Can't get tenancy deposit back

rnr79

I recently moved out of my rented flat and the landlord is giving some silly reasons and I think he does not want to return the deposit.

I started this tenancy in Mar 2010, and got the tenancy through an estate agent. Landlord asked to me leave early as he wanted to live in the flat and said that he desperately need to move out of his current place so i really tried hard to get a new flat and moved out of that old flat in 2 weeks though according to tenancy agreement i could stay there for two more months.

Now the the estated agent is out of business and landlord is saying that the contract is betwee me and estate agent and he doesnt have my deposit and i may not get my deposit. Though i used to pay the rent directly to landlord's account he says that he doesnt have deposit and dont know anything about it.

I have checked with all three deposit protection schemes and no one has my deposit

Please help me...I really cant afford to loose the deposit. I always paid rent on time...the flat was in immaculate condition all the time.

Please give some guidance about getting the deposit back.

Guys I am an idiot..fool...i think all my education is wasted..I cant believe i did this big mistake...After all with all the things i said above there is one more thing that could go against me and will i have any chance after this at all?

I left the property early as per Landlords request but didnt get anything in writing from him that i ma leaving the property or didnt give him written notice i thought as he is requesting me to leave so wouldnt be that much of a problem.

I called Shelter for some advice and they said that you should in writing about the leaving notice if not then he can make a counterclaim against me...

so in short i am !!!!ed up now....will i stand any chance after all or i just forget the moeny?

thanks in advance

rnr

DVardysShadow

rnr79 wrote: »

Now the the estated agent is out of business and landlord is saying that the contract is betwee me and estate agent and he doesnt have my deposit and i may not get my deposit

Landlord is mistaken or misleading you. If it is his property, the contract is with him - the Agent merely acts on his behalf. So the agents failings are between Landlord and Agent and Landlord is responsible to you.

In your position, as the deposit was not protected, I would be reminding the Landlord about the 3 times penalty for not protecting the deposit - this should get it protected quite swiftly - and your intent to take him to court.

G_M

The agent is (or was) just.... an agent. Acting on behalf of the landlord.

The landlord is ultimately responsible for what the agent does (did) or doesn't do. Including handling the deposit according to the law.

Sue the LL in the small claims court and claim 3 times the deposit since it was not registered. Info here.

N79

G_M wrote: »

Sue the LL in the small claims court [STRIKE]and[/STRIKE]or claim 3 times the deposit since it was not registered. Info here.

A small typo G_M?

F_T_Buyer

N79 wrote: »

A small typo G_M?

If you sue you can claim 3 times the deposit; the grey area is if he protects it before it goes to court.

Callie22

F_T_Buyer wrote: »

If you sue you can claim 3 times the deposit; the grey area is if he protects it before it goes to court.

Can you protect a deposit if the tenancy has already ended?

dkmax_2

Callie22 wrote: »

Can you protect a deposit if the tenancy has already ended?

That corner case has not been tested yet, AFAIK. As the deposit schemes are likely to refuse to protect the deposit retrospectively, I would say that there is a good chance that an action would succeed.

But given the perverse judgment in the Court of Appeal, there may yet be a course that can be navigated where the landlord gets away with it.

BitterAndTwisted

Numpty landlords who don't protect deposits are unlikely to be aware of the Court of Appeal judgment.

To every tenant who is having difficulty getting their non-protected deposit back I say "claim for three times the deposit as penalty!" as it's possible that disclosing that you know about the need for deposit-protection and the possibility of a penalty being imposed might be likely to be enough of a frightener to persuade the landlord to start being reasonable.

rnr79

Thanks guys for your reply and i feel bit confident now if follow the legal process at least i could get my deposit back.

But one issue here...on my tenancy agreement there is no name of the Landlord, all over it states estate agents name but i used to pay rent direct to Landlords bank account. and thats what the landlord keeps saying that you cant ask anything to me that he doesnt have to do with the tenancy agreement and its between me and estate agent company.

In this situation also are there chances that i will my claim will be successful?

sequence

Classic! The agent is an agent of the landlord and is acting on his behalf - whatever the agent does, the landlord is pretty much responsible for, including taking a deposit. The courts know landlords try this trick too often!

Soot2006

rnr79 wrote: »

Thanks guys for your reply and i feel bit confident now if follow the legal process at least i could get my deposit back.

But one issue here...on my tenancy agreement there is no name of the Landlord, all over it states estate agents name but i used to pay rent direct to Landlords bank account. and thats what the landlord keeps saying that you cant ask anything to me that he doesnt have to do with the tenancy agreement and its between me and estate agent company.

In this situation also are there chances that i will my claim will be successful?

Basically, the LL is an idiot.
Don't let his idiocy convince you into thinking he's right about anything. Either he knows he's wrong and is bluffing. Or he hasn't a clue and will need to learn the hard way!