Time limit for deposit return?

dreameavergeorge

Hi,
I have scoured the pages for the last few hours and couldn't find the answer that I'm sire I read on here somewhere.
Anyhoo, the agents are giving my mum a hard time with getting her deposit back. No issues whatsoever with the property, just that they will try anything. She has phoned several times over the last 2 weeks and has been told that one specific agent is dealing with it, who is never in and never calls back. She finally got hold of him this morning and he said that he has been looking through their files and can find no paperwork that says they ever received a deposit from her. She said she did and she would bring it in as it was in the first 4 leases she signed (she was in the property 10 years, so no deposit scheme). It was taken in and photocopied and she said that she would be in tomorrow to pick up her cheque, the agent said that he still has to find the correlating paperwork, (it's all archived and was not on computer 'back then') so try later in the afternoon and he can see if it can be done.
I feel that she has proven she paid the deposit so they have to write the cheque, they can correlate the paperwork on their own time. I was sure I read that the deposit had to be returned in 10 days and tomorrow would be 10 working days as she moved out on July 10th. Does anyone have true info on this so we know what we are talking about tomorrow? Thank you

clutton_2

since she does not come under any Deposit legislation there is no time limit within which the deposit has to be returned.. sorry..

was an inventory done when she moved in and when she moved out and did she sign both of them ?

dreameavergeorge

No inventory at all, in fact no agent set foot in the house in 10 years. There is no issue to be resolved in regards to keeping any of the deposit, it's just the agents are lazy and useless and have no idea about how to do business properly. They never return any calls and make you feel desperate as you are the one who ends up running around. After any discussion with them you feel very demeaned and at times like you've lost the plot lol

clutton_2

when did she last sign a tenancy agreement ?

if no inventory was signed on move in - then an agent will find it almost impossible to prove that any damage was done by the tenant during the tenancy...

i think in view of the fact that it is 10 years since she moved in, i think you must allow them some time to find paperwork that old... it could be in storage for all you know.. so maybe another week..

dreameavergeorge

6 years ago, it's just rolled on. As I said, there is no dispute about the condition or cleanliness, just the laziness. They went in the first Monday, the 12th and said it was fine. The landlord was there this past weekend and no issues, so where is the deposit?

She has proven her deposit though through the leases she provided and they signed. Why should she have to wait for them to find things. We may sound a bit impatient, but if you knew half of what my mum has had to deal with, you would understand lol She just wants it all over so she doesn't have to deal with their ineptness any more. I rented through them for a year as well and I had the same issues. Messages not passed on, work never done when promised and the agent never in the office when I called and would never receive a call back, yet you "drop in" and amazingly they are always in the office. Coincidence?? I think not lol

tbs624

Your mother needs to write to the LA: yep, good old fashioned snail mail. Keep a copy. Give the property address the dates of the tenancy and the amount of the deposit plus the date on which it was paid over to the LL/LA. Enclose a copy of any relevant proof of payment.

She then confirms that she has left the property in the same condition as when let to her, save for "fair wear and tear", and asks for the return of her deposit of £xxx within the next 7 days, Keep only to facts, mentioning the times/date of previous requests for the deposit to be dealt with.

The LL/LA has to confirm any potential deductions and if your mother does not agree she can then challenge the LL/LA and pursue the matter to the small claims court. If by day 7 there is no reply, then your mother writes one more letter marking it "Letter Before Action, and stating that she will be putting in a court claim, to include costs.

If she has the LL's address she should send a copy direct to him , as well as one to the LA

dreameavergeorge

Hi,
we have taken the proof of deposit in, which included the initial date it was paid and they took a copy. The wording say "the agent holds the deposit for ****** Avenue"
In regards to the condition of the house, that can not come into dispute as when she moved in 10 years ago, she took over tenancy from drug dealers who were cooking meth in the kitchen. She got a free months rent (well 4 weeks) and in return, she replaced the kitchen units, re-tiled, replaced the flooring, major clean up and decorating , replaced carpet in other rooms, replaced internal doors, over hauled the garden and no doubt other things that came along, for the amazing deal of 4 weeks rent, which at the time was just under £500. She even left the hob she paid for and all the vertical blinds, so there can not be any dispute at all as the place was cleaned from top to bottom when she moved out as well. Oh and lets not forget the all important no inventory at all, it was mainly verbal in regards to my mum and the landlord with getting rid of certain things that were ruined, previous stove, fireplace etc. The landlord has been in the property and said that things are all good.
The agents are the type that they will try anything to get whatever they can out of people and as my mum suffers fallout from a brain tumour, so when she gets stressed, she is easy to confuse at times, so they talk her into circles til she has no idea what's happening, pretty outrageous. It is a good thing though that she does keep everything in files, so we found all the info pretty fast.
In regards to the landlord address, we have no idea as he moves around quite frequently. Had we known the laws regarding the providing of info when she was still living in the house, we would have done that, but I don't think they have to provide his info at this stage and he is apparently having a dispute with the agent in regards to money paid, this has absolutely nothing to do with my mother, it is between them.
We will go in this afternoon and if the cheque is not given to her, then we will sit in the car and write a little letter asking for it to be provided in 7 days and include the info you advised. I'll let you know where we get lol

clutton_2

write the letter now.. take it with you.. when they fob you off again.. hand them the letter... head the letter

LETTER BEFORE ACTION and give them 7 days to issue a cheque otherwise you will take them to the local small claims court with no further correspondence....

BitterAndTwisted

What I suspect is going on is that the agents are having trouble determining whether the deposit was lodged in their client's bank account or that they've paid since it over to the landlord. Therefore if they return the deposit themselves they might have an issue reclaiming it from the landlord if they don't manage more properties for them other than the one your mother rented. Their poor bookkeeping really isn't your mother's problem however so I would follow Clutton's advice and issue the Letter before Action tout suite.

tbs624

dreameavergeorge wrote: »

Hi,
we have taken the proof of deposit in, which included the initial date it was paid and they took a copy. The wording say "the agent holds the deposit for ****** Avenue"

That's good.

dreameavergeorge wrote: »

In regards to the condition of the house, that can not come into dispute as when she moved in 10 years ago, she took over tenancy from drug dealers who were cooking meth in the kitchen. .......... there can not be any dispute at all as the place was cleaned from top to bottom when she moved out as well. Oh and lets not forget the all important no inventory at all, it was mainly verbal in regards to my mum and the landlord with getting rid of certain things that were ruined, previous stove, fireplace etc. The landlord has been in the property and said that things are all good.

Don't get bogged down in this stuff ATM. My previous post explains what the usual procedure is

dreameavergeorge wrote: »

The agents are the type that they will try anything to get whatever they can out of people and as my mum suffers fallout from a brain tumour, so when she gets stressed, she is easy to confuse at times, so they talk her into circles til she has no idea what's happening, pretty outrageous.

So don't suggest that your mother deals with this in person - all the more reason to deal with it *in writing*.

dreameavergeorge wrote: »

In regards to the landlord address, we have no idea as he moves around quite frequently.

£4 fee to the Land Registry may bring up his current address. Failing that when/if you send a letter to the LA you can formally request the info - they don't have to comply with that request under s1 of the LL&TAct 1985 once T is an ex-T but the suggestion to the LA that you will jointly name them on any subsequent court action is often sufficient to prompt them to help you out.

dreameavergeorge wrote: »

.
We will go in this afternoon and if the cheque is not given to her, then we will sit in the car and write a little letter asking for it to be provided in 7 days and include the info you advised. I'll let you know where we get lol

Good luck.:)

dreameavergeorge

Hi guys,
chalk up another success story for the advisors on this forum:T

We called this morning and was told the agent would not be in til this afternoon. So then we called this afternoon and he wasn't in either, but when my mum asked if he had dealt with the cheques, they said another agent was dealing with all of the paperwork and it would be ready in an hour. I pulled up outside, my sister ran in and we quickly left, without screeching tires, just in case they changed their minds lol. Yaay us :beer:
So the only thing we are left wondering is her housing benefit. When we went into the council before she committed to a place, to find out what she would be entitled to as things have changed and a new claim would automatically change over to a new Local Housing allowance, we were told it was 92.05 a week, so she committed. When she got her decision this morning it was £90.85. Not really much of a difference to worry about, but we were given a printout in regards to this, so thought it odd. When I queried that, I was told that the rate changes monthly, so that is the rate this month. After, I started thinking, wait a minute. How can a certain rate change monthly? Does this mean the amount she receives will change monthly? How can someone such as my mother who is on a fixed pension, budget for things like this? What if it goes down another £10? She only has partial benefit as this only covers half of her rent, so if it goes down, then she could end up paying extra every month. Has anyone heard of this before? I just find it very odd, maybe I didn't understand how she was explaining it.

Added this in regards to the landlords address. Apparently, my sister already paid a fee and did a search for the landlord, but came up with nothing. Very difficult if we have no idea what town he is in and has a common name. All resolved anyway so no need to try again