Can't get hold of Landlord...how can i get my deposit back

budster2003

Hi All,

I really hope you can give me some advice...

After separating from my OH, I contacted my landlord to see if i was able to terminate my contract early as it would a lot to pay by myself. He was fine with this as he knew of potential tennants. He advised me that I'd have to pay £150 to end the contract early and be out of the flat within 6 days...which i did.

Stupidly, the day after i left the flat, my rent was due and so when i phoned to cancel it at the bank they said it was too late, I would have to contact my landlord. I tried to do this but couldn't get hold of him.

I have been trying for the last 6 weeks now to get this extra months rent to be refunded and also to get my deposit back. I have heard nothing from him. He employed a company to come round the flat to do the check out, but as yet i haven't had a final figure from him re the deposit.

As i rented through an agent, they have been my only port of call and have been useless to say the least and pretty rude. I was originally told he'd gone on holiday for 2 weeks, then 4 weeks and now 6 weeks. They have said that they have tried leaving messages but his voicemail is now full...and really don't seem to have a clue about when he'll be back.

Has anyone got any advice for what i can do next? Are the LA at all responsible for giving me my deposit back as they are holding it or is it all down to the landlord?

Thanks in advance for your time and of course any comments welcolmed.

clutton_2

where is your deposit - is it in a deposit Scheme ?

Jowo_2

is the property in Scotland? What was the date of your last tenancy agreement? Did you get any of the agreement for the early surrender in writing?

pandora_ann

I'm not sure if this is different in Scotland (if that's where you are) but if your tennancy started on or after 6 April 2007 your landlord or letting agent (whomever is named on the tenancy agreement and took your deposit) is required to register it with a Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

I had a similar problem with my last landlord. He'd decided to sell the house (actually he just wanted to rent it to friends, but decided not to tell me the truth for some reason) and gave me two months notice via a letting agent.

I was unable to get in touch with my landlord at all until the week before I moved out, despite him being in regular contact with the letting agent (keep calling, you get more information speaking to different people in the office).

I had tried phone calls, texts, emails and even letters, and had no reply. That is until I texted him again, politely asking for him to contact me but also stating that unless I heard from him within 24 hours I would be forced to start legal proceeedings as I'd discovered that he hadn't placed my deposit in one of the three required schemes so could therefore be liable to pay me up to three times the amount of my deposit. I got a reply minutes later and within three days had my deposit returned.

The three schemes are (again, not sure if this is different for Scotland):

thedisputeservice.co.uk
depositprotection.com
mydeposits.co.uk

I also found this forum very helpful when I was looking into starting legal proceedings:

consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/residential-commercial-lettings/117280-tenancy-deposit-scheme.html

Good luck, be persistant and make sure you know your rights and the legal requirements of your landlord. This tends to scare those not quite within the law.

Btw, apologies for the lack of links but as I've only made a few posts I'm not allowed to post links yet.