Landlord V Tenant - whose right? Or who is right?

Moorview

Eitherway, basically I want to know if we can claim our £400 deposit back. This is what went down.. We signed a contract that said we could move into the property on the 1st April 2010. Then -and only after we had managed to contact the landlord as he was never very forthcoming- he reveals there has been a !!!! up and the current tenants won't be moving out until the following month, so new move-in date 1st May.
Q. Does this mean the landlord broke the contract?
We agreed to wait the month, but halfway through May we still hadn't heard from him and decided to go somewhere else. Meanwhile, around mid-May he contacts us to say the decorators are in and we can move in after that. This would have been getting on for 7 weeks from the date we initially agreed to move in.
Q. What I want to know is, did we form a new contract by agreeing to wait the month? And under what circumstances can we reclaim the deposit?
I think I need to go to the C.A.B.!
Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

joanna_johnson

Had the tenancy agreement been signed by all parties? If it had then you had a 'right' to move in on 1/4/10 but if it was just an understanding that the property would be available to you on this date (and nothing signed) then you will have a battle. However, why did you give the landlord £400? Was this a holding deposit or the 'bond' on the property? Do you have a receipt for this £400?

anselld

Was the £400 a rental deposit or a holding deposit.
If rental deposit was it protected within 14 days in a recognised scheme?
If holding deposit were you given any T&Cs?

Eitherway it sounds lik you have the right to claime back as L has not kept agreement, it is just how best to go about it.

Have you asked for it back?

Moorview

Joanna and anselld - thankyou for your feedback, this is my first time here and I wasn't sure I'd have much luck so this is encouraging.

Not all parties signed the contract, but there is a receipt for the £400 deposit. I believe the deposit was a holding bond and not for rent. There was definitely no mention of a protected scheme, or terms & conditions given.

It was a rather rushed agreement, however, the receipt does state 'Tenancy to start 01/04/10'.

We have contacted him requesting the deposit back but he claims to have a text message saying we were happy to wait the month until the house became vacant again. Is a text message legally binding? Does this give him any grounds? In any case it was the further 3 weeks of waiting after the initial month that we did not agree to that is my issue.

Hammyman

If its a holding one, you agreed on the deferred date so although initially he was in breach, that breach was resolved and then by not renting in May, you were then in breach.

Moorview

Thanks Hammyman. What if he doesn't use a scheme - does this make him liable? I have read that in this instance he may be liable to pay back 4x the original amount. I know that he didn't use a separate deposit account which our current landlord says by law he should.

pinkshoes

Hammyman wrote: »

If its a holding one, you agreed on the deferred date so although initially he was in breach, that breach was resolved and then by not renting in May, you were then in breach.

But they agreed 1st May as the new date didn't they, and the LL contacted them in MID may saying the decorators were in, so they could move in.

So I would count that as the LL breaking the new T&Cs too!

joanna_johnson

Hi Moorview, I'm still a bit confused as to what the £400 was actually for. A holding deposit (usually around £150 - £200) tends to be for references and the cost for an agreement to be drawn up etc. Were references taken up? A 'bond' is usually a full months rent (often with an additional £100 - £200 depending on LL/LA). which is used as a security bond for any dilapidations to the property once you leave. It sounds as though it may have been requested as a security bond but as the tenancy has not actually commenced then no action has been taken with it. It would be worth speaking to the LL and asking what the £400 was actually for. At least then you will receive the advice you need.

Moorview

Thanks Joanna. We have since discovered the landlord to be fairly disreputable. He did not ask for references and since it is not clear what the £400 was for, it would be worth asking him what he thought it was for, and take things from there. Thanks for all your comments.

tbs624

Moorview - your local Trading Standards Officer can help with this one.

anselld

Moorview wrote: »

Thanks Hammyman. What if he doesn't use a scheme - does this make him liable? I have read that in this instance he may be liable to pay back 4x the original amount. I know that he didn't use a separate deposit account which our current landlord says by law he should.

To be clear, the 3x penalty for non-protection of deposits applies to rental deposits not holding deposits as far as I am aware. I am not sure what protection, if any, applies to a holding deposit. You may have to take to small claims.