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Urgent help needed please-ex private lanlord refused to return deposit due to mould

Hi,

We're really in need of help.Could someone please shed some light?

We rented a property privately from 1th Aug. 07 and moved out in 20th March 09.We even paid for the whole last month rent when we don't have to, just to be nice. When we started tenancy, landlord had "rental agreement(short assured tenancy)-scotland" although we're based in Cambridge and he lives in Newcastle . We signed it without the "deposit protection scheme".

The flat is an all electric ground floor 1 bedroomed flat with wooden framed windows,2 storage heater (in the corridor & lounge),1 plug in heater in the lounge & 1 broken heater in the bedroom. Since it was our first time renting a place and it was in summer,we did not try the 2 storage heaters before signing the itinenary (yes we were stupid ) and we only found out that we couldn't use them(or more likely they were broken!) later on in october when we tried to use them (theres only 1 switch previous tenant told us to turn on to have both hot water and NSH units anyway) but we didnot tell the landlord about it. We were both out from 7am to 5pm so no point in heating the flat during daytime.Also, people say storage heaters cost a lot of money to run and not efficient at night time so we decided to just use our 2 "plug in" heaters when we need to. Due to the condensation in the flat (we didnot dare to open the windows too wide at night due to safety reason), mould started to appear and we reported it to our landlord (however both summer were absolutely fine). He got someone came to have a look and they say they could not do anything if this condensation problem persist.Landlord also blamed us for insufficient heat in the flat, as he said previous tenant never had this problem (we believe they did, just never told him bout it). So we cleaned the flat nicely, mould free and try to turn on the heating and open window as much as we can. Mould still came back and we emailed him again.After a while, he got someone from the "nuaire"company (they do ventilation units) and the guy said the flat is poorly designed (ive seen mould in my neighbours' windows too) and needs to have an "air unit" (and it was only installed a year after we complained about the mould problem- november 0. From Jan 08, i became a full time housewife and kept the windows opened all the time so no more mould but condensation still happen at night time until the air unit was installed. Landlord even came to the flat in august 08 and never complained about anything. He even offered to change the kitchen area's carpet and put a power shower on (which he never did!).

On the 16th Feb 09, we gave him notice to move out on the 20th March. He said his new letting agent (Russell) will come to have a look at the flat. They came twice but never mentioned anything about any problem (because there was no mould, the flat is absolutely fine!). The first time , the agent guy said the flat is a bit cold and asked whether we used the heater. I was honest and said to him that we've been only using this storage heater once and since it didnot work and people say its not efficient, we just use our dimplex plug in heaters. The second time, other guy came to check the bathroom to install the power shower and didnot mention anything either.

We kept emailling him to ask about how to make arrangements to return the keys and check the itinenary since he lives far away but he never answered the question. He say he will only come to Cambridge on the 8th April! My husband told him that he could not afford a day off just to give him the key and check the itinenary, we dont have a car either so we asked him to please arrange someone like his agent or his friend (as he said his friend to come collect some things the night before we left-no show either) to take the key and check the itinenary.Never replied.Then 2days before we moved out,Russell agent sent us letter asking us to ring them to arrange the key collection! I rang them and they said they will collect the key at 8 am on the 20th March(as they have a viewing on that day). I said it is ridiculous as we said we only leave the place on the 20th and moreover we have already paid the rent until the end of the month. So they demanded us to give them the key when we finished moving out. I sensed something not right here so at the end of the day, I told my husband to ring them saying we cannot hand over the key until someone came to check the flat with itinenary. They got p****d off and said it has nothing to do with them, it is between us and landlord. Straight away landlord rang us (normally he never answers his phone) telling us to give Russell the key. My husband told him that we wanted someone to check and make sure everything is fine before hand over the key as if the flat is closed for a period of time (in this closed block of flats), mould will appear and we do not want to be blamed for that. He said not to worry about it. So on the 21th, we came to the flat, taking photos of the place and went to Russell to give them the key (no inventory checked).

Now, 2 months after moving out, we struggled to contact him to get our deposit back. Following advices, we sent him a "Letter before action" and straight away, he emailled us back saying he's waiting for the quotes to repair the damage from the mould! He said currently the flat is impossible to let meanwhile Ive seen it on Russell website all the time since we moved out !

He said the letting agency claimed the mould problem might have been exacerbated due to a lack of heating and the heating does not appear to have been used for a very long time (that was because i told them), which might also explain why previous tenants did not have this problem. He asked us whether we never used the storage heaters or not (but didnot say they are broken)

I am in despair. I'm about to give birth anytime and we're not that rich
either. What we need to do? Do we stand any chance if we have to go to court? Also,do we really need to mention about those NSH units being broken or should we just leave it? As Im worried hes going to question why we never told him about it. Also, am I right in saying he/his agent is the one who will have to have responsibility to prove that the flat was badly affected by mould and unrentable at the time when we moved out? As up til now, they still advertise it. How can they be allowed to advertise and arrange viewings for a place that is inhabitable ?


Im really sorry for the long story and thanks in advance for any help.

Comments

  • N79
    N79 Posts: 2,615 Forumite
    It does not matter that the LL is a pratt and used the wrong agreement. Property is in England (unless there is another Cambridge) and tenancy started after April 07. Therefore deposit must have been protected. No ifs, no buts.

    You need to send another LBA in which you ask for the immediate return of your deposit in full plus 3 times your deposit in penalty for his failure to protect the deposit. He has forfitted the right to make any deductions by breaking the law (but he could still sue for reasonable damages if you have failed to fulfil your side of the rental contract but, even if you have caused some damage it is unlikely that he will succeed.) Refer to S212, 213 and 214 of the Housing Act 2004 in your claim.

    Give him 1 week in your new LBA to pay you back the deposit and penalty and then file in you local court. All of the above story is irrelevant to your claim.

    If he repays only the deposit post back and we can advise you of your chances of going for the 3x penalty.

    No more miss nice girl!
  • pinkiss6486
    pinkiss6486 Posts: 8 Forumite
    Thanks a lot N79, you're a star !:j
  • N79 wrote: »
    It does not matter that the LL is a pratt and used the wrong agreement. Property is in England (unless there is another Cambridge) and tenancy started after April 07. Therefore deposit must have been protected. No ifs, no buts.

    You need to send another LBA in which you ask for the immediate return of your deposit in full plus 3 times your deposit in penalty for his failure to protect the deposit. He has forfitted the right to make any deductions by breaking the law (but he could still sue for reasonable damages if you have failed to fulfil your side of the rental contract but, even if you have caused some damage it is unlikely that he will succeed.) Refer to S212, 213 and 214 of the Housing Act 2004 in your claim.

    Give him 1 week in your new LBA to pay you back the deposit and penalty and then file in you local court. All of the above story is irrelevant to your claim.

    If he repays only the deposit post back and we can advise you of your chances of going for the 3x penalty.

    No more miss nice girl!

    Hi N79,

    We have followed your advice and today received a cheque from him but only £330 (original deposit was £580). He wrote in his letter that "it is for the redecoration to repair the damage caused by mould" but in the attached bills, it does not mentioned anything about mould. The work was carried out by a maintenance company that his new agent(who took over after we left) hired (as the billing address is "Russells"). The only description is "seal and stain block some areas, paint all walls in flat 2 coats as quoted", amount £250. Could you please advise us what to do next please? Should we deposit the cheque into our account first or should we just take him to court? I loath this kind of behaviour :(

    Many thanks
  • tbs624
    tbs624 Posts: 10,816 Forumite
    If you want to bank this cheque you have to confirm first to the |LL/LA in writing that you do not accept the amount as being in "full and final settlement" - was there anything to that effect in their letter to you?

    As it appears that the tenancy deposit was not registered, you need to get on and issue proceedings on the basis of the LLs failure to comply with the requirements of the Housing Act 2004. Rather than type the wording all out here,here's a link so you can take a look at Planner's post there & follow-on comments from Jeffrey (a solicitor) over on the LLzone forum. County Court is not scary, ok?
  • thank you tbs624

    It seems like the landlord just doesnt care about the 2 LBA we sent him and decided to just give us back that amount of money.theres nothing else in his super short letter showing that he will give us back the rest.And thanks a lot for the link.:T
  • N79
    N79 Posts: 2,615 Forumite
    edited 20 May 2009 at 12:23PM
    I completely agree with TBS. You sent the LBA, they have not repaid the deposit so off to court you go. County court small claims track is not formal and the judge will help you with your case - it is an easy if time consuming process. To be honest the LBA was merely to satisfy the court - if you omit this step then there is a good chance that the judge would criticize you for not taking "reasonable" steps to resolve the dispute before court.


    Good luck.

    Please let us know if the court awards just the remainder of your deposit or the remainder of your deposit plus the 3x fine.

    N79
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