Help-My Landlord has become bankrupt

Milady27

I have just found out that my landlord has become bankrupt and their estate has gone to a corporate restructuring company to whom I now have to pay my rent. I paid a deposit before that scheme came in last year protecting deposits. Is my deposit in jeopardy and what are my rights as a tenant? If they tell me that I will not get my deposit back am I within my rights to withold my last months rent before I move out. I have not damaged the property in any way and have kept it in a good condition and in normal circumstances would have received my deposit back without question.

k2nga

you will need to check as i am not sure if your landlord had to place your deposit into protection after the date or if it was just for new contracts after this date. If you are not sure i would give CAB a ring for advice.

skylight

Technically no. You cannot withold a last months rent to make up for the deposit. You would become a creditor in the normal way and make a claim for your deposit to the official reciever dealing with your landlords assets. The chances of you getting anything back will be small, let alone the whole amount.

You could always discuss with the company to whom you pay your rent about the deposit and tell them you are keeping the last months rent in lieu, but as the deposit is not their problem then I doubt they will allow this. You can but ask though.

You could always withhold payment anyway. But expect them to come after you for the money at some point.

Your rights as a tenant will depend on the type of tenancy agreement you have. Also bear in mind that there is a good possibility that the company dealing with LL properties will sell them to re-coup some money and you may or may not have a home depending on who buys.


Sorry - but there is no good news as a creditor.

skylight

k2nga wrote: »

you will need to check as i am not sure if your landlord had to place your deposit into protection after the date or if it was just for new contracts after this date. If you are not sure i would give CAB a ring for advice.

It was only for deposits received after a particular date. But your LL may have done it anyway (unlikely though if they were facing financial difficulties.) Check it out where your money is.

blind-as-a-bat_2

I would contact the restructuring company and ask, they should be sypathetic and helfull, but unless they or the susiquent owners adopt the existing contracts as they are, and it states the term of bond in them i cant see how they will be liable for your bond, and i doubt they will adopt the cotract with such a financial liabilaty.

If the bond was paid to the landlord and is not protected im sure if it was kept seperatly by him it will now be in control of the OR but not sure how they would view or use it???

so maybe contacting the OR for information/advise may be worth a go too

Milady27

Thanks for your info. I had a six month contract initially and just continued it on a rolling contract after that so i'm not sure what my rights are now. I have contacted the restructuring company and have asked them to look into it for me and will get in touch with the C.A.B as well and see what they suggets. It just seems really unfair that I should suffer a financial loss because of this and I would really need that deposit to pay for the next flat i move into.

MissMoneypenny

Try putting a thread on the Housing and Renting Board. As I recall, there have been other threads on there recently from tenants, who have a LL who is in financial trouble.