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I disagree.....it may be worth you letting them take you to court. Otherwise, you could pay the full deposit back and in 6 months, they could still take you to court and you will still have to pay out a second time. Perhaps paying once might be better?
scenario 1):
pay the deposit back now in full. Get taken to court in 6 months. Judge sees the deposit has been returned in full so gives a nominal slap on the hand punishment - the minimum 1 times deposit
Scenario 2)
Refuse to return the deposit and/or get into a dispute over the deductions. Get taken to court. Judge sees a landlord who is both evading the law by not protecting the deposit AND who is still witholding that deposit. Awards the tenant maximum penalty of 3 times the deposit.0 -
The OP has made a big mistake and is looking to try and mitigate. However, the issue at stake here is the legal costs. You can pretty much quantify what the Judge will award the tenant in this case; what you can't quantify is the legal fees that the OP will have to pay assuming the tenants go out of their way to find a good Housing solicitor, as opposed to a Jack of all trades who don't know what they are doing.
Ultimately, it's the OP's decision. Either way it is probably going to cost them dearly for not finding out what their legal obligations are as a landlord and executing them in a timely manner.
Let us hope they now go and seek some legal advice themselves rather than relying on the opinions of those on a forum.Still striving to be mortgage free before I get to a point I can't enjoy it.
Owed at the end of -
02/19 - £78,400. 04/19 - £85,000. 05/19 - £83,300. 06/19 - £78,900.
07/19 - £77,500. 08/19 - £76,000.0 -
Gin_and_Milk wrote: »We didn't put it in the scheme I'm afraid.
Less Gin, more Milk then maybe...0 -
Another example of one day suddenly deciding to be a landlord without researxhing your responsibities.
Note to any potietnal lamdlords - research first.0 -
Thanks for your advice, I'm still booting myself in the shins for not putting it in the scheme. Returning the deposit isn't a problem as we still have it, but I just wanted to know where I stood because they told me in their text that we could keep it, then two months after leaving they now want it back, although they are aware that there are significant deductions due to the damage they've caused.
Thanks again0 -
Another example of one day suddenly deciding to be a landlord without researxhing your responsibities.
You have absolutely no idea whatsoever of the backstory as to how we ended up being landlords and it certainly wasn't a case of 'suddenly deciding' to be one.
I asked for advice, not snide comments.0 -
Gin_and_Milk wrote: »You have absolutely no idea whatsoever of the backstory as to how we ended up being landlords and it certainly wasn't a case of 'suddenly deciding' to be one.
I asked for advice, not snide comments.
To be fair to CJ...
It doesn't matter how LL status lands in your lap.
It comes with a shedload of responsibilities.
My father inherited a non payer and spent £10,000 getting him out.
Let that money go and sell. Unless you want a protracted argument.0 -
I know it doesn't matter, but all I asked for was advice, not snarky comments. (I've never understood why people do it on forums).
There isn't much bond left to return; which they already acknowledge. In fact if we wanted to be hard nosed about it we'd charge them in full for the redecorating the living and dining rooms given that they didn't look after it. Given that the bond itself is £425 and the decorating alone cost quite a bit more. But no, I don't want a protracted argument, I simply wanted to know where I stood. And now I do.
Thanks0 -
Gin_and_Milk wrote: »I know it doesn't matter, but all I asked for was advice, not snarky comments. (I've never understood why people do it on forums).
There isn't much bond left to return; which they already acknowledge. In fact if we wanted to be hard nosed about it we'd charge them in full for the redecorating the living and dining rooms given that they didn't look after it. Given that the bond itself is £425 and the decorating alone cost quite a bit more. But no, I don't want a protracted argument, I simply wanted to know where I stood. And now I do.
Thanks
But you can't charge them.
You didn't protect the deposit. So just as they didn't fulfil they're obligations neither did you as a landlord.
Did you inherit the property?0 -
Yes, it was. It really is that simple.Gin_and_Milk wrote: »You have absolutely no idea whatsoever of the backstory as to how we ended up being landlords and it certainly wasn't a case of 'suddenly deciding' to be one.
You call it "snarkiness", but it's actually a wake-up call for you. You should be accepting this in the spirit it's meant - helpfulness. You are facing a VERY expensive lesson through your naivety, and you appear to be refusing to accept that the lesson is required, let alone learn from it.
There are NO circumstances in which somebody wakes up one morning to find themselves having signed a tenancy they didn't know about on a property they didn't know they had. None. Zero. Impossible. Never happened. You made a conscious decision at some point to rent your property rather than sell it. You found tenants. You signed a tenancy. You accepted rent from them for an extended period. You declared that rent as income on your tax return (you did, didn't you?). You voluntarily undertook a business activity...
As far as your ex-tenant's deposit goes - it's very simple. You NEED to return 100% of their deposit to them, today, and cross your fingers very VERY hard that they don't follow the route they are legally entitled to do. Stop arguing about it. Stop with the lame "Well, they said I could". Just. Do. It. Now.
You then NEED to sit down and have a very hard think about whether you are going to continue in this line of business, but properly, or whether you are going to say enough is enough and get out of it. You need to do this before you get another tenant. If you have an ad running for the property, cancel it. If you have a tenant lined up, cancel them. If you have an agent searching, stop them. MAKE YOUR MIND UP if you're going to run this business PROPERLY, or not at all. There is no other option.
And, yes, it IS a business.
Edit: I've just noticed that you said you'd made that decision already, and were selling the property. OK, great. But take note in case it doesn't sell for the amount you want, and you're tempted to take it off the market. If it does sell, then this will act as a reminder for anybody else in your position of denial.0
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