Old landlord ignoring us

Sazzyukrafc

We moved out of our rented house two months ago after buying our own house. The house was checked and all given clear for full deposit refund by estate agents and owner.

So, we applied to have our deposit refunded through...deposit people!!! - I can't remember the name!...and we haven't heard anything since.

We have rung the estate agents pretty much every day to see what is going on and all they say is they are trying to get in touch with the landlord - they live in Croatia now.

It has been two months now and we are sick of constantly ringing the estate agents, being given false promises and never ringing us back.

At the weekend we were even more annoyed to find out that they have rented the house out again!!! When we talked to the estate agents last weekend they said that they couldn't get in touch with the landlord...but somehow they managed to sort out renting it out again, which means they must have talked to them and had the new people's deposit!

On Monday my fiance rang them again to say we've seen it's been rented out and said we wanted to hear something by the following day. No one rang the next day and no one answered the phone, despite ringing about 10 times.

Can anyone shed any light on what we should do? We're at our wits end chasing this money. It's £450 and is a lot of money to us, especially as we have just bought a house.

Is there a certain amount of time the landlord has to give the deposit back?

Sorry for the long post!!!

tbs624

I’m amazed that you haven’t kept your own record of which scheme your deposit was registered with. You should by law have been given the “prescribed information” by the LA/LL which gives you info on how to reclaim the deposit.

However, you can check again yourself via the schemes themselves, via these links:http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TenancyDeposit/DG_066391. Make sure that they understand that you are not talking about the deposit relating to the new tenants, and ask them to update you with what is happening, if anything. If you get anyone who sounds a bit “dozy” ask for a supervisor.

If the deposit was definitely registered then it really is irrelevant whether the LL is in Croatia - the release can be sanctioned online.

If it wasn’t actually registered then write formally to the * LA* along the lines of:

Dear LA
Tenancy of (address) from ….until….(dates)

We moved out of this property on (date) having left the property in a similar condition as at the start of the tenancy, fair wear & tear excepted, and all bills have been paid up to date.
Although the return of our deposit without deduction was agreed in principle by (name) on (date), and we have phoned/emailed/called at your offices on (dates) and spoken to (names), we have not yet received our money.
We now request the return of our deposit in full within the next 7 days. Although we would prefer this matter to be settled amicably, please note that if we don’t receive a response from you by (date 7 days hence) we intend to begin court proceedings for the return of our deposit, together with interest and the court costs, naming your firm as joint defendants
Yours etc

Also, if the LA is a member of ARLA or NAEA they will be signed up to a code of practice - google the respective codes , and then make a formal complaint if you get no action from the LA.

Sazzyukrafc

Sorry I didn't make sense!!!

We do know who it was registered with, I just can't remember the name right now

We applied online for our deposit back and the landlord hasn't replied to that. The estate agent doesn't answer the phone to us and says they can't get in touch with them, even though the landlord has used them to rent the house out again.

So, I guess the next step is to take it up with the deposit company. The estate agents are no good and we can't get in touch with them any other way.

EagerLearner

Sazzy tbs is offering great advice there - you need to stamp on this before much more times goes by. The letting agent had to follow correct procedure and your putting everything in writing to them asap is essential. You can get in touch with them that way and they will listen - send everything Recorded Delivery and keep the receipts.

The Deposit Protection usually write to the tenants themselves as well as the landlord - do you have this information anywhere - maybe you filed it somewhere 'safe'? Best to hunt for that as it will help.

Best case scenario: LA sort themselves out and the deposit scheme authorises the cash to be returned
Worst case scenario: You may have to take the Landlord and/or letting agent to court.

And many stages in between!

The Deposit Scheme should be able to help...

Best of luck

Sazzyukrafc

Thanks for the advice - both posters

We have everything regarding the tenancy agreement from the start to the end, including letters about us requesting our deposit.

Seems it's time to get all this in writing and sent recorded delivery.

I must say, it did make us laugh when we saw they'd rented the house out again!

Thanks again!

mlz1413

As TBS says ring the Deposit scheme tell them what has happened and ask what the current situation is.

If the LL or LA (whoever is registered with TDS) has not answered then the scheme cannot release the money. They normally send out a letter to the party who hasn't contacted them but ask what the procedure is and keep notes of names and dates of who you speak to.

As a LL I had to get a sworn declaration signed by a solicitor (less than £10) as my tenants went back to Poland with 1 days notice so I had no forwarding address, so you maybe able to go down this route if its the LL who is failing to answer.

tbs624

Sazzy - unfortunately, you often have to apply a fair amount of pressure to some LAs and make them understand that you aren't going to be fobbed off. If they think they are going to be hauled into court to explain their dodgy business practices they'll be kicking the LLs backside to get it sorted out asap. They'll know where to find the LL - he has to pay fees to them and, as you say, there must have been contact for a new tenancy to have been sorted out.

I'd mention the blog that you're intending to set up about "LAs I have known and loved" too .......;)

Sazzyukrafc

That's what I thought - they've obviously been in touch with them to re-let the house out and that was only at the weekend!

I'll write a letter tonight and get it sent tomorrow morning

Thanks for everyone's help.

Sazzyukrafc

Oh, just one more thing...does anyone know if there is a certain amount of time a landlord has to return the deposit upon the tenancy ending? Or is this individual in the tenancy agreement?

tbs624

10-14 days after the end of the tenancy is sufficient if there is no dispute.The deposit schemes all seem to suggest this sort of time-scale although you will still find LAs/LLs who will add a "within 28 days" clause to their tenancy agreement

Sazzyukrafc

Ok - thanks for that! There was no dispute, the house was perfect (cleaner than when we moved in!) and it's been let out like I said, so obviously no problem.

I'll check our tenancy agreement and see if it states anything.

Thanks!!!