Landlord lied about putting deposit in Deposit Scheme and is AWOL - advice?

Littlelucy_2

Hi all,

I hope someone might be able to give me some advice here, and apologies in advance to the long explanation.

I have just left a rented property after 8 months, after being given the usual 2 month notice to leave. We've worked out, from months of debt collectors on the doorstep and phone and letters from the insolvency service that our landlady has been made bankrupt.

Although leaving was an annoyance (hoped to stay long term), and although she never bothered to tell William H Brown, the agents for the tenancy, that she was kicking us out, it was relatively above board.

However I've now gone to reclaim my deposit direct from the Deposit Protection Service, as advised by William H Brown, and it looks like she never paid our deposit in to this, or any, scheme.

William H Brown had a reference number which the landlady apparently provided. They also say they would have checked this was legitimate. But I have called all three deposit protection companies and none have any record of the landlady or propertly.

To make it all worse, we have always struggled to contact her, as have William H Brown. The phone number we have for her is dead, they have no alternative contact except an address nearby which I believe is a family member.

Can anyone tell me:
- If we managed to track her down and take her to small claims court (or whatever the appropriate procedure would be) would we even get our money back if she's now declared bankrupt?
- If we can't track her down, are William H Brown at all liable for the money as they clearly DIDN'T check she had actually paid it into the scheme?

Have been trying to speak to the CAB for advice but had no luck getting through yet so any guidance would be a massive help. We're staying at a family friend's property temporarily and can't afford to move on without this £700 that she has effectively stolen from us.

Many thanks.

Trollfever

Do a search to confirm that they are bankrupt:

http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/bankruptcy/bankruptcysearch.htm

Then:

http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/bankruptcy/owedmoneybyabankrupt.htm

BitterAndTwisted

Who did you physically pay the deposit to adn is there mention of it in the tenancy agreement?

clutton_2

read a thread on here by Eagerlearner - she took a LL to court and it was a very difficult process - but she did get soem funds back....

generally speaking it is the LL who is legally reponsible for the deposit.... altho there has been a recent ruling which included agents in that responsibility


however... if they are bankrupt and have no money.... you might as well move on and write it off..

i know that is not what you want to hear and its not right.. but its how things are sometimes.....

Littlelucy_2

Trollfever –
Thanks for that. I had previously received a letter confirming her insolvency, but just used the register to double check and she is on there. Although no official receiver is listed I’ll have a go at contacting the Insolvency Service listed to let them know we’re owed.

BitterandTwisted –
The deposit was paid directly to the landlady unfortunately. William H Brown advertised the property and arranged the contract but money and rent went direct to her each month. The deposit is listed in the contract however, and the contract states that it should be paid in to a deposit scheme. But WHB insist that’s always they landlord’s responsibility – it is the fact they clearly lied about checking it was in the service which is making me wonder if they can be held responsible at all.

Clutton –
Thanks… not what I wanted to hear as you can imagine but starting to see that it’s unlikely we’ll get it. It just makes me furious that she has literally walked away with £800 of my money and put ME in a very difficult financial situation just because she was an irresponsible landlord.

BitterAndTwisted

If the money never passed through the agents' hands then you have no recourse against them. I really don't think it's the agents' responsibility to double-check that the deposit was lodged in a scheme if the landlord claimed it was as they only ever act on behalf of the landlord: they have little responsibility towards the tenant, especially if they only acted as a tenant-finding service and drew up the contract.

It's a crying shame you didn't register and post here when you were still in situ receiving letters from the lender because you might have had the opportunity to withhold the rent in lieu of the deposit.

Unfortunately, I think you're going to have to bite the bullet and acknowledge that you're never going to see your £700/£800 ever again.

tbs624

It is so important that all Ts take the time to check for themselves that their tenancy deposit has indeed been registered, rather than simply taking a LLs/LAs word for it. The fact that you weren't provided with a Scheme's Prescribed Info should have flagged up a concern for you.

You could take the LL to court for failing to register your deposit but, as Clutton says, if the LL is BR your chances of actually getting the money, even after a judgement in your favour, are pretty much zero.

Shame because what she'd be looking at would be a requirement to repay the full deposit, your court fees, plus a penalty payment of an amount= 3x the deposit.........

Littlelucy_2

Yes - I do wish I'd called the scheme when she first gave us notice to leave. However, after three recent tenancies (we don't have great luck with staying put for long) where the deposit was returned to us with no problem, and thinking we had a little bit more backing from WHB, I didn't do so... Good old hindsight!

Thanks for the input. Looking a bit bleak isn't it.

clutton_2

""But WHB insist that’s always they landlord’s responsibility – it is the fact they clearly lied about checking it was in the service which is making me wonder if they can be held responsible at all""





Lucy - since it was your money dont you think it might have been your responsibility to check out the deposit for yourself ?

Pepzofio

I wouldn't necessarily register with the insolvency service as a creditor just yet - you will come absolute bottom of the pile and it's highly unlikely you will get anything back from them.

Personally I would get some advice about pursuing her for the deposit + x3 penalty through small claims court. IANAL, but here's my reasoning:

Although you gave her the money before she was declared bankrupt, she did not technically 'owe' it to you until after she had been declared bankrupt (as the tenancy was still in place), so I think there's a good chance that it would not be included in the bankruptcy.

Even if they decided that the deposit itself counts as a debt under the bankruptcy order, I would have thought that you should still be able to get the x3 penalty for failing in her statutory duty to protect the deposit as this definitely wasn't owed pre-bankruptcy.

Once she is a discharged bankrupt, with all of her other creditors gone you should have a clear field as far as pursuing the debt is concerned, and you have 6 years to do so. It is highly unlikely she will be able to go bankrupt again within this time.

I don't pretend to be an expert on insolvency law but I certainly think it's worth exploring as an option before contacting the Insolvency Service.

tbs624

It's an awful situation for any T to be in and comments are not meant as a "virtual faceslap" for you, it's more that other Ts may well be readig the thread and what has happened to you may give them the prompt to check on their own deposit.

I would suggest that all Ts check within the first month of their tenancy , rather than waiting until its time to give notice and, even if the LL/LA hasn't provided the scheme's "prescribed info" but still says its all okay, the T should check for themselves with mydeposits, DPS, TDS.

Can' t comment personally on WHB, but its worth remembering that anyone can set up in business as an LA, & does not have to have any specific training, knowledge or expertise. They act on behalf of the LL so do not have your interest as T at heart, unfortunately.

Ts who find themselves in this sort of situation may want to consider writing to the Housing Minister, to their own MP and to the campaigns officers at Shelter and the CAB so that they get a clearer picture of the shortcomings of the tenancy deposit legislation