need some guidance regarding Tenancy

skyjumper

i'm trying to help out a friend of mine

She had rented for a period of 6 months. at the end of the 4th month, my friend had some trouble with the shower - the pressure almost completely lost over a period of 3-4 days and then stopped working.

she called up the letting agent who was initially involved in the tenancy agreement- they informed to contact the LL directly and mentioned that LL had taken the responsibilty of management from the 2nd month onwards. LL was very supportive initially and said it would be resolved within a few days. my friend managed without the shower- using the bath and bucket showers during this time. anyway to cut the long story short, it went on for almost 6 weeks and now she is moved out of that place. it's been 3 weeks since giving the kepys back and the LL has not agreed for the deposit to be given back - as the plumber charges needs to be deducted from the deposit- I was told that LL is still waiting for getting the work done and the deposit can only be released after the plumber finishes his job.

I just want to know -if this is the usual practice? i mean i would have thought LL should have done the repairs long time back- now who has to pay for the repairs, I'm not quite sure. I'm just trying to help my friend in getting the deposit back- can anyone help me and give some guidance into this

thanks in advace

Annabee

What a cheeky landlord! OF course it is his responsibility to fix the shower and pay the plumber in HIS property. Unless your friend damaged it herself, which I don't see how she could have done??

Old_Git

I think it is strange the plumber has to be paid from the deposit .
was the deposit secured in a scheme ?

skyjumper

yes it was secured in the scheme and it is through the letting agency

and regarding the non working shower, my friend had spoken to the LL a couple of times. I suggested writing to the LL and copying that letter to the Letting agency -which she did 4 weeks before she vacated the property. so the letting agency should also know that -there was a probelm which LL had not resolved.

now, when she spoke to the Letting agentcy, they told her to speak to the LL as they need to hear from the LL before releasing the deposit.

my friend is a mother of 2 and struggling with 2 part time jobs, and would really be better of with the deposit. Is there any law that the Deposit should be given back in -- days or something like that - atleast this way we can speed up things from the LL end- regarding finding an appropriate plumber

thanks for the advice

paintpot

Which of the schemes is the deposit in? There is a process for dealing with the return of deposits within the scheme. I don't believe the landlord has a case for deducting the deposit unless they can prove your friend broke the shower which is unlikely or there were any other issues with the property.

Your friend needs to find out where the deposit is, i.e which scheme it is in and apply for the return of their deposit and find out whether the landlord has raised a dispute in respect of its return. Even if there is a dispute, the undisputed amount should be returned forthwith.

Find out which scheme it is in and post back. The LA may be holding it as stakeholder for a scheme but there is still a protocol to follow where there are disputes.

PasturesNew

It's unfortunate the shower broke, but she had a bath, so that's just one of those things.

Ideally the deposit should have been returned to her sooner, but it's ben 3 weeks, it might be that the legal requirement is within a month. You need to find out which of the schemes it is in (I think there are three of them) and then the individual agreement/clauses can be specifically quoted.

Unless she broke the shower, the cost of repair doesn't come out of her deposit. It is the landlord's responsibility to fix/pay for it to be fixed if it just broke of its own accord.

skyjumper

Hi everyone, sorry for posting the update late.

I met my friend over the weekend and she is still waiting to hear from the LL, who doesn't respond to her phone callls. the Lettings agency said they couldn't do anything about the deposit unless the LL gives then a green. The LL when last spoken by my friend, more than 4 weeks now, told her that He will be happy to return the deposit after fixing the shower.

She has the deposit with TDS H Tenancy Deposit Scheme. Can she just call them or write to them as LA is wahing their hands off and LL not contactable- she did try calling and also wrote to him in this regard and had copied all the letters to the LA who has informed her that they don't have anything to do with the property now and to contact the LL herself.

is there a time limit she can contact the TDS people. the certificate has an address and telephone no. can she just give them a call.

any help really appreciated. thanks in advance

Debt_Free_Chick

Yes - call them and raise a dispute. She needs to give the bare facts clearly. I suggest the following

Tenancy ended on <date>
Deposit not returned
LL is stating that he will return the deposit when the shower is fixed.
Shower not damaged by tenant, but ceased to function approx 4 months into the tenancy. LL advised at that time, but not fixed before tenancy ended

Raise a dispute because your friend now needs to dispute (a) failure to return the deposit promptly at the end of the tenancy and (b) LL's proposal to retain plumber's charges from the deposit, but no damage caused by tenant.

Good luck - let us know the outcome, please.

mlz1413

I agree with D-F-C, only thing I wanted to add was your friend should have an ID number for their deposit with the TDS and can do all of this online.

If your friend does ring take a note of who they spoke to, dept, date and time. Chase TDS up weekly. I say this because after waiting 2 weeks for a form to be despatched and then fobbed off with its in the post and waiting another 2 weeks it worked out they had no notes of me ever requesting a form!

Also do write to the LL and LA and recorded delv the letters, give time frames and clearly state what you expect.