Deposit/Illegal Eviction Issue

anonacct

Posting under a different name so as I dont get flamed under my normal credentials.

Had a 12 months AST started in February 09.
Deposit Paid of £1053.66 - Not protected by any of the 3 DPS schemes they have confirmed
Flat inspection on 27th Oct 09. The night before me and my partner had a big arguement and she trashed the place with my stuff in it and also taking some of my her stuff, TV and the likes.
I am round my folks on inspection day and text LL to say I am not going to be in and to postpone.
Come back home two days later and the locks are changed. Due to the mess as my partner left it in she says I abandoned the property when I didn't. Now have nowhere to live and have had to go back to folks.
I owed one month rent at this point too due to change of jobs and was awaiting a pay off from old position.

Since left I asked for LL to dispose of items left behind that they said they still had and to leave with concierge for collection, personal items and also my mail. They agreed, been 3 times now and they are not there. They say it is 3 months since I left the property and therefore lost rights to them and been disposed of, although we only agreed 4 weeks ago to leave them for collection as I no longer live in London no more.

She is still stating I abandoned property in her email correspondance which I have not admitted too. She has kept my deposit too.

She has listed different items that need replacing according to her. There was a inventory on entering but no exit one as she changed the locks. She sent me a bill for 2k with all items costing exactly rounded up to the £. She has even charged for things I know have not been replaced like the communal letterbox she said I broke, I saw it last week and it was still the same although she is trying to charge me £20 for it stating it has been repaired in the email?

I said she has illegally evicted me and has not protected my deposit and she has now asked me if we can draw a line under it as long as I admit to abandoning the property.

I think that covers it all, I am a avid reader of these forums and well versed I think in the law but wanted responses based on my circs from others.

Thanks for your help

:beer:

Fire_Fox

Sounds a bit six of one half a dozen of the other ... tempting to think this a troll post

Your landlord should indeed have lodged your deposit and should not have taken possession of the property without going through the proper procedure. HOWEVER you should have paid your rent no excuses, you should have cleaned the place up and attended the inspection, texting is just rude especially when you are in arrears!

Not really sure what you want to achieve, you were behind in your rent and admit the property was damaged so surely you need to kiss goodbye to your deposit? Has any of this debacle been communicated in writing by recorded delivery? If not that is your first step.

Colincbayley

Simple, illegal eviction. Sue her if you wish.

anonacct

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Sounds a bit six of one half a dozen of the other ... tempting to think this a troll post

Your landlord should indeed have lodged your deposit and should not have taken possession of the property without going through the proper procedure. HOWEVER you should have paid your rent no excuses, you should have cleaned the place up and attended the inspection, texting is just rude especially when you are in arrears!

Not really sure what you want to achieve, you were behind in your rent and admit the property was damaged so surely you need to kiss goodbye to your deposit? Has any of this debacle been communicated in writing by recorded delivery? If not that is your first step.

Deffo not a troll post Firefox, we have thanked each other in the past! Just more embarrased about the whole affair to be honest.

Colincbayley wrote: »

Simple, illegal eviction. Sue her if you wish.

Can you elbaorate on what this entails? What would I expect to gain from this?

To clarify a point I made earlier I had to ask her to dispose of some items as I had to move out of London back to my folks and therefore could not bring all the stuff I had left with me. The remaining items I needed a couple of paintings that were of sentimental value painted by a loved one she was supposed to leave for me to pickup, she said she would do this on 20th Jan this year but they are not there and she is now telling me they have since been chucked along with all my mail. She also states pretty accuratley the content of mail I was to expect indicating that she has read my mail but again no proof..

yes I was a month behind in my rent but would have been no problem paying it that month, I was released from a role at the time at short notice and was awaiting the pay off from the remaining time of my contract.

Because of all of this this has rendered me homeless and now I have had to move out of London, unable to secure another tenancy due to not having the rent and month deposit again at such short notice and also due to relocation having to end my contract wiht a role I had in London .

Where do I go from here?

Colincbayley

anonacct wrote: »

Deffo not a troll post Firefox, we have thanked each other in the past! Just more embarrased about the whole affair to be honest.

Can you elbaorate on what this entails? What would I expect to gain from this?

To clarify a point I made earlier I had to ask her to dispose of some items as I had to move out of London back to my folks and therefore could not bring all the stuff I had left with me. The remaining items I needed a couple of paintings that were of sentimental value painted by a loved one she was supposed to leave for me to pickup, she said she would do this on 20th Jan this year but they are not there and she is now telling me they have since been chucked along with all my mail. She also states pretty accuratley the content of mail I was to expect indicating that she has read my mail but again no proof..

yes I was a month behind in my rent but would have been no problem paying it that month, I was released from a role at the time at short notice and was awaiting the pay off from the remaining time of my contract.

Because of all of this this has rendered me homeless and now I have had to move out of London, unable to secure another tenancy due to not having the rent and month deposit again at such short notice and also due to relocation having to end my contract wiht a role I had in London .

Where do I go from here?

You can sue her for breach of contract and illegal eviction ( go and get a half an hour free advice session from a solicitor )

If illegal eviction is proven in court, then she will be in breach of contract ( AST ) you will be able to claim all your costs of moving, loss of home etc.
The courts will not take her actions lightly and will come down on her like a ton of bricks.

See a solicitor to get the full SP as it is not really a matter that can be discussed in detail on an internet forum.

BitterAndTwisted

Agreed. Paying a solicitor and one who specialises in housing law and the LL & T act could be one of the best investments you ever make

G_M

This all happened back in October? Why were you not kicking up stink, writing recorded delivery, suing the LL, breaking in to take back possession of 'your' home 4 months ago?

anonacct

G_M wrote: »

This all happened back in October? Why were you not kicking up stink, writing recorded delivery, suing the LL, breaking in to take back possession of 'your' home 4 months ago?

Was not really sure of where I stood to be honest, also the breakup of the partner and other issues that arose due to this. Been a lot to sort out really and only now in a position to take stock

I also no loner have a copy of the AST to send her a recorded letter to ( What do I put in it) she always refuses to send me a copy. I know where she works and it is with one of the main banks, could I send it there? I have no registered address for her as it was on the Tenancy and everything I had was in the flat.

She keeps stating that I abandoned the flat I am worried how she can keep saying this.

Also I am not in a position at the moment to pay for a solicitor. Can I do this myself via MCOL? What would I need to do? What would be the expected outcome?

Also what about my mail and stuff she disposed off that i asked her to keep for me to collect like the paintings?

Is there a time limit for me to do this? self cost?

What about the 2k of damage she states was made even though there was obviously no exit inventory as she changed the locks? In my eyes there was no damage per se and anything I would have righted before I left. All her figures end in rounded up figures each and every one like paint £10, Painting £100. Like she plucked them out of the air. When she mailed me to say there was damage I said if you think that is the case get threee reports from 3 seperate people and quotes then. I said this in order for her to get reports but she went ahead with it and tried to bill me anyway. A Couple of glasses were broke accidentally and she tried to charge me £20 for them even though I know the exact same ones are £3.99 in Morrisions where she originally got them.

So many questions.

Thanks all once again

Colincbayley

In the kindest possible way.

Please re-read the replies you already have above. GO AND SEE A SOLICITOR, first half an hour in normally free.

BitterAndTwisted

CAB and Shelter. Does you Local Authority have a private rentals section who might be able to advise you?

You should be able to find the address of the landlord by checking on the Land Registry website. That would cost you four quid

Fire_Fox

anonacct wrote: »

Had a 12 months AST started in February 09.
Deposit Paid of £1053.66 - Not protected by any of the 3 DPS schemes they have confirmed
Flat inspection on 27th Oct 09. The night before me and my partner had a big arguement and she trashed the place with my stuff in it and also taking some of my her stuff, TV and the likes.
I am round my folks on inspection day and text LL to say I am not going to be in and to postpone.
Come back home two days later and the locks are changed. Due to the mess as my partner left it in she says I abandoned the property when I didn't. Now have nowhere to live and have had to go back to folks.
I owed one month rent at this point too due to change of jobs and was awaiting a pay off from old position.

She has listed different items that need replacing according to her. There was a inventory on entering but no exit one as she changed the locks. She sent me a bill for 2k with all items costing exactly rounded up to the £. She has even charged for things I know have not been replaced like the communal letterbox she said I broke, I saw it last week and it was still the same although she is trying to charge me £20 for it stating it has been repaired in the email?

I think that covers it all, I am a avid reader of these forums and well versed I think in the law but wanted responses based on my circs from others.

anonacct wrote: »

yes I was a month behind in my rent but would have been no problem paying it that month, I was released from a role at the time at short notice and was awaiting the pay off from the remaining time of my contract.

Because of all of this this has rendered me homeless and now I have had to move out of London, unable to secure another tenancy due to not having the rent and month deposit again at such short notice and also due to relocation having to end my contract wiht a role I had in London .

You have one month of rent belonging to your landlord and she has your damage deposit. You are not out of pocket in that respect and surely you cannot be compensated for items of sentimental value. :huh: Had you kept your landlord fully informed of your inability to pay that month's rent? Why did your partner not pay the rent that month - the TV was hers so you must have been living together or at least serious enough to borrow some money for a few days?

anonacct wrote: »

Was not really sure of where I stood to be honest, also the breakup of the partner and other issues that arose due to this. Been a lot to sort out really and only now in a position to take stock

What about the 2k of damage she states was made even though there was obviously no exit inventory as she changed the locks? So many questions.

Thanks all once again

Again what you are trying to achieve, one minute you claim to be well versed in the law and the next you say you weren't sure of where you stood?? You are not going to get your stuff back after so long so I can only assume you wish to get revenge your ex-landlord. If you take her to court there is every chance she will counter claim for the damages. Just because you did not attend the checkout inventory does not mean one did not take place or that she does not have photographic evidence of the condition the property was in.