Landlord witholding deposit

michelefauk

My daughter has been renting a house througha private landlord for 6 months, the lease has expired and they arranged to move out yesterday. The landlord met them at the house to carry out a check, all was fine. My daughter was expecting her deposit back (£ 585) but the landlord has stated that he will check today with the utility companies and council tax dept and that he will pay the deposit back once these are cleared. A couple of questions:

1) Can he do this? There was nothing in the original lease to mention this. The bills are all in my daughter's name and she has been responsible for paying them, which she has done, she phoned the utility companies with the final meter readings today and was expecting them to send their final bills which she will pay on receipt.

2) Obviously there will be a final balance which she will pay as soon as she receives the bill, will this mean the landlord will be told by the utility companies that there is a balance to pay and he will not release the deposit?

3) My daughter paid the deposit in cash, can she ask for it to be returned in cash as well, as the landlord was talking about sending her a cheque "once he is happy there are no bills outstanding"

I feel that the landlord has got them over a barrel and my daughter is very anxious about upsetting him, as obviously he has £585 of their money which they need back asap.

Has anyone got any experience or advice? Many thanks

BitterAndTwisted

Your daughter's landlord is a numpty. I'd wager that they are an inexperienced, numpty landlord at that.

Your daughter's deposit should have been paid into one of the three deposit-protection schemes by law. Landlords cannot withhold deposits for non-payment of utility bills or Council Tax and if her landlord was an experienced professional one, they should have known that already.

I really, REALLY hope that either there was acknowledgment of receipt of the deposit in the tenancy agreement or that your daughter has a receipt for it.

Perhaps the path of least resistance for the moment might be to wait for the final bills to arrive and then send copies confirming that they have been paid in a letter to the LL and asking for her deposit to be repaid. And perhaps giving the LL 7 days to do so.

the.ciscokid

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/Privaterenting/Tenancies/DG_189120

michelefauk

Thank you for the help. My daughter does have a receipt for the deposit, but has seen nothing to say it has been paid into a deposit protection scheme.

the.ciscokid

From my link:

Landlords must protect their tenants' deposits using a TDP scheme if they have let the property on an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) which started after 6 April 2007.

If you don't protect your tenants' deposits when required to, your tenants can take you to court and you may have to repay them their deposit plus three times the amount of their deposit. You will also be unable to seek possession of your property in certain circumstances.

It is the law as far as I am aware, so just mention that to the landlord... should get him twitching a little

BitterAndTwisted

In that case, if the landlord declines to refund the deposit in good time your daughter may have some very unwelcome news for her ex-landlord numpty. Unwelcome and potentially rather costly.

michelefauk

very interesting! Let's see what the next couple of days brings. Many thanks, you guys are fantastic

Enfieldian

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I really, REALLY hope that either there was acknowledgment of receipt of the deposit in the tenancy agreement or that your daughter has a receipt for it.

Would be terrible if the contract acknowledges the deposit but it has not been paid into a scheme. (Reading further down, this appears to be the case.)

Terrible for the Landlord...... Kerrr-ching!

tbs624

For clarification - there are 3 schemes with which a T's deposit may be registered by a LL. Only one of them requires the LL to "pay the deposit in": th eother 2 are insurance based and the LL/LA retains the actual funds for the duration of the tenancy.

Michele - is this rented property in Eng/Wales ( no tenancy dep scheme in Scotland atm) If yes, then your daughter should check with each of the 3 schemes for herself: my deposits, TDS, DPS. Get confirmation either way in writing.

As you say, the utility bills, CT bills are the Ts concern if they were in her name for the duration of the tenancy. It is your daughter who would be pursued for any non-payment by the utility company. Provided that the LL and your daughter both know the meter readings on the day the tenancy ended, the LL should not seek to interfere.


Once your daughter has confirmation , if the deposit has def not been scheme registered then she shouldn't wait for the LL to start faffing around, but write a letter pointing out that the LL has failed to comply with s213 onwards of the Housing Act 2004.

shotton123

I think you should also point out that the dps has no initial requirements in place, so the breach of section 214 for 3 times the amount can not be claimed as draycott v hannels has proved

tbs624 wrote: »

For clarification - there are 3 schemes with which a T's deposit may be registered by a LL. Only one of them requires the LL to "pay the deposit in": th eother 2 are insurance based and the LL/LA retains the actual funds for the duration of the tenancy.

Michele - is this rented property in Eng/Wales ( no tenancy dep scheme in Scotland atm) If yes, then your daughter should check with each of the 3 schemes for herself: my deposits, TDS, DPS. Get confirmation either way in writing.

As you say, the utility bills, CT bills are the Ts concern if they were in her name for the duration of the tenancy. It is your daughter who would be pursued for any non-payment by the utility company. Provided that the LL and your daughter both know the meter readings on the day the tenancy ended, the LL should not seek to interfere.


Once your daughter has confirmation , if the deposit has def not been scheme registered then she shouldn't wait for the LL to start faffing around, but write a letter pointing out that the LL has failed to comply with s213 onwards of the Housing Act 2004.