Tenants Deposit Problem

fergus.dunne

Hi All,

I am in desperate need of help and am wondering what I can do

Basically i am in a dispute with Agents about getting my deposit back of them now I have moved out of their Accomadation.

The Story is, I paid 650 pounds deposit and moved into a Brand new Build Apartment.

We informed them we were moving out on the 26th August and the Tenancy Agreement ran out on the 28th August and we were told we would get our deposit back within 10 days

We went off on holiday on the 26th August for 2 weeks, in the meantime they rang me after a few days and advised that there were a couple of stains on the carpet and also some screw holes in the wall.

I accepted this and knew they were there as i tried to clean and patch up holes myself but not very good, so expected them to call with Issues.

They informed me there contracters were going in to have a look and see what they could do and let me know.

A few days passed and nothing, so I rang them and was told that the carpets cleaned fine and they filled and sanded the Screw holes fine and just needed to wait for paint to arrive from Contracters, so I left them to it.

By now, about 2 weeks had passed.

So I waited a few days and nothing again, so i rang them as was informed that the paint the Contracters sent was the wrong type and wasnt blending properly, which i said wasnt my problem and thats your fault as i am not stopping you repairing any of this.

So they said were awaiting what the contracter was going to do and get back to me. So, again i waited a few days which was getting onto 3 weeks now almost and we were back off holiday and had no response, so i phoned them the other day and they advised that the paint doesnt fully blend and were awaiting what the landlord wanted to do, in which they informed me that the Landlord had been on holiday since even before we rang to say we were moving out and we were never informed.

So, I advised that this is not my problem, I have admitted everything and am willing to pay within reason whatever it cost to fix the Issues and the main delay has been because you cant match the paint and now cant get hold of the Landlord, in which there reply was, nothing we can do and were sorry.

Now, I might be able to do nothing but i just want to know what are my options, I have the new Landlords asking for deposit as moving into a new place next week and could lose out on that.

Also, do i have any rights to demand any sum of them till they sort the wall as its not my fault now and they have now taken almost 3 weeks to sort out and still not sorted.

I have rang CAB, but they took details and will ring me back within 3 days which I understand but cant really wait any longer because of situation with new lanlords

Any help much Appreciated

Premier_2

I guess the deposit was not protected, else you should be using the schemes arbitration system.

Ask for the deposit to be returned. If they wish to deduct some or all that amount for claimed damage, then they need to itemise those amounts and return the remainder (if any). The work does not necessarily have to be done to get those costs.

Ultimately, the only way you can force them to refund the deposit, either because they simply won't or because you dispute the amounts itemised, then you will need to apply in the county court for a refund; that could take several months.

fergus.dunne

Hi there,

Well we took the Flat on after April 2007 in which a document i read said it needed to be protected after that.

So, is that true and if so, how do we find out if it is or not and are they breaking the rules if not in a protection Scheme?

tbs624

fergus.dunne wrote: »

Hi there,

Well we took the Flat on after April 2007 in which a document i read said it needed to be protected after that.

So, is that true and if so, how do we find out if it is or not and are they breaking the rules if not in a protection Scheme?

Check with each of the three schemes- full info via this link.http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TenancyDeposit/DG_066373

Wasthe deposit actually paid to the LL after 6April 2007?

If it was, then you need to write recorded delivery to your LL - state the property address, the tenancy dates, the date on which you moved out, a brief summary of the number of phone calls/emails so far to get resolve and then say that you are now formally requesting the return of your deposit or a written confirmation of any deductions that they propose. Say in the letter that you give them 7 days to respond.

Once you have checked on the registration with each of the schemes,if the deposit is not registered you also include " I understand that under the Housing Act 2004 my tenancy deposit should have been scheme registered within 14 days of you receiving it, and that I should also have received the "prescribed information" from you within the same period. Please can you confirm why this was not done?"

Depending on what they say, a second "letter before action" may need to be sent.If you'd like to post back here with the LLs response you'll get plenty of suggestions on what to do next :smiley

fergus.dunne

So, I am gonna ring these Schemes and find out which one I am in, i take it i can do that?

The only issue i have is one thing we did is put Screw Holes in Wall and also change a Light Fitting, which apparently the contract we signed said we need to contact Agents to agree this before doing it, so don't want to get their backs up and then they bring this up and say we are in breach of contract and end up being in a worse state.

fergus.dunne

After reading their contract and the Scheme the Agents are in and what should be done, I have noted below what i think they have gone wrong on if we are in a Deposit Scheme

They did not send us the Tenancy Deposit Certificate within 14 days to give us details of what scheme we are in.

After moving out they did not contact us within 10 days to agree what should be given back and what deductions should be made

There only excuse on the 2nd one is that they said they were trying to keep costs down for our benifit which was why it was taking so long.

Our Faults

Put screw holes in the wall without notifying them

Changed a Light Fitting without notifying them

Also, I believe we should be able to ring them and say, we want the part of the deposit returned straight away that you are giving us back, and the rest we can dispute later if we believe you are witholding too much for repairs

Is this true and are we in trouble for doing things without consulting them, even though they have fixed everything apart from matching the paint over where they covered the holes(which has been going on for 2 weeks as rest of the work was done straight away). So, all they have left to do is the paint, so surely I should be able to say, we want the remainder of deposit back and can dipute the rest if neede

Any Ideas

fergus.dunne

Update

Just had Agents back on the phone saying Contracter and Landlord are meeting on Monday to discuss cost, and then Agents will ring me with a price and what Deposit they can give back.

Seems a bit strange they have only now done this after me mentoning about what Scheme i am in, reckon she checked the criteria she should be following

ifonlyitwaseasier

if they try and keep your deposit, then i believe you could take the landlord to small claims court for 3x the amount as it wasn't protected.

good luck!

fergus.dunne

Cheers for that

Spoke to Agents and they have said the Contracter and Landlord are going in on Monday to assess what needs to be done and she will ring me with information as to what it will cost.

What i want to know is if they come back to me on monday and say, the work will vost say 200 pound and I dont agree, am I able to demand the remainder of deposit back and then they hold the 200 in the Scheme and we go through a dispute procedure. Or if I dispute it, will they keep all the Deposit till its sorted out and not give any back.

And lastly, someone on here mentioned that they should be able to give me the remainder back once they have got quotes for the work and not have to wait till the work has been completed.

Apologies but one more thing, seen as it has taken 3 weeks so far to sort out, and they did not let us know which scheme we were in or sort a resolution of deposit within 10 days, do we have a stance here or can we do anything

Cheers once again

QuirkyChemistry

If you are protected in a scheme, they will return the undisputed part and then you have a period of time (4 weeks, I think) in which to dispute the amount they have retained. The dispute process should be explained on the scheme's documentation or website. Good luck.

fergus.dunne

Cheers for that,

They are ringing me back today with the Quote of costs, but they have really wound me up and took the P*ss that no matter what amount they say it will be, I am gonna dispute it and then demand the rest of the undisputed money back straight away.

I am just checking I am in my rights to do this if in a Scheme, just in case they say no.

If they have not put me in the Scheme then thats a different story and thier in trouble from what i have read.

Also, all of the work has been completed apart from this painting the walls, are they supposed to quote it all up and then inform me of costs before doing the work incase I disagree, or have they done it correctly