Not paying last months rent and leaving agent with the deposit

housesitter

I don't for one moment trust my LA.
They have been nothing but bother and broken the contract several times over.
At the beginning of my tennancy there were several letters to them and indeed involvement of the council however many issues of repair were never resolved.
During my time there I have fixed myself many of the things which were broken and have cleaned the house to a higher standard than when I moved in.

The contract had many clauses where by the LA expected to take money from my deposit to pay for things such as a checking out charge for doing the meter readings and admin (note when I moved in the metere readings were wrong). I elected not to sign against this point in the several page contract.

They have also been making a note of the costs for renewing the tennancy, again I did not sign against this points in the contract either.

Theere is also a clause about inspections every 6 months of which in 3 years I have had only one of them.

I fully expect them to take the money from my deposit for these clauses and that I would have to go to court to fight them over it despite not having signed at several points within the contract which they accepted, however having signed at the end of it.
They have never protected my deposit with TDS and I have a receipt for it dated 28/04/07 (well, about two weeks after TDS was brought in).
I have had period of tennancy agreements in force however am currently on a rolling tennacy agreement rather than a fixed one.


I believe I can force them to protect it but I cannot be bothered with the hassle it will no doubt cause me to have to do that.

If I just choose to inform them that they can keep my deposit in lieu of the last months rent, which would leave them better off to the tune of £100 anyway, where do I stand in so much as them chasing me down for any extras that they might feel they are owed?

They will not have a forwarding address, only my previous address, which as I've had to point out to them when they put it on my tennancy agreement, I do not live there.

There is no damage that I have caused to the property, other than that which they might choose to invent.
I feel I have to take this action because they will not act with any honesty over my deposit given prior experiences. I am not trying to stiff them, just avoid them doing it to me.

theartfullodger

During my time there I have fixed myself many of the things which were broken and have cleaned the house to a higher standard than when I moved in.

It is a mystery to me why tenants do Landlord's job for them, at tenants expense: Why??

The contract had many clauses where by the LA expected to take money from my deposit to pay for things such as a checking out charge for doing the meter readings and admin (note when I moved in the metere readings were wrong). I elected not to sign against this point in the several page contract.

Doesn't matter that you didn't sign that point, contract still valid, but those clauses probably "unfair" (Google OFT356 for OFT views on unfair charges in tenancies).

They have also been making a note of the costs for renewing the tennancy, again I did not sign against this points in the contract either.

Why renew the contract anyway?? Contracts roll on month-by-month, so why give LA chance to make more money ???

Theere is also a clause about inspections every 6 months of which in 3 years I have had only one of them.

That may be to your advantage

I fully expect them to take the money from my deposit for these clauses and that I would have to go to court to fight them over it despite not having signed at several points within the contract which they accepted, however having signed at the end of it.
They have never protected my deposit with TDS and I have a receipt for it dated 28/04/07 (well, about two weeks after TDS was brought in).

Great! They are in the wrong, you should get your deposit back,, but you still owe the rent...

I believe I can force them to protect it but I cannot be bothered with the hassle it will no doubt cause me to have to do that.

? Why ?? What hassle ?? You've been bothered with doing their job repairing & cleaning things.. Ho hum, takes all sorts...

If I just choose to inform them that they can keep my deposit in lieu of the last months rent, which would leave them better off to the tune of £100 anyway, where do I stand in so much as them chasing me down for any extras that they might feel they are owed?

You'll create a bag of worms...

They will not have a forwarding address,

Great: So if they decide they are so in the wrong they need to give you the deposit back (quite possible,.. btw) how will they let you have it?? Any sensible LA only returns deposits by cheque to a new address...

Cheers!

Lodger

housesitter

theartfullodger wrote: »

It is a mystery to me why tenants do Landlord's job for them, at tenants expense: Why??

Well if the LA wont do it and you are suffering because of it then what choice do you really have? Spend the time and money going to court over it or just getting it done?
To be fair, the fixes have not cost me money, just time and the thought proces of how to do them. Some things like fixing the alarm have actually contributed to my education.

Doesn't matter that you didn't sign that point, contract still valid, but those clauses probably "unfair" (Google OFT356 for OFT views on unfair charges in tenancies).

Thanks for the google hint. I find it odd that you would specifically put a part to sign an agreement to a clause if not signing it was no grounds for it's dismissal.

Why renew the contract anyway?? Contracts roll on month-by-month, so why give LA chance to make more money ???

Naivety.

? Why ?? What hassle ?? You've been bothered with doing their job repairing & cleaning things.. Ho hum, takes all sorts...

More writing of letters and then the time to go to court when they challenge, etc. It's somewhat different to fixing things and cleaning. I didn't particularly fancy living in filth.

You'll create a bag of worms...

How so?
They will have the payment for the last months rent in the deposit plus £100. Verses tracking me down to pay them extra for whatever they have chosen to make up plus their fees.

Great: So if they decide they are so in the wrong they need to give you the deposit back (quite possible,.. btw) how will they let you have it?? Any sensible LA only returns deposits by cheque to a new address...

There attituide thus far wouldn't suggest that they will be suddenly over come with decency, however I am contactable by phone and can collect it if the miracle was to occur

Many thanks for your reply

fimonkey

I don't know how things are nowadays, especially with the introduction of the TDS which means if your deposit isn't protected you're in a good position to sue for that plus extra's (plenty of posts on here about that).

Prior to the TDS I had successfully done this back in 2001 with a LA who were truly appalling throughout the whole tenancy and I just knew they'd try it on in terms of keeping as much of the deposit as possible for non existent issues etc.

However its not the 'easy' option and there will be more letters to write to defend yourself etc. In my case I wrote and explained I could not afford the last months rent as I needed a deposit for my new rented place. I invited the LA to keep my deposit as last months rent and to then forward me the bills/invoice for any other moneys owed which would have otherwise come out of the deposit. I then made sure I left the flat in the best condition with photo and video evidence to prove it (including videos showing things such as all the taps were in full working order).

Sure enough the LA refused my offer of deposit in lieu of rent, kept most of the deposit (which included £120 for a shower head?! even in 2001 I don't think a gold plated one would have cost that uch) and threatened me with court. In return I refused to speak to them, kept everything in writing sent recorded delivery stating I had video and photographic evidence of the condition the flat was left in, plus all bills were up to date and I also had proof of their inneficiencies as a LA (dates faults were reported and the many many months that went by before they were fixed).

From memory I think it went as far as them issuing a summons for non payment fo rent and me counter-suing for falsely keeping my deposit for ridiculously expensive shower heads (amongst other things). They finally accepted that the deposit be used in lieu of rent at this stage.

My point being it's not an easy option and can make life worse.. I hope the TDS means people dont have to go down this route anymore.

weevil_

I thought it was always illegal to use deposits as rent yet everyone seems to do it.

A couple of friends I knew once did exactly this, or tried to, as they KNEW the dodgy landlord wouldn't give them their deposit back. They knew what they were getting into when they rented the place and took it cos it was cheap. It used to be a brothel and people still kept knocking sometimes for "services", and it had locks on outsides of room doors. *shudder*

Anyway, one of them didn't cancel his standing order in time so was screwed and the other got away with it, she wasn't chased for the last months rent.

I'm doing a similar thing where I said if I could have my deposit released from DPS then my LL could use it as rent BUT my deposit was £250 and rent £220 so I've requested £30 back from DPS. This will not make her happy but it's not fair she gets an extra £30 plus I agreed to her other offer for the remaining rent. It's a long story why I was in arrears in the first place too long for here.

But if your deposit scheme works like mine where you log in and request how much of it you want back you could request that extra £100 he would otherwise get. He doesn't have to agree but then the company gets involved and you both provide evidence, etc.

dboswell

missing any rent payment could leave you liable for more than the rent due. also it is not advisable where you need a landlord reference, although this may not be the case here.

tenants need to exercise some civic duty and do some "minor" repairs ungrudgingly themselves. at the end of the day they should treat the property as their own and take pride in it else why are you living in a property you hate?

if its been so bad, why have you been there 3 years? you say letters were fired off from the start which doesnt not augur well, yet you have stayed on for 3 years despite an unprotected deposit, where you do have a course of action to gain protection or recovery, however these should have been started in 2007.

martindow

dboswell wrote: »

missing any rent payment could leave you liable for more than the rent due.

What would this liability be? With the deposit unprotected and a dubious landlord I think I would be very tempted to not pay the final month's rent.

mynameisclare

This is why everyone insists on 6 weeks' rent for deposit these days...

weevil_

I paid 2 months rent up front for my current flat, my idea and to show I was genuine. The lack of rent in these final 2 months has come very handy indeed.

housesitter

dboswell wrote: »

if its been so bad, why have you been there 3 years? you say letters were fired off from the start which doesnt not augur well, yet you have stayed on for 3 years despite an unprotected deposit, where you do have a course of action to gain protection or recovery, however these should have been started in 2007.

Mainly due to lack of choice.
Knowing that I'm likely to get done over for the deposit plus then further fees for fidning something else and generally never having had a good experience dealing with various letting agencies.

Also the house has a large garage attached to a 3bed semi which is normally found on larger and thus more expensive houses.

They should have protected the deposit back in 2007. I expect if I rock the boat they just server me with notice to leave.
As I've said in other threads these people have too many rights when they do in fact break the law. It's easy enough to say just leave but then prehaps I should expect some damaged from them for not operating correctly?
If would be ok if the deposit scheme automatically gave me 3x times. I feel that would be punishment for the LA not knowing the law. They run it as a business they should know their responsibilities. However it's been stated here many times that the 3x rulings are not happening and the LA's are being given yet further time to protect the deposits when IMHO they should be suffering punative damages. Ignorance is no excuse when it's your job to be aware of these things.

Same regards rectifying problems. I can DIY and charge them but again I can also expect to be given notice. Fine, people say move on. But that's more expense and hassle for me. I should be able to stay here, pay for it on time every month and expect them to fix things without any potential threats of being kicked out for rocking the boat.


Thaks to all who commented on the thread.
Sorry I've been a bit too busy to psot on it for a while.

Annabee

dboswell wrote: »

tenants need to exercise some civic duty and do some "minor" repairs ungrudgingly themselves. at the end of the day they should treat the property as their own and take pride in it else why are you living in a property you hate?

Completely disagree with this. Why should tenants have to carry out repairs on a property they don't own, when they are already paying a fortune in rent for the 'privilege' of living there? The maintenace of the property should be down to the Landlord, tenants should just do normal cleaning, mow the lawn, etc.

Unless the damage was actually caused by the tenants, of course.