Letting agents won't give me details of where deposit is??

BitterAndTwisted

wiseguy2010 wrote: »

I have re-read a copy of the AST and it states 'the deposit will be received by the landlord's agent as agent' but it doesn't mention anything about a protected scheme.

Lodging the deposit in one of the recognised schemes is not optional. Perhaps they are ignorant of this fact. Have you checked yourself with all three schemes to double-check that they've lodged it?


However, I clearly remember the LA telling me over the phone that it was in the protected scheme when I queried it the other day.

In that case you should be able to check it yourself.

The AST was not signed by the tenant but was signed by the agent on the tenants behalf. I did find this odd at the time but again didn't think much of it. In fact, I don't remember signing any contract at any stage. I only have a copy of the AST with the agents signature on it, not mine.

This suggests to me that the AST has been passed to the tenants but they may have chosen not to return their signed copy yet. I wonder why? Or, of course, it could have been returned and the agents have lost or mislaid it. Nothing would surprise me. But what does surprise me is that the agents haven't been chasing it up. A reasonable person would expect them to have done this some time ago.

Alarm bells are ringing now, I will contact the tenants and ask them what they know.

If these fools are members of NAEA and not ARLA all of the above would suggest that they don't know what they are doing. I wonder if they're new to the lettings game?

joanna_johnson

"The AST was not signed by the tenant but was signed by the agent on the tenants behalf. I did find this odd at the time but again didn't think much of it. In fact, I don't remember signing any contract at any stage. I only have a copy of the AST with the agents signature on it, not mine".

It's normal practice these days for agents to sign on behalf of LL's (with LL's permission) but the T should always sign.......Surely a LL and T cannot be signed by LA??? Who witnessed the signatures?

wiseguy2010

sorry, the LA signed the AST on my behalf. I don't have it with me right now but I'm sure the tenant HAS signed it, but I haven't.

BitterAndTwisted

joanna_johnson wrote: »

"The AST was not signed by the tenant but was signed by the agent on the tenants behalf. I did find this odd at the time but again didn't think much of it. In fact, I don't remember signing any contract at any stage. I only have a copy of the AST with the agents signature on it, not mine".

Surely a LL and T cannot be signed by LA??? Who witnessed the signatures?

No, they can't sign on behalf of the tenant as they are not acting for them. They are agents for the landlord only. That's why I thought that the tenants hadn't returned their signed copy yet.

BitterAndTwisted

wiseguy2010 wrote: »

Sorry, the LA signed the AST on my behalf. I don't have it with me right now but I'm sure the tenant HAS signed it, but I haven't.

If the agent has signed it on your behalf then you don't need to. That should be covered by your contract with them when you instructed them in the first place.

adg1

You are responsible for the deposit. You can log into each schemes website and search by tenancy start date and postcode (I think thats what you need).

You need to get on to your EA fast and make sure the deposit is protected and obtain a certificate. Was the agent a small local? Or national.

On a side point, what is the level of rent?

wiseguy2010

I've done a check on all 3 schemes and none of them are showing anything for my rented property.

The rent is £500pm and the deposit was £500. The LA is primarily an estate agent with several branches in surrounding areas and one lettings branch. They have been around for several years.

Do you think it is wise to ask the tenants if they have any info first before I write a recorded letter to the agents?

theartfullodger

wiseguy2010 wrote: »

Do you think it is wise to ask the tenants if they have any info first before I write a recorded letter to the agents?

Nope, write letter & ask tenants at same time.. (No offence but..) GET ON WITH IT!!! NB Recorded?? Probably a bent agent won't sign for anything - so send with (free) certificate of postage, twice from different post offices... (This sounds like it will end up in small-claims court & you will need proof of service of letter...)

Your agent sounds like a crook (I could be wrong... aye, right...).

There is an argument that you should, at your own expense, put the money up & protect it in one of the schemes right now to avoid later trouble (eg T suing you for 3xdeposit).

joanna_johnson

I may be wrong but I don't think your agent is a crook - just that they have no idea what they are doing! I would certainly follow all the advice on sending recorded delivery letters etc to cover yourself. So many EA's went into lettings with no idea of what is involved (not that many LA's do things right either for that matter!) when property sales started to decline. The fact that your AST offered no info on where the bond was held suggests ignorance on behalf of the LA to me. As Artful wrote 'get on with it'.......better to put your plan into action than leave it to chance! If your agent is a member of NAEA (as you think) then give them a call too.

DVardysShadow

joanna_johnson wrote: »

I may be wrong but I don't think your agent is a crook - just that they have no idea what they are doing! I would certainly follow all the advice on sending recorded delivery letters etc to cover yourself.

The recorded delivery letters don't really provide much cover. When push comes to shove, and the tenants need their deposit back, letters will provide no cover to the Landlord over a claim for the deposit and the 3tmes penalty.

This matter has to be sorted.

A possibility which crosses my mind is that the Agent has in fact not taken the deposit and is 'awaiting it' from the tenant. Necessary now to see the tenant and have sight of the reciept.