Giving tenant back his deposit with DPS

nej

Hi guys,

I'm trying to give back a (full) deposit to a tenant who has just moved out. This was the first tenant we've had where we had to use DPS.

The problem is it requires his RepaymentID. I didn't even know he had one (or even that one was needed to give him back his money)... the problem is he has left the country for a few months and I can't get hold of him, so he can't apply to them for it.

Will DPS allow me to repay it even without this, or will they give it to me? He was a great tenant and I feel very bad that he hasn't got his money back yet!

I haven't contacted DPS yet - thought I'd see if anyone else had a similar problem before I did.

Fred1_2

All you need to do is logon to the DPS website with the repayment id that was sent to you. You then authorise the full payment to the tenant and, if you have it, give them his forwarding address. They will contact him to arrange payment.

What's annoyed me about the DPS is how long it takes them to pay out. It's been nearly 3 weeks for them to payout to myself and my tenant who has just left (we agreed the amount to be repaid to each of us). My new tenant also has his deposit with the DPS. Having to wait 3 weeks until he gets paid means that he does not have the money to pay me a deposit until after he has moved in. This is not a situation that I am happy with, but it is not his fault. I have contacted the DPS to see if they could just transfer the deposit from his current lanslord's account to mine on the day my tenant moves in, but that is not allowed.

The DPS seems to be a great idea badly implemented.

nej

That's the problem - I don't have a forwarding address for him. Like I said - he's out the country for several months.

I didn't know we needed all these IDs and things (first time doing it). It seems stupidly complicated to get the money out, especially when I'm giving him back the entire deposit.

Fred1_2

nej wrote: »

That's the problem - I don't have a forwarding address for him. Like I said - he's out the country for several months.

I didn't know we needed all these IDs and things (first time doing it). It seems stupidly complicated to get the money out, especially when I'm giving him back the entire deposit.

I totally agree it's ridiculously complicated. You should have received a repayment id in an email from the DPS when you lodged the deposit. I found mine lurking at the bottom of my email inbox. Try doing a search of your inbox, or junk box to be on the safe side, for deposit repayment id.

sooz

It's not complicated. The DPS cannot return the you tenant's deposit without his approval. Did you provide him with a copy of the T&C's when you gave him the prescribed information? Did he read it?

Not only would the DPS have emailed him when you registered the deposit, they also write to him with his repayment ID. He should have read what he was sent.

Do you still have his email and/or mobile number? The ones he gave you when you registered will still be on that DPS account, & you can look them up. Email & mobiles work, even when abroad.

You do your part, on the DPS website, which is to enter your ID, & the amount to be repaid, & then they email him.

Then it is up to him to claim his money. He needs to provide the DPS with his bank details. Without this, how can they pay him?

I returned my first DPS deposit 2 months ago. I had a lovely email back from my tenants who had emigrated saying the money was back in their, still active, UK bank account in 6 days.

And in that case, I'd lost my repayment ID. I logged on, & clicked the link, & a new ID was sent to me in minutes.

nej

I didn't have an email address for him when I registered the deposit, so they haven't emailed him anything. I did ask him a few weeks after he moved in whether he had received anything from DPS via the post but he said no. As it was the first time I'd done it I didn't know if he would be receiving anything or not!

As for email and mobile work abroad... well, not if your email address was a work one and your phone isn't setup for it! That did make me think though - I might have a hotmail address for him that he might be checking - that's worth pursuing.

The tenant just gave me his bank details to return the deposit to. I foolishly assumed that it'd be as simple as click a button, type the details and the deposit would be returned!

Premier_2

I'm sure the ex-tenant will be in touch with you again soon when you haven't returned the deposit as they thought you would.

When they contact you, hopefully they will have the foresight to provide you with some form of contact information too. When you have that, tell them you have approved the return of the deposit, but it is their responsibility to contact the scheme so that they can send it to the tenant.

andrewmp

I never received anything from the DPS and had to ring them to get my payment ID. They asked me "secret" info like my date of birth and the day I moved in and then gave it to me over the phone. It only took about a week after this.

tbs624

Nej - do yourself and your tenants a favour - read up on all your obligations as a LL.

Letting property needs to be done on a proper business basis, and you should make it your business to fully familiarise yourself with the tenancy deposit regs in general, and the working methods of the scheme you are using in particular.

You could (and should) have had this all in place well before your tenant moved out. How would you have felt if he had trashed the place & left unpaid bills and you couldn't contact him?

Join a LL association and trawl LLzone.

nej

tbs624 wrote: »

Nej - do yourself and your tenants a favour - read up on all your obligations as a LL.

Letting property needs to be done on a proper business basis, and you should make it your business to fully familiarise yourself with the tenancy deposit regs in general, and the working methods of the scheme you are using in particular.

You could (and should) have had this all in place well before your tenant moved out. How would you have felt if he had trashed the place & left unpaid bills and you couldn't contact him?

Join a LL association and trawl LLzone.

The week before they moved out co-incided with my daughter being in hospital all week which rather cut down on any preparation time...!

He was not the kind of person to trash the place and we took meter readings together and I know the council tax is paid so that was not a concern at all. They were great tenants and they even gave me a bottle of wine when they left.

Getting the deposit into DPS was very simple - I had simply assumed that getting it out would also be very straightforward. This was obviously an oversight by me, but you're making me out to be a terrible Landlord (in fact I don't own the property, a relative who lives abroad owns it - I just let it for him) when we're anything but.

I've found his hotmail address now (glad I don't delete any emails!) so will contact him on that. If I don't hear anything I'll put that address into DPS so I can fulfill my side of things.

tbs624

nej wrote: »

The week before they moved out co-incided with my daughter being in hospital all week which rather cut down on any preparation time...!

I hope that your daughter is now well, but expiry dates of tenancies or the end of notice periods are a bit like Christmas - you know when they are coming and not knowing basic info about Repayment IDs and how the operating scheme deals with deposit repayments goes back to the start of the tenancy.

nej wrote: »

T He was not the kind of person to trash the place and we took meter readings together and I know the council tax is paid so that was not a concern at all. They were great tenants and they even gave me a bottle of wine when they left.!!

It's always good to hear that a LL(or LL's rep) & T have got on well but I think you have missed the general , rather than specific, point

nej wrote: »

..... This was obviously an oversight by me, but you're making me out to be a terrible Landlord (in fact I don't own the property, a relative who lives abroad owns it - I just let it for him) when we're anything but.

Nothing to do with making you out to be "a terrible LL" - too many people who let property either for themselves or on behalf of other people (and I'll include some "professional" LAs in this) don't fully acquaint themselves with even the very basics of the myriad laws, rules & regs.

If you're responsible for sorting the deposit then you should know how the scheme works from the moment you sign up to it.It really is that straightforward IMO.