, the tenant would have no choice but to leave the property.

Hope this helps you in some way, best of luck.

Toodles

Does the rental property have a mortgage on it?

Toodles

Wow, certainly that added element about not being in the UK does make it a whole lot more difficult. Just to clarify, there is no UK property listed on the tenancy agreement? Secondly, when you sent the letter to the tenant and your mother, did you keep any kind of proof of postage?

Toodles

Thank you so much for such a comprehensive reply.

It is so nice to know that there are even tenants out there who have high morals and principles!!!

One thing that I believe I did omit to include in my question, and for that I apologise…. At the time the tenancy agreement was drawn up, due to the fact that I was moving abroad, I had not there and then written in a uk landlord contact address on the agreement but once confirmed did send him an appendix letter within 3 weeks of the agreement being drawn up with all the details of my mother who agreed to act as a Uk correspondence address as she also lived locally.

It now seems as though he is claiming not to have ever received such a letter even though my mother received her copy of the one I had sent to him in order for her to file, and has also visited the property on my behalf on a few occasions when requested to.

He is stating that due to this and in compliance of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, he was never legally entitled to pay rent at all and has only paid rent up until four months ago on purely a goodwill basis, and again this omission to the tenancy agreement nullifies any eviction notice served..

The problem is that I am a disabled person who is now unable to even drive anymore ( Please do not think I am playing up on that), but he knows that I cannot simply just jump on a plane back to the Uk in order to attend the property at will to resolve any issues, and I strongly believe that my mother should certainly not have to deal with these issues as she is well into her 70′s.

I admit that I have made some mistakes and being ignorant as a novice is no excuse, but now strongly feel that he is using his experience as a long established tenant of more than 9 years (In his own written words) as a sledge hammer.

Anyway, thank you very much again for you kind a rapid reply.

Kindest regards

Mike