Deposit gone missing

PedroOrange

When we moved into our flat we paid the deposit and first month's rent, inventory check in and admin fees on 01/06/10 to our letting agent(LA). Our tenancy agreement mentions that the deposit is to be held with " 'bank of LA' as stakeholders and is returnable in accordance with the tenancy agreement"

We received a "deposit release statement" from the letting agent dated 25/06/10 saying it had been released "To Landlord - Private Landlord Deposit Service"

During the first few months we were paying our rent to management company A (MCA), who have since done a runner with all the rent money and left the landlord out of pocket. The LA have since said that the deposit was passed to MCA and as a result, we will have to try and recover it from them.

Can anyone help me with the following:

1. Who do we have a claim against (if anyone) for loss of deposit
2. Do we have a claim under the 14 day/x3 rule, as per the following (taken from deposit protection.com/help/tenant/tenant-about)

Payment to the Tenant
Tenants can make an application to a County Court under Housing Act 2004 if they believe that their deposit is not being safeguarded, or where they have not been given the prescribed information about the scheme in which the deposit is safeguarded within 14 days of the landlord receiving the deposit.
Where the court is satisfied that the landlord has failed to comply with these requirements, or the deposit is not being held in an authorised scheme, the court must either order the landlord to repay the deposit within 14 days of the making of the order, or order the landlord to pay the deposit to the custodial scheme administrator.
The court must also order the landlord to pay the tenant three times the deposit amount within 14 days of the making of the order.”


Cheers

BitterAndTwisted

Nope! Recover the deposit from the landlord. It doesn't matter where the deposit physically went

IronWolf

You have a claim against the LL for the deposit as it wasn't protected. Its his fault if someone stole it, and wouldn't have happened if he'd followed the law.

If he tells you to recover it from the LA, sue him.

BitterAndTwisted

In the first instance WRITE A LETTER to the landlord both at the address on the tenancy agreement and care of the agents stating that it is not your responsibility to be chasing errant third parties for the return of your deposit. Sate quite clearly that you are aware that the final responsibility for return of same rest with the landlord only and that should your deposit not be returned in full within ten days or with an explanation of reasonable deductions that you will be taking other, more serious steps to recover it.

Make two copies of each and send them by first-class post from two different post offices retaining proof of postage for all four for later when you have to put more thumb-screws on.

The purpose of this letter to be be able to prove in court that you have sought resolution before you bring the bigger guns out when you send a final letter asking the same thing but with entirely more compelling reasons why they should return your deposit forthwith.

tamarto

Have you left the property? or should i say, has the tennancy ended?

PedroOrange

The tenancy has not ended, we are going to move out at the end of May. There are several problems with our flat, damp in the living room and in the bathroom. I’m a bit concerned if we go after the landlord he will try and charge us for this. We were told the damp had been treated by LA when we moved in and that it just needed painting over. We subsequently found this not to be the case when the ceiling started leaking during heavy rain! The damp in the bathroom has only just come to light and is the result of there being no extractor fan in the bathroom (there is one, but it doesn’t look like a fan, and it doesn’t work). I always assumed that either there was no need for one, due to this vent in the ceiling, or that it was silent.

PedroOrange

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Nope! Recover the deposit from the landlord. It doesn't matter where the deposit physically went

Do you mean we don't have a claim in the 14 day/x3 rule?

molerat

You have that option as well. As you are still in the tenancy you could be chasing the deposit protection angle.

mancitychick

Personally, I would hold back the last months rent to cover the deposit.

BitterAndTwisted

OK, this is what I would do. In the first instance I would take every single necessary step I could to chase up the repairs IN WRITING. Even if this extractor fan isn't working you absolutely must do everything in your power to mitigate any condensation caused by this to prevent any fingers being pointed at you for either causing it or making it worse later when it comes to deposit-return time. That means keeping windows open, bathing and cooking with a window open and the doors shut. NO drying of any laundry indoors whatsoever.

In the same letter remind your landlord that regardless of which party the deposit is physically paid over to, the final legal responsibility lies with the landlord to ensure the deposit is lodged with one of the three deposit-protection schemes, so you absolutely need to know which scheme your deposit will be lodged with if it hasn't been done already. Ask them to provide that confirmation in writing. You could choose to mention the three times deposit as penalty but at this point I probably would not. It's not always awarded in every single case and I would give your landlord the opportunity to do their own research.

Was there a dual-signed inventory at the start of your tenancy describing the condition of the property and all its contents?

PedroOrange

Thanks for the advice guys, really appreciate it.

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Was there a dual-signed inventory at the start of your tenancy describing the condition of the property and all its contents?

There was a dual signed inventory, it describes the damp patch on the walls in living room and bedroom (though I think it the bedroom it had been treated properly). It does not mention any sort of extractor fan in the bathroom, or anywhere in the flat. There are no windows in the bathroom. The living room does not seem to have gotten any worse. We reported the damp in the living room several times to MCA (who did nothing), then to MCB (who sent a roofer out to fix the leak), then MCC (who have since taken over from MCB) did a spot check of the place and said they would sort all the issues which we had raised with MCA (eg. there are no blinds in the bedroom so we have been sleeping with eye masks in the summer), and they also said that none of this was our fault. I will ask MCC to confirm this in writing although they can't give full asurance as they hadn't seen the place prior to us moving in.