Quick guide on how not to get ripped off by landlords

N79

sarahjgent wrote: »

I didn't want to start a whole new thread and thought this possibly might fit in here.

I moved into a flat last June. After realising we had received no post (addressed to us as opposed to the previous tenant) for around a month I did a little online search and found that the address the estate agents had given us on our tenancy agreement and all correspondence had the incorrect street number and postcode. This lead to a good couple of months of having to fight with companies to get details changed (and in the case of my driving license which had been posted to the incorrect address a fee for replacement).

That issue is all sorted now but it has come to my attention (thanks to someone in my office) that my landlord / estate agent unnder the Housing Act was supposed to send me details of the scheme that my deposit is protected under within 14 days of me paying it to them. I don't believe that they have ever sent this to me and the penalty for not complying with this is payment of three times the amount of the deposit sum to the tenant.

Also upon using the deposit protection company's online checker I can see that my deposit is protected with a company... but under my partner's name rather than mine (the tenancy is in both our names) and with the incorrect address. This should mean that the landlord isn't providing protection to me as the information that has been lodged with the company is incorrect. Again meaning that the three times deposit sum is payable.

We have just agreed to stick to the tenancy for another year and the person that initially informed me of this recommended that I wait until towards the end of the tenancy to bring this up with them and to claim the money.

I was just wondering if anyone else has been in this sort of situation and whether I should wait until nearer the end of the tenancy or get this dealt with now?

I'm afraid your "mate down the pub" has no idea what they are talking about.

Firstly, your deposit is protected. The way that the deposit schemes work is that there is a "lead T" who is the individual that the deposit scheme will mainly deal with. All Ts on the tenancy agreement are protected, even though the scheme deals with the lead T (yes, there is the potential for the lead T to defraud the other Ts but this is a matter for the Ts to sort).

The lack of receipt of the deposit protection papers is not, in itself, enough to apply for 3x repayment (which would fail anyway as the deposit is protected - see Universal vs Tensia for the Appeal Courts ruling that so long as the deposit is protected then nothing else matters). Otherwise, every time the scheme letter gets lost in the post (or every time a T claims to have not received it) the LL would have to pay.

What you should do, as a reasonable T, is inform your LL and the scheme that you have not received the paperwork (presumably due to the address mix up) and ask then to send you another copy. Then everyone is happy and everyone can take action to correct their records.

BitterAndTwisted

Deal with it now. The three-times the deposit as a penalty is discretionary not mandatory in court so there's no guarantee that you will be awarded it at all.

I'm not surprised that the deposit has been lodged under only one name: this is common as I believe that the deposit-schemes use one person as the "lead-tenant" to whom the monies will be paid to once the tenancy is over.

The issue about the address could easily be put down to an error of some sort.

What do you mean by the "deposit is protected with a company"?

sjg666

N79 wrote: »

I'm afraid your "mate down the pub" has no idea what they are talking about.

Firstly, your deposit is protected. The way that the deposit schemes work is that there is a "lead T" who is the individual that the deposit scheme will mainly deal with. All Ts on the tenancy agreement are protected, even though the scheme deals with the lead T (yes, there is the potential for the lead T to defraud the other Ts but this is a matter for the Ts to sort).

The lack of receipt of the deposit protection papers is not, in itself, enough to apply for 3x repayment (which would fail anyway as the deposit is protected - see Universal vs Tensia for the Appeal Courts ruling that so long as the deposit is protected then nothing else matters). Otherwise, every time the scheme letter gets lost in the post (or every time a T claims to have not received it) the LL would have to pay.

What you should do, as a reasonable T, is inform your LL and the scheme that you have not received the paperwork (presumably due to the address mix up) and ask then to send you another copy. Then everyone is happy and everyone can take action to correct their records.

It wasn't a mate down the pub. It was someone I work with that has dealt with this kind of issue before.

I completely believe that it is possible that it was sent to the wrong address in the first instance due to the mix up (though when I went in and asked them for a copy of anything they had sent to me it wasn't included). But my issue is that the address they had listed the deposit against is NOT my address. It is the incorrect address which (presumedly) means that my deposit on my flat is not protected at all.

I also didn't see why it was only listed in my partners name as I had the most dealings with the estate agent (in fact I don't even think he went to their office at all) but I suppose if it is common for them to only list one name on the protection then that doesn't really matter.

sjg666

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Deal with it now. The three-times the deposit as a penalty is discretionary not mandatory in court so there's no guarantee that you will be awarded it at all.

I'm not surprised that the deposit has been lodged under only one name: this is common as I believe that the deposit-schemes use one person as the "lead-tenant" to whom the monies will be paid to once the tenancy is over.

The issue about the address could easily be put down to an error of some sort.

What do you mean by the "deposit is protected with a company"?

Sorry I didn't descibe that very well. The company that my estate agents use to protect the deposit.

N79

sarahjgent wrote: »

I completely believe that it is possible that it was sent to the wrong address in the first instance due to the mix up (though when I went in and asked them for a copy of anything they had sent to me it wasn't included). But my issue is that the address they had listed the deposit against is NOT my address. It is the incorrect address which (presumedly) means that my deposit on my flat is not protected at all.

In which case the deposit is protected but due to a mistake the wrong address has been used. As suggested above, write to your LL and the scheme informing them of the error and asking for it to be corrected. This is a fairly simple error which can be corrected provided that all parties co-operate.

sarahjgent wrote: »

I also didn't see why it was only listed in my partners name as I had the most dealings with the estate agent (in fact I don't even think he went to their office at all) but I suppose if it is common for them to only list one name on the protection then that doesn't really matter.

Who knows how the landlord picked the lead T name - but as explained it does not make any material difference.

sjg666

N79 wrote: »

In which case the deposit is protected but due to a mistake the wrong address has been used. As suggested above, write to your LL and the scheme informing them of the error and asking for it to be corrected. This is a fairly simple error which can be corrected provided that all parties co-operate.


Who knows how the landlord picked the lead T name - but as explained it does not make any material difference.

Is changing the address not something that they should have already sorted themselves after I complained to them that the address was incorrect on my tenancy agreement and all documentation from them? So whilst it is a fairly simple error it is something that I have already pointed out to them.

N79

sarahjgent wrote: »

Is changing the address not something that they should have already sorted themselves after I complained to them that the address was incorrect on my tenancy agreement and all documentation from them? So whilst it is a fairly simple error it is something that I have already pointed out to them.

In an ideal world yes but clearly they are not very competent. I presume that they have not realised that they have the address wrong for the deposit protection as well.

I suppose the bottom line is that they are not going to benefit by their mistake so there really is no reason to doubt that it is just that - a mistake - and thus the easiest approach is to point out the error to them.

G51shopaholic

Tenants should check for landlord registation with local council.

Simple steps to protect themselves.

Right to Repair Act, ask to see Gas safety certificate (one should be in property).

Not all Private landlords are rip-off merchants, but doing a few simple checks will save alot
of heartache.

Agents have to be registered as well, but it is a good idea to as the agent if the manage the property or if it is a "Let Only". Let only means they just find a tenant and have nothing to do with the property or repairs.

Ask who holds the deposit. If you don't like what you see - walk away.

/ensure inventory is completed throughly

N79

G51shopaholic wrote: »

Tenants should check for landlord registation with local council.

Simple steps to protect themselves.

Right to Repair Act, ask to see Gas safety certificate (one should be in property).

Not all Private landlords are rip-off merchants, but doing a few simple checks will save alot
of heartache.

Agents have to be registered as well, but it is a good idea to as the agent if the manage the property or if it is a "Let Only". Let only means they just find a tenant and have nothing to do with the property or repairs.

Ask who holds the deposit. If you don't like what you see - walk away.

/ensure inventory is completed throughly

This advice is only (potentially - I have no idea if it is accurate) useful for properties in Scotland and does not apply to the rest of the UK.

sequence

sarahjgent wrote: »

It wasn't a mate down the pub. It was someone I work with that has dealt with this kind of issue before.

I completely believe that it is possible that it was sent to the wrong address in the first instance due to the mix up (though when I went in and asked them for a copy of anything they had sent to me it wasn't included). But my issue is that the address they had listed the deposit against is NOT my address. It is the incorrect address which (presumedly) means that my deposit on my flat is not protected at all.

I also didn't see why it was only listed in my partners name as I had the most dealings with the estate agent (in fact I don't even think he went to their office at all) but I suppose if it is common for them to only list one name on the protection then that doesn't really matter.

You should have left it. They could never evict you with bailiffs being sent to the wrong address :rotfl: