Landlord not returning deposit AND acting illegally?

sambessey

Hi

My last landlord has witheld part of my deposit eventhough the house was given back to him in the same condition as it was let out and we left a significant amount of furniture, which by his own admission added value to the house.

Now interestingly, my landlord is British but lives in Switzerland... We always deal directly with him... Am I right in thinking he is acting illegally here? I would love to string the **** up over this... Can someone explain the law to me a bit further?

Thanks

Noz

what was the reasoning to witholding part of the deposit?

lynzpower

Yes, he needs to appoint a managing agent in the UK to manage the property, he cant do this from abroad. Ie if the boiler exploded how would be resolve it from overseas? He can be fined for this I understand.

Simple answer is write him a letter before action requesting the money back
& give him 14 days to cough up

Then if you havent recieved the money back, take him to the small claims court.

Have a search for Eagerlearners thread about this sort of thing. they have had a long saga you might benefit from reading about the same thing.

clutton_2

if he lives abroad i doubt a small claims court action would succeed.

lynzpower

clutton

When I went to my local Private tenancy officer ( based at the council) he told me to press on. Basically, if the LL breaks the law of the land then being out of the country is no defence. He even went as far as to *suggest* that if the LL chooses to be out of the country & not appear for the hearing then it would be decided in our favour.

If being out of the country was any defence, then surely we'd all do it wouldnt we

real1314

INAE but,

1. I'd suggest you ask the landlord what UK address you should send your letters to as you are starting legal action to recover your deposit?

2. I'd ask for a written explanation of why he has not returned the full deposit, together with a copy of the original inspection report when you started the tenancy.

Generally if a party fails to attend court, the judgement will automatically go against them (i.e they fail to contest the case).
Make start on getting any paperwork together, that you've had from him / sent to him. Try to confirm any phone calls within your letters to him (i.e "as per our phone conversation today regarding...")

Gorgeous_George

The difficulty is that tenants would not see the degradation in a property as it would be gradual over the term of their let.

LLs can appear to be harsh when they withhold deposits or part of deposits. Sometimes this is justified and sometimes it is not.

How much money are we talking about here?

I don't understand the need for the LL to reside in the UK. Whether he/she is in Bolton or Bulgaria, Newcastle or New York, they can phone a plumber.



GG

Guy_Montag

Gorgeous_George wrote:

The difficulty is that tenants would not see the degradation in a property as it would be gradual over the term of their let.

LLs cannot withold the deposit for wear & tear, that's why they get extra tax relief on the rent. Gradual degradation is surely the definintion of wear & tear.

BobProperty

Gorgeous_George wrote:

.....I don't understand the need for the LL to reside in the UK.....

They don't but you do need a UK based contact or agent. You need an agent in the UK as far as HMRC are concerned.

real1314

Gorgeous_George wrote:

The difficulty is that tenants would not see the degradation in a property as it would be gradual over the term of their let.

LLs can appear to be harsh when they withhold deposits or part of deposits. Sometimes this is justified and sometimes it is not.

How much money are we talking about here?

I don't understand the need for the LL to reside in the UK. Whether he/she is in Bolton or Bulgaria, Newcastle or New York, they can phone a plumber.



GG

To operate in the UK (or in any country) you generally need to have a presence in the uk (or the country).

Otherwise, how can you take legal action?
Can a landlord who has no presence in the uk take court action in the uk? No, not as far as I know.
But can they be sued for their actions in the uk if they have no presnce there? Maybe it's another case of NO, technically, but then the OP could have just kept the keys, stayed in situ and not paid rent. How would the (non-resident) landlord sue? From a home in switzerland?

furndire

This is the saga of Eagerlearner. http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=227606