Can't get tenancy deposit back

rnr79

G_M wrote: »

How? Bank transfer from your own bank account?
Or cash paid over the counter at the bank into his account?

If 1) get bank statements showing this and you have proof you've been paying rent to HIM

If 2) have you got receipts from the bank showing where the money went?

Yes I paid via internet bank transfer, so i can show the statements.. Also i believe bank can give me the details of where the money went i request now..will they?

BitterAndTwisted

How about something like this?

Your full name here
Your current address here
And the rest of it
here


Todays date

Landlord’s full name
Landlord’s address
Rest of it here

Dear Mr !!!!!! Landlord

Re: rented property address, Town/City, postcode

LETTER BEFORE ACTION

As you are aware I paid Bust Lettings Agents the sum of £xxx on DD/MM/YY as a security deposit for the tenancy of the above property which commenced on DD/MM/YY

Despite repeated requests for you to either return my deposit or explain what if any deductions you intend to make from my deposit you have declined to respond.

As you are aware although I still had X amount of time before my AST expired on Y date, so I was not obliged to leave early at your request, I did so because of the difficult situation you said you found yourself in and in the spirit of goodwill. I now feel that my co-operation has not been reflected at all in your refusal to return my deposit without explanation.

It is my understanding that according to the law my deposit should have been lodged with one of the three deposit-protection schemes and I also believe that this had not been done by either you or the agent on your behalf during my tenancy.

Should I need to recover the deposit from you through the court I also understand that they have awarded three-times the deposit amount as a penalty for non-protection, and that I fully intend to ask the court to award me this penalty should I need to go through the recovery process.

I am therefore compelled to ask you to return my deposit in full within 14 days or I intend to commence proceedings in the Small Claims Court.

Yours sincerely,



Impoverished and ripped-off tenant

G_M

rnr79 wrote: »

Yes I paid via internet bank transfer, so i can show the statements.. Also i believe bank can give me the details of where the money went i request now..will they?

Yes. You may have to request it in writing and wait, but in the end they will.

Bitter&'s letter above is fine but I think 14 days is generous.

7 days?

BitterAndTwisted

OP please DO NOT send your two copies of this letter by Recorded Delivery or any signed-for method as they can be declined at the door or not collected from the sorting office, so you won't be able to prove that either one of them have been received. Send them by first-class post from two different post-offices retaining proof of postage.

Good luck!

franklee

rnr79 wrote: »

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?

Do you have any proof the landlord moved in? I ask as a landlord can't claim rent off a tenant whist the LL or anyone else the LL installs is living in the property. Did the agent have any sight of why you left early?

Besides the LL doesn't have any written evidence of asking you for rent after you left or that the tenancy ended. So if he does now claim rent from after you left in response to your deposit recovery actions then he runs the risk you could ask to move back in or claim illegal eviction. The point is if he denied there was an agreement for you to leave early it would likely put him in as much if not more trouble than it does you.

Next time get everything confirmed in writing.

rnr79

franklee wrote: »

Do you have any proof the landlord moved in? I ask as a landlord can't claim rent off a tenant whist the LL or anyone else the LL installs is living in the property. Did the agent have any sight of why you left early?

Besides the LL doesn't have any written evidence of asking you for rent after you left or that the tenancy ended. So if he does now claim rent from after you left in response to your deposit recovery actions then he runs the risk you could ask to move back in or claim illegal eviction. The point is if he denied there was an agreement for you to leave early it would likely put him in as much if not more trouble than it does you.

Next time get everything confirmed in writing.

Before i moved out completely the landlord started some work in the attic that i know apart from that i dont know how can i get a proof that he is living there. I can go there and check if he is living there but i dont know how to present this as a proof for legal matters.

Just a thought regarding proof that Landlord asked me to leave early, when i talk to him on phone he always says that he agrees that it was mutual aggreement to leave early, if i call him and record while he says that, can i produce this as a proof or will it be illegal to do this and i will create problems for myself?

I have been out of England due to work committments, will be back this sunday, I have drafted a letter as given by BitterAndTwisted, and plan to post on Monday hope it wont be late.

rnr79

Guys, any advice on this would be really helpful please...

rnr79 wrote: »

Before i moved out completely the landlord started some work in the attic that i know apart from that i dont know how can i get a proof that he is living there. I can go there and check if he is living there but i dont know how to present this as a proof for legal matters.

Just a thought regarding proof that Landlord asked me to leave early, when i talk to him on phone he always says that he agrees that it was mutual aggreement to leave early, if i call him and record while he says that, can i produce this as a proof or will it be illegal to do this and i will create problems for myself?

I have been out of England due to work committments, will be back this sunday, I have drafted a letter as given by BitterAndTwisted, and plan to post on Monday hope it wont be late.

BitterAndTwisted

Have you sent your "Letter Before Action" yet?

Quite honestly, I don't think it's necessary to worry about the landlord asking you to leave the property early at this stage. If he wants to play hard-ball, and I think it's unlikely that he will, there is other compelling evidence that he agreed for you to leave before the end of your fixed-term. Like not chasing you IN WRITING for the alleged unpaid rent which you would have been paying had you still been there to the end of the term.

nightmareinnorthlondon

Sorry to hijack this thread but at the moment we also have a landlord who is refusing to protect our deposit. We are obviously going to pester him to protect it, but if he doesn't what have been the success rates for a) return of unprotected deposit in full (when there is no inventory) b) being awarded 3 x deposit? I understand that a landlord can protect the deposit at the last minute (but can he do it once a tenancy has finished?). I spoke to Shelter but they were a bit patchy on how successful a claim for 3 x deposit would actually be.

BitterAndTwisted

nightmareinnorthlondon wrote: »

Sorry to hijack this thread but at the moment we also have a landlord who is refusing to protect our deposit.
We are obviously going to pester him to protect it, but if he doesn't what have been the success rates for:

a) return of unprotected deposit in full (when there is no inventory)

In this circumstance, unless the landlord or their agent have dated photographs, the chances of them making any deductions are practically nil.

b) being awarded 3 x deposit? I understand that a landlord can protect the deposit at the last minute (but can he do it once a tenancy has finished?). I spoke to Shelter but they were a bit patchy on how successful a claim for 3 x deposit would actually be.

The landlord could lodge the deposit with one of the three schemes late but not after the tenancy has ended.

The chances of you achieving three times the deposit as penalty are not certain since the recent High Court ruling and I don't believe that they were 100% guaranteed before that either.

What you choose to do I think is dependent on what you think may happen in the future. In your place I would write to the landlord and request details of which deposit-protection scheme yours is lodged with (keeping a copy) and leave it at that. Pointing out the possible consequences of non-protection to a landlord could come in handy as a useful stick to beat them with later, should you have need of it.