Losing tenancy deposits

raan83

Hi! I wondered if anyone could give me any advice?

I have rented a property with an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement since 13th April 2007. On 17th June 2010 the house was reposessed from the landlord as he had stopped paying the mortgage. We have since been given 3 months to vacate the property as it is being sold.

I have contacted the original landlord his managing agents and have been informed by the agents that the landlord did not place our deposit into the Tenancy Deposit Scheme and it was therefore unlikely we would get it back.

He advised that we should not pay our last months rent. I am trying to decide whether to follow this advice. Without the deposit being returned I will struggle to put down a deposit on another property but I am concerned of any repurcussions that may follow. I wouldn't want to risk being taken to court or this affecting my credit rating or jeopordising my chances of being able to rent another property.

Has anyone been in a similar situation to this and if so is there any advice you could give me? How worth their while would it be for the new agents/landlords to chase a months rent on a property that they are selling.

Thanks! Sorry this is a bit long-winded!

silvercar

I suspect you owe the rent to the lender's in repossession and should be claiming the deposit back from your (ex-) landlord. Don't assume that because the property was repossessed your landlord has no money, he may very well have a property that he lives in. The thought that you could place a charging order on his property, through the courts may focus his mind.

Your rental is now owned by the lender and its legal team are already involved, I suspect that taking you to court would be simple for them.

BitterAndTwisted

I agree with your agent: don't pay the last month's rent. They've trousered your deposit and I think the chances of seeing back it are slim to none. If your deposit was the equivalent of a month's rent the landlord will have suffered no loss when you hold back the last month's rent. I'd have stopped paying the rent as soon as I was given the three month's notice.

ETA: UNLESS you are indeed paying the rent to lender. I wouldn't mess with them, nosireebob

Jowo_2

raan83 wrote: »

...

He advised that we should not pay our last months rent. I am trying to decide whether to follow this advice. Without the deposit being returned I will struggle to put down a deposit on another property but I am concerned of any repurcussions that may follow.

Typically a deposit from a previous property is returned after the tenant moves out and is demanded from the next landlord before the move into the new property.

Therefore the hassle of coming up with a new deposit before the old one is returned applies to virtually all tenancies - you are not disadvantaged because the property has been repossessed, this is just a fairly standard process whereby a tenant has to pay for a new property before leaving the old one.

Now if you are not paying the last month's rent, then you immediately have that sum available to contribute to the next tenancy...

Cover yourself by asking for the letting agent to submit their request in writing if they gave this instruction verbally.

tbs624

Do you have a current address for this LL?

tbs624

Jowo wrote: »

T
Now if you are not paying the last month's rent, then you immediately have that sum available to contribute to the next tenancy...

Cover yourself by asking for the letting agent to submit their request in writing if they gave this instruction verbally.

How would that "cover" the OP? If the mortgagor has repossessed the property then the OP will have been paying his rent to the mortgagor or an agent of the mortgagor.

This LA presumably only acted for the original LL. Apart from any such letter being of little benefit I should imagine it highly unlikely that the LA would put his "advice" in writing to the OP.

Rent is due to mortgagor, and OP should pursue the original LL for failing to scheme register the tenancy deposit.