Deposit held by DPS - landlord will not respond?

lollypop99

I could take her to court, but would I need to wait for the Stat' declaration to have been served.

My main aim is to get this sorted asap you see.

If the SD is issued and she doesn't respond then the deposit becomes mine by default.

Whereas If I jump the gun a little and take her to court, there would be ways and means of her dragging the process on for months.

everything else aside for a moment, do you think there's any other reason for her not responding?

Jowo_2

The small claims court is indeed structured to be a last resort. A claimant is expected to demonstrate that they've tried to settle the matter before hand.

pjread

I was under the impression that if you allow the DPS to arbitrate any claim, you explicitly waive the right of recourse via the courts.

N79

TheBrutalTruth wrote: »

Fair point and I agree it is not mandatory. However, when I went through the small claims process, the emphasis was very much on trying to get an agreement out of court. Certainly, the OP has the right to go to court, but it will strengthen their hand if they can show they have tried to reach agreement out of court. When I did my small claim, whilst I eventually won, the judge appeared to feel I had jumped the gun a little and gave the LL more time to answer my case. Given the OP loses nothing by going through the DPS I'd strongly advise they do this first. Also, if the LL messes the DPS around LL will get blackballed by them and it would prevent further abuses of other tenants in the future.

My morning tea break is over - better get back to work. I think we both agree and want to help the OP, so hope we can play nicely

Of course we can play nicely.

I fully agree that court is always a last resort. However, the OP has tried to sort out the problem with the LL. They have indicated that they do not believe that any deductions are valid and the LL has indicated that they wish to make deductions. They have then waited 14 days and had no response from the LL. How that is different from a 14 day Letter Before Action I really cant see, and doubt that a court will see any real difference either.

Of course the other option is the DPS dispute process - court is only one option. I have no idea how long the DPS process will take as I don't use it, although in the past a representative of the DPS has posted on these boards - maybe they will see this post.

N79

lollypop99 wrote: »

I could take her to court, but would I need to wait for the Stat' declaration to have been served.

My main aim is to get this sorted asap you see.

If the SD is issued and she doesn't respond then the deposit becomes mine by default.

Whereas If I jump the gun a little and take her to court, there would be ways and means of her dragging the process on for months.

everything else aside for a moment, do you think there's any other reason for her not responding?

In which case it might be worth trying to follow the DPS process for a few weeks longer. I'm sure they have systems in place to deal with this. Of course, your LL may pop up on the last day and refuse to use the arbitration process which will leave court as the only option.

lollypop99

pjread wrote: »

I was under the impression that if you allow the DPS to arbitrate any claim, you explicitly waive the right of recourse via the courts.

Actually, DPS website does state that the arbitrator's decision is final, but it will only go to arbitration with consent of both parties.

As it stands, she will not respond so i've no ideas on what she plans to do i.e. take it to arbitration or force me to take her to court.

If anyone wants any background as to how this woman works, take a look at the last thread i started...nightmare!!! :mad:

lollypop99

N79 wrote: »

In which case it might be worth trying to follow the DPS process for a few weeks longer.

I think this is likely to be my only option at this point, play the waiting game...

Thanks for all the advice guys

TheBrutalTruth

lollypop99 wrote: »

Actually, DPS website does state that the arbitrator's decision is final, but it will only go to arbitration with consent of both parties.

As it stands, she will not respond so i've no ideas on what she plans to do i.e. take it to arbitration or force me to take her to court.

If anyone wants any background as to how this woman works, take a look at the last thread i started...nightmare!!! :mad:

When it says the arbitrator's decision is final, does it explicitly say you cannot go to court, or is it simply saying they do not have, accept or want an appeals process?

From my own experience of taking my old LL to court for non-compliance with the TDS, and run ins over deposits with other LLs I have long since given up trying to second guess LL behaviour. Find a course of action you are happy with and follow it. Don't bother trying to second guess the bizarre thought processes of nutty LLs!

sooz

TheBrutalTruth wrote: »

Really?

Link please.

Ask any local solicitor. This is not the cost of preparing the stat dec, but the cost of signing it. You prepare your own short statement. With the DPS I understand they send you a form, & you fill it in. Take this to any local solicitor who offers stat dec signing, & pay a fiver. Read out your statement. They sign & stamp it. You leave.

I've had to do it for parking fines before.

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/archive/index.php/t-23635.html

Daisies

We're in a similar situation. Deposit (nearly £2000) lodged with DPS by letting agents. We've agreed to them keeping £80 + VAT (Check out fee), have requested the return of the majority of it, and are disputing their carpet cleaning costs (stains were there when we moved in).

So far we're 17 days from requesting the deduction/return/dispute combination and haven't heard from them. We didn't log on to check last night as rather busy at the moment (wedding is a month today!!) but I'm expecting we'll move on to the next stage as they haven't replied to us within the 14 days.

Doesn't the landlord/letting agent have to provide evidence that the work has been carried out (receipts etc) and also proof that you caused the damage/stains/whatever before they can deduct from the deposit?