Problems with landlord, our fault????

stokeymad

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

PLEASE check with the three deposit protection schemes before you do anything else! If he hasn't protected your deposit he's in the !!!!!! and you could be home-free but you don't need to tell him this. Yet.

Was there a full inventory done counter-signed by you at the beginning of the tenancy?

There was an inventory done, and we signed it. What is the three deposit protection scheme and how would i check it?

stokeymad

Also with the original invoice from dyno-rod saying blockage unknown, but him having a letter stating it was wet-wipes, which counts as proof?

BitterAndTwisted

First things first. Let's sort the deposit issue before we worry about plumbers because we might not have to. When did your tenancy commence, was it after 6th April 2007?

The deposit schemes are as follows:

DPS (Deposit Protection Service) website depositprotection.com

mydeposits website mydeposits.com

TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme) website thedepositservice.co.uk

A lot of info about tenant deposits can be found on the direct.gov.uk website so I would advise you to have a read on there but what I will tell you is that if your deposit has not been protected, and legally the landlord should have advised you which particular scheme it was lodged with within 14 days of the tenancy starting, then they are committing an offence. But they don't need to be told anything about this yet.

I believe when searching on the deposit schemes' websites you will need to search by property address.

Do you have the landlord's address for serving notices written on your tenancy agreement?

stokeymad

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

First things first. Let's sort the deposit issue before we worry about plumbers because we might not have to. When did your tenancy commence, was it after 6th April 2007?

The deposit schemes are as follows:

DPS (Deposit Protection Service) website depositprotection.com

mydeposits website mydeposits.com

TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme) website thedepositservice.co.uk

A lot of info about tenant deposits can be found on the direct.gov.uk website so I would advise you to have a read on there but what I will tell you is that if your deposit has not been protected, and legally the landlord should have advised you which particular scheme it was lodged with within 14 days of the tenancy starting, then they are committing an offence. But they don't need to be told anything about this yet.

I believe when searching on the deposit schemes' websites you will need to search by property address.

Do you have the landlord's address for serving notices written on your tenancy agreement?

Yes we have the address and our tenancy started last February. His address has changed, but he has informed us of this. He definatly didnt advise us where the deposit was going, he just said 'it goes into a government bond.'

BitterAndTwisted

Check the three deposit schemes now and then come back with the info you have found, if any.

stokeymad

Ok, i checked the website direct.gov.uk, it stated that he HAS to tell us where our deposit is within 14 day of moving into the property. It doesnt say however say what happens if he doesnt tell us this.
A thing that I have found however overlooking my Tenancy Agreement, is that it quite clearly states, quote - Deposit: A deposit of £550.00 is payable on signing this agreement. It is held by the landlord.
To further complicate things we paid a cheque directly to the landlord of £100 which he asked for as a furhter deposit so that he would make an amendment to our T/A stating we could have a pet. We received a letter back as a receipt, but no amended T/A. We dont however have a pet anymore.
If the deposit is held by the landlord, isnt this a breach of that deposit scheme?

stokeymad

I have also checked the three websites, there is no record on the bottom two website you provided, the deposit protection service however requires an ID to log in, which we have not had, off anyone, so presumably has not been secured with them.

stokeymad

Sorry that reads bad, there is no records of a deposit decured for our address on the bottom two websites *

jamesb1239

stokeymad wrote: »

Sorry that reads bad, there is no records of a deposit decured for our address on the bottom two websites *

Call the other one that you need the login details for, they will help you. If it insnt protected then write recorded delivery to him and tell him that he has 14 days to provide you with full details of the scheme in which your deposit is protected. If he fails to do this then take it to small claims.

The part that you couldnt find on the website about what happens if he doesnt protect your deposit is that you are allowed to sue him for 3x the deposit as a penalty

BitterAndTwisted

stokeymad wrote: »

Ok, i checked the website direct.gov.uk, it stated that he HAS to tell us where our deposit is within 14 day of moving into the property. This can't be a surprise as I have already told you that! It doesn't say however say what happens if he doesn't tell us this. I've already told you, it's an offense! I just haven't told you what the penalty might be, as in the past landlords who have become acquainted with what the penalty might be have lodged their tenant's deposits late and the courts have not imposed any fine, never mind what the full fine should be. I didn't mention the penalty which is payable to the tenant as I didn't want to get your hopes up
A thing that I have found however overlooking my Tenancy Agreement, is that it quite clearly states, quote - Deposit: A deposit of £550.00 is payable on signing this agreement. It is held by the landlord. Well, it flaming-well shouldn't be held by the landlord! Your landlord is probably a numpty but this may be in your favour.
To further complicate things we paid a cheque directly to the landlord of £100 which he asked for as a furhter deposit so that he would make an amendment to our T/A stating we could have a pet. We received a letter back as a receipt, but no amended T/A. We dont however have a pet anymore. Never mind, as long as the landlord has acknowledged that they have received an additional deposit in writing it won't matter whether it's reflected in a new, amended T/A or not
If the deposit is held by the landlord, isnt this a breach of that deposit scheme? Yes, it ruddy-well is! This is why you must satisfy yourself 100% whether or not the deposit is properly lodged before you even dream of thinking about repair bills

Please categorically treble-check about your deposit AND start saving for the deposit for your next rental NOW as it might be some time before you see your £650 back but if we have anything to do with it, you shall, I assure you.

The next thing I need to know is whether there is any gas-supply to the property and if you do whether you have a current Gas-Safety Certificate