Council and landlord

joannemartin66

i recently handed my notice in on my flat as was moving into a friends spare room just till i got my self sorted with a bigger place as it was abedsit flat with worlds smalles shower cubical, and when you have this huge 24 week pregnant bump it was not practical anymore

anyway as council pay 4 weeks behind when i handed my notice in it meant on the day i handed keys back i would owe 4 weeks rent and it would go into my account

i sent my landlord email to tell him as soon as it goes in id send it over to him as usuall then all that was to be sorted was getting my bond back he didnt reply to this so i was bit concerned i would not get bond back i spoke to few people and they said dont worry dps will make sure you get it, i didnt know what dps was so then fouind out my deposit was not being held by dps

either way i arranged to meet him to give him keys back and had a bit of paper with me for him to look at that said he was happy with flat ect and happy for me to get my bond back ok was not legal or anything

when i met him he was happy with everything but would not agree to my bit of paper so i said ok you are happy i owe you £375 rent that will go into my account in 4 days and will send straight to you and then you own me £375 bond so i said to him save him waiting to 4 days why not keep my bond and id keep the payment and call it quits although he didnt say yes he seemed to agree this was a tuesday, he would get his rent on the monday or he could keep my bond and get it same day

on the thursday i got letter from council saying that my landlord has contacted them to let them know ive moved out and that i am over 6 weeks in arrears so they will pay the final payment direct to him! i rang them and the person i needed to speak to was not avaliable and have been fobbed off till today got meeting with ehr so i can discuss it all

i contacted landlord saying seeing as though you have the rent when will i get bond and his response was you wont you left flat in such state ect i am holding it

so anrgy now as i am £375 out of pocket was counting on that for bond on new place that i am due to sign for next week

Jowo_2

Here are the rules for the tenancy deposit scheme - a landlord can be ordered by a court to pay x3 the sum of the deposit to the tenant if they should have protected it that way but did not. Shelter can advise you how to take the landlord to court. According to this, should it have been in a DPS?


http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TenancyDeposit/DG_066374

Did you have an inventory or schedule of condition drawn up and signed at the outset of the tenancy? Are you disputing that you left the property in a poorer condition than you got it (accepting any fair wear and tear)?

Most landlords will not accept payment of the last months rent with the deposit as this means they have no protection against any dirt or damage in the property.

joannemartin66

hi jowo

not sure if it should have been in the dps or any other scheme or not will contact shelter to find out was just told that all landlords now have to use a scheme and not hold it them selves

there was no invatry when i moved in, when i moved in i have to clean and get rid of lots of rubbish from person who was there before me, landlord asked me if i could do this as he as due to go on holiday and if i wouldnt i could not have flat till he got back 2 weeks later and due to relationship break down i agreed to do this

on leaving he met me and thanked me for making it in his words spick and span even joked about offereding me a cleaning job to go and clean his houses once tennants moved out

i left it in better state than it was when i moved in, id even had blinds fitted professionally and told him id leave them in as they would not fit new place so pointless me taking them and ok there were not the dearest but it cost me £99 for the 2 windows

he seemed happy about the flat

i understand that bond should not be used for rent owed and only offered this as a suggestion as i owed him £375 which he would get 4 days later and then he owed me £375 to which he did say i could have as he was happy with place so i thought it seemed silly for me to give him £375 for him to send it straight back to me

not sure why he has now contacted council as he now wont answer my calls or emails, i have just come back from council and they were of no help he wrote to them to tell them i was 6 weeks behind didnt send proof and instead of them writing to me to ask me they paid him direct as it was my last payment
i have no issuse with them doing this as yes i did owe him that, i am just dusgruntled that he wont give me my bond back, council have told me to go to local citizens advice which i will do in the morning, it closes at lunch time here on monday

since getting home i have dug out some things as i had a contact number for someone who lived in same block as me and just gave them a call and apparently he was same with them, they were not behind as they worked and when they handed keys back the expected chq for the bond as long as he was happy, he said he was happy and office would issue chq for bond, to which they never got, she is in process of getting legal advice to claim it back she has sent him 3 recorded delivery letters asking for written confirmation on what the £375 bond has gone on and he has ignored them all, so i will probably end up going down the same route

i have however just contacted the landlord on my new house ans asked him what he does with bond and explained what has happened and he said dont worry love i put it in a deposit scheme so its safe i cant take it back without you authorising it, and he has even agreed for me to pay 1 full month up front and then pay my bond in 2 halfs which i will borrow off my nan seeing as though old landlord wont give it me back, yet get this he has given me a glowing reference !!!!!

speedfreek1000

You need to check on you local councils website what their exact rules are for late payments and paying landlords direct.

It would also be advisable to contact CAB, Shelter and Welfare Rights on their opinion and preferably to get some help and add weight to your cause.

A quick google of "lha payment to landlord arrears" seams to suggest that you have to be 8 weeks over due before a Landlord can request payment direct. You would need to check all the above to get the specific rules for your council.

(Just read your post above so find out if a last payment is the same)

Not wishing to worry you which is why you should get help is the fact he is claiming 6 weeks when you are saying that you only owe 4.

You really need to go over everything you have & check whether this is correct as the Council may land you with a bill for the 2 extra weeks overpayment.

I hope you have receipts for cash payment (rent book etc) or bank records showing that you have paid so that this can be disproved.

On the subject of deposit.

Get advice on the small claims court procedure (costs about £30 and can be filed on line) and how to write a LBA (Letter Before Action). The LBA basically tells them that they have x amount of days to pay up or face court proceedings.

Sounds like they're a chancer and hopefully the threat of Court Action will give them a kick where they deserve it most.

joannemartin66

i pay my rent by bank transfer every 4 weeks and i have already printed all the statements off and double checked them and have also printed the emails out that he sends me every 4 weeks to thank me for the payment

thank you for all the advice am going to cab tomorrow to see what they advise as it stands because he got the last rent payment from council of £375 i dont owe any rent now he just ows me the £375 bond which he is now saying i cant have, i do also have pictures of the flat as i left it as he asked me if i could take some the day i took rest of stuff out for him to advertise it, and i have loads of pics of the flat while living in it from what i took at xmas and my friends birthday and when getting ready to go out ect so can prove that its not in ill state like he has now said

Jowo_2

It's quite simple for you to calculate if your deposit should have been protected.
If the property is in England/Wales and you have a tenancy agreement dating after 6 April 2007, then it should have been. Where is the property and what date is your last tenancy agreement?

Shelter have a free checker tool for deposits

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/paying_for_a_home/tenancy_deposits/deposit_protection_schemes

Shelter offer a free advice line to tenants and may have a local drop in office near you - check out their site.

Since your landlord did not issue an inventory, he will struggle in court to justify the deductions he made since he cannot offer proof that you are responsible for the change in condition. Personally, I don't think your historic photos taken in advance of moving out of the property will contribute anything to your case.

Shelter has sample letters before action you can adapt to send to your landlord where you dispute the reasons given and give him a deadline to pay back your deposit in full before you take him to court. Don't forget to inform him that you will be seeking x3 the sum of the deposit as compensation for his failure to protect the deposit (if he should have done but did not).

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/paying_for_a_home/tenancy_deposits/getting_an_unprotected_deposit_back/going_to_court

Were you within a fixed term agreement and had a notice period in the contract, if so what was it? Was your rental period (the regularity with which you paid the landlord) monthly or 4 weekly? Or did you have a periodic tenancy (one where the original fixed term had elapsed and wasn't renewed)? If so, when did you give the landlord notice and how long for?

It's important you give this information as some tenants do not understand how much notice they have to give or how to time their notice periods with the rental period in some tenancies and inadvertantly end up owing another month's rent. I'm not saying its the case with you but it would be handy to know what type of contract you had, the notice period and the rental period to rule this out.

AnxiousMum

Is the six months arrears maybe anything to do with required notice? Did you give him the required notice (usually one calendar month) to move out? This may be where he is claiming 'arrears' ?

paulofessex

I have known people who have spent £150+ getting a deep clean company in when leaving a private rented property only for the landlords to claim the house was dirrt etc and withheld deposits. Millions are gained by landlords in this way. I thought the DPS was meant to pevent this from occurring.

speedfreek1000

Jowo wrote: »

Since your landlord did not issue an inventory, he will struggle in court to justify the deductions he made since he cannot offer proof that you are responsible for the change in condition. Personally, I don't think your historic photos taken in advance of moving out of the property will contribute anything to your case.

Exactly right it is up to the Landlord in this situation to prove any damages. Any damages they try and charge for would have to be fair and reasonable (also provable) and accompanied by actual quotes for the work which needed doing.

Jowo wrote: »

Don't forget to inform him that you will be seeking x3 the sum of the deposit as compensation for his failure to protect the deposit (if he should have done but did not).

Adding this to the LBA?! All they will do if smart is bang the deposit into one of the schemes to avoid the fine :mad: Hang on actually that's what we're after and 'should' make it easier to recover :T Note I'd still ask about this to be sure it's the right thing