Tricky Situation with Deposit...

sambessey

Hi

I have a problem with a deposit on a house I was renting Feb- August....

I moved in to a shared house with 2 others who had already been there for around 18 months and got on quite well with the Landlord (who was living in Switzerland)

I paid my £250 deposit (as did the other 2), and at the end of the tenancy we left the house in a state equal to that in which we'd found it and even (by the landlord's own admission) left furniture that made the house more lettable.

Now it took the LL a long time to give us a refund, and when he did, we found he had taken over £100 each for 'repairs' (he basically used the money to do up the garden and paint the inside of the house).

Now we emailed the LL about this, and got a reply stating what he had done with our money. (As I said it was cosmetic stuff and cost over £100 each). we e-mailed him back, but got no reply, so I emailed him a couple more times, threatening Small Claims Court action on my final mail. Still no reply.

A couple of weeks later, I got an email from the LL's brother saying our LL had had a serious accident and was ill in hospital... he couldn't reply to our emails but apparently he took the matter seriously and would resolve it when he had recovered.

Approx 2 weeks later, we recieved another e-mail from the brother saying that our LL had died as a result of his accident.

Now assuming what we have been told is true, what would you do about the deposit money, leave it, or try and get it back from the LL's estate?

It's a very difficult situation for me and I really don't know what to do or how to approach the subject. Any opinions/ advise most welcome.

Thanks

rjm2k1

Get it back from the estate and if it turns out he's been lying, the court would have a field day!

maninthestreet

Ask for a copy of the death certificate.

silvercar

In theory you have a claim on the estate. If the landlord's estate is being settled in Switzerland it is going to be difficult to take action to pursue your claim. The guy clearly had assets in this country so i don't imagine sorting his estate will be easy.

Death is always a tricky one to deal with; not least because the number of deaths that occur during protracted financial arrangements seems to be in excess of any standard death rates.

It seems churlish to ask a grieving family for proof of death but you do want to be satisfied that you are not being fed a lie.

clutton_2

for £100 i would write it off and move on - this will take you SO long to sort out, it will wear you down in the end. Probate is long enough in this country, but, with the Swiss connection as well - it will be probably be years. Why waste your time and energy.

aderbyshirelad

Agree with clutton. It's really galling to "loose" £100 but in these circumstances it will truly cost you more, in your own time alone, trying to get it back.

jhxmt

You could do both.

Ask for a copy of the death certificate, and then just forget about it.

If you get no response, it's probably not worth pursuing (as clutton said) anyway.

If you get a copy of the death certificate, it also probably not worth pursuing (unless you really, really want to claim £100 from the recently deceased's estate - I wouldn't, personally).

If you get a response back saying, "Uh, okay, we were lying, here's £100", then you're £100 up.

For the cost of a single letter/email requesting a copy of the death certificate, it might be worth it. It's a no-loss/no-loss/win situation.

helpMe_2-2

I think you should just forget it. If they were lying they have karma to deal with as that is one AWFUL lie.

maninthestreet

Another thought - were you paying your rent by standing order direct into the LL's bank account? If so, you have his bank details - send a letter to his bank, telling them you've been informed by the brother of the account holder that the account holder is deceased, and you're just letting them know as a matter of courtesy....

benood

Sounds unlikely to me, I think asking for details of the executors in a week or two should flush them out - just in case it is true be extra nice - if it is true I'd mentally write off the money and be relieved I wasn't the one who'd had the accident.