Please Help! My Mum is in tears! :(

wezznco

She's paid the months deposit at 750, and first payment at 750, then sent a letter to mum complaining about the lack of space, and for that reason only paid 550 from then on.

Mum can protect this money tomorrow, but how covered is she? The letter says she has 14 days to respond with proof the deposit is secured. Can she secure it now and send the proof? Does it matter that it wasn't secured from the start?

I want to piece this together for her. She's a nurse and is always running about helping others, rarely spending the time sorting out her own belongings..

Thank you guys.

Sam

Sammy85_2

wezznco wrote: »

What's the fastest/cheapest way to protect the deposit? I said she has to do this tonight/tomorrow. She can do it online now if it's possible?

Sam

Sam,

All the questions you have asked can be found online easily if you just calm down and take the time to look for yourself.

Please take a proper look online, you need to help yourself if others are going to take you seriously and help you out with this one....

DPS is the only scheme that doesnt charge a fee. The site appears to be down at the moment, check on it tomorrow. It can be done fairly quickly online (when the site is up and working!)

wezznco

I'm sorry.. It's hard to stay calm when she's this upset. It's not even to do with the money so much, she feels cheated after being so nice to this lady.

I have work all evening and wan't to be able to tell her it's going to be alright before I leave.

My last question..

If she protects the deposit tomorrow, and sends the proof off, is she covered against the 3x claim?

Thank you all so much.

Sam & Lyndy

Zelie

If the tenant has been underpaying by 200 a month for approx five months then that's a grand that is owed to your mum. Once she's dealt with the deposit there are very definite steps she can take to deal with this. It doesn't guarantee she'll get the money but at least she can evict and get her house back. The tenant is not allowed to just write and say she's changed her mind on how much rent she wants to pay - the tenant signed a contract and she's bound by it.

Seriously, sort out the deposit tomorrow morning and then come back and deal with the issues one by one. You can't eat an elephant in one go - you have to chop it into little pieces.

Zelie

As to whether she's covered that is hard to say. Sometimes courts decide one way and sometimes the other. Dopester's first quote does seem to give some hope that she might get away with it.

dopester

wezznco wrote: »

I'm sorry.. It's hard to stay calm when she's this upset. It's not even to do with the money so much, she feels cheated after being so nice to this lady.

I have work all evening and wan't to be able to tell her it's going to be alright before I leave.

My last question..

If she protects the deposit tomorrow, and sends the proof off, is she covered against the 3x claim?

Thank you all so much.

Sam & Lyndy

In light of a recent High Court ruling (February 2010), it looks like she could get away with not paying the x3 claim to me. Just cite that case. Another win and more power and control for UK landlords.

“The Landlord or Letting Agent is responsible for ensuring that Deposits are submitted for protection within 14 calendar days of the date of receipt by the Landlord …”

in fact

“In my judgment, the requirement that there be payment into the Scheme is the initial requirement of the Scheme, and not the requirement that that be done within 14 days”.

The late compliance point is not as straightforward as it looks at first reading. The finding here is that there is no requirement within the terms of the Housing Act 2004 itself that the deposit must be protected within 14 days of receipt that will incur the 3 x penalty. Thus, in terms of the Housing Act 2004 by itself, late compliance up to the very doors of court is possible and will allow the landlord to avoid a 3 x deposit penalty.

G_M

Tenancy deposity schemes: READ THIS!

What fixed term does the contract specify? When the fixed term expires, no reason is required to evict, but 2 months notice is needed - in the proper format.

Renat arrears can be used as a reason to evict at any time but a) only after getting a court order, and b) only if the arrears equal 2 months rent and c) only if the proper notice is given

Check details on Landlordzone. Or Shelter.

Get legal advice from a Landlords association (tax deductable) or a property lawyer.

You mum has certainly broken at least one law, and probobly more (does she have a valid gas safety certificate for example?)

tbs624

Get the tenancy deposit registered online and get the Scheme's "prescribed information" sent on to the T, obtaining a certificate of posting.

DPS is free but requires the deposit monies to be handed over to the Scheme. The other two, mydeposits and TDS , are insurance based and the LL retains the deposit for the duration of the tenancy.

Your mother needs to have a lawyer or LL association guide her through giving notice appropriately - mistakes made here can cost her dearly in terms of time and money. A T can defeat a S8 notice (relating to non payment/late payment of rent) by paying down the arrears prior to the hearing so there needs to be a S21 notice as back up .Once the notice period has expired, if the T does not leave your mother would need to make application to the county court.

See LandlordLaw, NLA, RLA or contact the law society for a list of solicitors with specific LL & T experience. As a last resort , you can use firms such as Landlord Action.

If your mother is going to re-let the property she needs to get some serious reading up done - even if she uses a Letting Agent in future the buck ultimately stops with her.

C_Mababejive

I wonder what the friend has to say about it and can they bring any pressure to bear on this parasite?

I hope she manages to get rid of her without too much cost and stress.

Let this be a lesson to all those amateur and BTL landlords out there.

There are professional parasites out there who can and will make mincemeat of you.

N79

tbs624 wrote: »

Get the tenancy deposit registered online and get the Scheme's "prescribed information" sent on to the T, obtaining a certificate of posting.

DPS is free but requires the deposit monies to be handed over to the Scheme. The other two, mydeposits and TDS , are insurance based and the LL retains the deposit for the duration of the tenancy.

Your mother needs to have a lawyer or LL association guide her through giving notice appropriately - mistakes made here can cost her dearly in terms of time and money. A T can defeat a S8 notice (relating to non payment/late payment of rent) by paying down the arrears prior to the hearing so there needs to be a S21 notice as back up .Once the notice period has expired, if the T does not leave your mother would need to make application to the county court.

See LandlordLaw, NLA, RLA or contact the law society for a list of solicitors with specific LL & T experience. As a last resort , you can use firms such as Landlord Action.

If your mother is going to re-let the property she needs to get some serious reading up done - even if she uses a Letting Agent in future the buck ultimately stops with her.

Don't use the DPS - it has an initial requirement that the desposit should be protected in 14 days. Since the judge in Draycott V Hannells said that the schemes initial requirements should be the trigger for non compliance it would appear to be important to avoid the DPS for now. (Para 54:

"The outcome of this appeal turns on whether the 14 day requirement is, or is not, a part of the initial requirements of an authorised scheme. If it is not, then when the deposit is paid into the scheme later than 14 days from its receipt by the landlord, but before the tenant commences proceedings, then the court cannot be satisfied under s.214(2)(a), and therefore the court will not be able to make an order under s.214(3) or (4). " )