can a LL hold my deposit because of council tax?

edwardmluk

I moved out of a property over a month ago. I've finally managed to get all my final bills for the agency, but I'm having trouble getting a letter for council tax. One guy at the council said a landlord can't hold a deposit because of council tax,.because the tenant is paying the council directly and so it is not the landlords problem.. I told the agency this and they said they still need a letter of proof.

Can anyone help please?

N79

Provided you were registered to pay the council tax then the council is quite right. LL has no liability for the duration of the tenancy and thus no valid deductions from the deposit could be made.

Can you confirm where the property is located (Eng / Wales or Scotland), when the tenancy started and if Eng / Wales which scheme your deposit is protected in?

theartfullodger

Presumably you know which scheme the deposit is held in. Check their terms (website) & also the terms in your tenancy and see if either give Landlord the right to withhold deposit until evidence of council tax is paid..

I suspect they do not have the right, but you may have to threaten a small-claims-court case to get it back.


Cheers!

Artful

mchale

Was the property a HMO let ??

edwardmluk

Its a house in wales and the deposit is with dps.I'll look at their t and c's.

N79

In which case just apply for the deposit to be repaid through the DPS. They will give the LL a few days / weeks / months (whatever the scheme says) to agree / disagree and they should not approve deductions for council tax unless there is some specific term in the tenancy which would allow the LL to do this.

edwardmluk

Unfortunately its a shared tenancy, I'm not the lead tenant and another tenant is continuing their tenancy there so theres just some of us moving out. Would I only request the amount owed to the people moving out? Or the full amount and the agency puts some into a new account for the people staying on?

N79

edwardmluk wrote: »

Unfortunately its a shared tenancy, I'm not the lead tenant and another tenant is continuing their tenancy there so theres just some of us moving out. Would I only request the amount owed to the people moving out? Or the full amount and the agency puts some into a new account for the people staying on?

An important fact that was omitted before - and could change everything.

Is the current tenancy ending with those staying on signing a new tenancy or is the current tenancy being assigned to a new T?

edwardmluk

Current tenancy being assigned to a new T.

N79

In which case the deposit will presumably remain at the DPS as deposits are paid for the length of a tenancy.

You will need to protect your interests by having an agreement with the incoming T for them to agree to repay you your deposit as well as deciding what damage you are liable for when you assign the tenancy (as opposed to future damage which the incoming T will be responsible for). In reality you can skip the second step as, in the absence of an agreement, the incoming T will be liable for any damage you caused!

This occurs because English law does not recognise multiple tenants. What happens is that each tenancy has a legal entity as a LL and a legal entity as a T. In reality, those entities can be made up of several real people (or other legal entities such as companies) on, normally, a joint and several liability basis. When a person assigns their interest in a tenancy to another person, they assign not just their rights under the tenancy but also their liabilities. Hence, to be watertight, there needs to be a separate agreement between the assignor and assignee to cover any liabilities which are not transferring.

In reality, a number of joint tenancies proceed for years on a fairly casual basis, working on the goodwill of all participants, until there is a major problem that ends up in the courts!

G_M

As N79 says, if the current tenancy is continuing then the LL has no duty to return the deposit. Deposit is only returned when tenancy ends. In that case it is a question of negotiation between the tenants themselves ie you need to ask the tenant(s) who are staying to give you your share of the deposit. Assuming they are getting someone in to replace you (which may /may not be illegal subletting - but not your problem), that person would re-imburse the lead tenant by giving an equivelant deposit.

If, however, the LL is granting a NEW tenancy to those tenant(s) staying, with new names on it, then the deposit should be returned (council tax is the tenant's responsibility so not a reason to with hold), and then a new deposit registered for the new tenancy.