Landlord witholding deposit

foxxymynx

The landlord for my previous address is withholding the deposit until I prove that I have paid all of the final bills.

Am I right in thinking that this isn't legal?

Apart from anything else, should there be any withstanding debts in my name, obviously he would not be liable. There are no outstanding debts anyway, but all of my bills are paid by direct debit and I'm not giving him copies of bills and my bank statements - I'm not that stupid, it's enough documentation to commit ID fraud!

I believe that he is trying to get out of paying us back the deposit. Another reason I think this is that he whinged that the last rent payment wasn't a full months rent - I wasn't there for a full month after the rent was due! (I gave notice half way through a "rent month" iykwim?) and when they spoke about deductions, wear and tear was mentioned - which I know they can't withhold deposit for general wear and tear.

Premier_2

This is what Shelter say:

The deposit belongs to you and should be returned to you unless your landlord can show s/he has suffered a financial loss. Your landlord can make reasonable deductions from the deposit for:

• damage to the property
• unpaid rent
• missing items
• cleaning

Even if your landlord has a valid reason for keeping part of your deposit the rest of it should be returned. And you can ask to be shown receipts or estimates for items that have been deducted from your deposit.

Your landlord may try to withhold some or all of your deposit for a different reason such as because you had a noisy party when your contract stated you could not. This sort of thing is not legal. Landlords can only claim for any financial loss they have actually suffered.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/advice_topics/paying_for_a_home/tenancy_deposits/what_deposits_cover

If the bills not paid are not in his name/his responsibilty, the LL has not suffered any financial loss


Edit: with regards to the notice you gave, you need to refer to the TA. The 1 months notice should terminate on the last day of the rental period (I presume the ASTA fixed term had expired and you were on a statutory periodic tenancy); it shouldn't end 1 month after you gave notice (unless the 2 happen to coincide).

foxxymynx

Thank you. I was sure I'd read that somewhere but couldn't remember where.

foxxymynx

he had one calender month's notice as per the contract. There was nothing about the calender month's notice starting on the next rent payment date, he even asked what day we were moving out to confirm it and was happy about it all.

phil_b_2

I'm in the same situation. Withholding deposit until proof of final bill payment is handed over. Seems nonsense to me. I'll keep checking this thread .

poppysarah

Have either of you rung Shelter for specific advice?

foxxymynx

not yet, but I will be doing so tomorrow.

zebulon

that's what my Landlord tried to do ('2 flats ago').

the day he came for check-out, we just told him we did not agree with that - we were VERY firm, he got all surprised by tenants standing on the own 2 feet telling him that we took advice from CAB, shelter etc (which I had by phone) - he was obviously not prepared for this and was trying his luck as he probably did with other before us (he said at some point he had to make a few phone calls to check that we paid this and that etc... ergh!) - and we got a cheque 2 days later for full deposit.

foxxymynx

Thanks.

I'm not scared of taking legal action and I have told him that it is not legal nor reasonable for him to do this and that if he continues to do so, he will receive a letter from my solicitor in due course.

I'm going to call down to my local CAB tomorrow and see how to go about it.

littlemissmoney

When did the contract start? Is your deposit protected?

bigpat

Hi,
Speaking as a landlord myself, I'd say this guy is trying it on. If your tenancy was renewed at any point since Apr 07 (I think!) then your deposit should have been held independently by a tenancy deposit scheme such as the one I use http://www.depositprotection.com though there are other schemes too. And it was HIS onus to ensure this was done. He had a legal OBLIGATION to do so if I understand the legislation properly.

So you could put pressure on by saying you'll report him for breach of the legislation, though it might be worth checking this out with Citizens' Advice first.

At any rate, provided all bills were in your own names it should make no difference to him whether you paid them or not. They're YOUR business. I had a tenant-from-hell two years ago who disappeared after wrecking the joint. Her deposit had been paid by the Council but it didn't cover the damage she did. I was always willing to accept council tenants as too many people tar them all with one brush, but once bitten twice shy, methinks. My point is that she left gas and electricity unpaid and ignored a TV license letter. But none of this impacted on me afterwards. The utilities knew it had been rented out, so they knew I was not liable for those bills. I did ask the guy from the gas supplier if they could let me know if they ever tracked her down and he told me not to hold my breath!

The Council, or a neighbouring one, have probably inflicted her on some other poor soul trying to raise a pension by now!

Anyway, enough of my ranting. Get some advice from CAB, TELL this guy you've had advice and stick to your guns. Good luck!