Foxtons/ deposit issues

floral_luggage

Hi,

My boyfriend moved out of his flat two weeks ago. He has been there for a while- before the deposit security scheme so it does not apply to him. In his contract it says that Foxtons will hold his deposit. When he contacted them, they said they had given it to his landlord and they have proof he has it. He contacted his landlord who said he does not have it but it is possible he does, but has just forgotten.

The deposit was £1600.

I suspect that if the contract states Foxtons holds it, then they are liable to pay it? Does anyone have any advice on getting the deposit back in a way which won't end up being costly?

Kind regards
Jo

Jowo_2

You will find the Shelter website an excellent source of information on how to get an unprotected deposit back. The agency are mere intermediaries serving the landlord, the issue is between tenant and landlord. Agencies are obliged to provide the landlords address. Should there be an issue between agent and landlord, then its up to the landlord to sort out the deposit with the tenant and take separate legal action with the agency. Whether or not the landlord has received the deposit from the agency is completely irrelevant to their obligation to return it to the tenant. The landlord holds a separate contract with the agency and any management issues are their problem, not the tenants.

The tenant must send a letter before action to the landlord (Shelter and the HM Court small claims website will have templates) which essentially says 'If I don't get my full deposit back by x date, I will take you to court) and then take them to the small claims court if they don't cooperate. Have a look at the Moneyclaim website or Shelter website for the process. Some people recommend that a Moneyclaim online claim is drafted and included with the letter (but the claim is not submitted) in order to prove the seriousness of intent. Should x date elapse without the deposit being returned, the claim is then submitted.

Be sure to keep excellent written records, keeping copies of all correspondance.

In short, ignore the role of the agency - launch the legal action against the landlord, wouldn't hurt to check with Shelter if they should be named as co-defendents (so they can prove they've refunded it to the landlord) but doubt that the agency has any real significance in this legal dispute.

floral_luggage

Thank you very much - that is extremely helpful.

Jowo_2

I can see why it looks like the agency is responsible because they are the interface and liaise with the tenant.

But the best way I've heard of the triangular relationship between agency, tenant and landlord are that agencies are a transparent window between them and that the primary legal relationship is always between tenant and landlord.

For the purposes of civil legal action, the tenant must always take the landlord to court. Any deficiencies between landlord and agent remains between them to resolve on a separate basis - after all, this is covered by a separate contract between them anyway to manage the property which doesn't involve the tenant.