Landlord deposite

p_joker

sorry but your an idiot, my landlords didn't put our deposit in a protection scheme and they thought we were stupid enough not to know about it, give them their deposit back in full or they may take you to court and try and get back 3 times the amount, It really annoys me that SOME landlords really don't have a clue, happy enough to take the money every month but do little in return - its the law to put the money in a scheme and has been since 2007! its annoying that they have broken your tv and couldn't clean a toilet and bath they sound like pigs but you have learnt a lesson now, put money in a scheme and take pictures at the start and get them to sign an Inventory next time, I have been renting since 2006 when I got married and I am fed up of being messed about by dodgy landlords and now the law is on our side at last but we are still getting messed about.

p_joker

lynzpower wrote: »

Just to clarify- that is 3x the deposit PLUS the original deposit. - so in total 4x the deposit. In london that is a substantial amount of money I guess. If my LA/ LL did this then my 925.00 deposit would turn into 3700.00 smackaroonies. Not a bad way for a tenant to make a few bob out of a landlord who chooses to flout the law!

Its also my understanding you cannot take for damage either- although I think this is a debatable point? Do other more experienced MSers agree that the OP cannot in fact make deductions from a deposit that he has not protected? i guess unless he has written agreement from the tenant. If the tenant is not happy and in agreement with this, I cant see how the OP can make any deductions?

would be interesting if that is true, my landlords felt it was ok not to bother with the legal requirement when taking our money, and now their trying to deduct money to have the front room carpet cleaned, im a reasonable person but they haven't been. Also when we moved in we paid them the deposit plus 3 months rent because my husband went bankrupt a few years ago and we wanted them to trust quite ironic really lol

lynzpower

P joker, might be worth calling the TDS and asking thier opinion. Would be interesting to find out for sure. My feeling is yes, they cannot remove from the deposit.

Or tha they remove, you have the right to take him to small claims to get it back as an unfair deduction. Are you going for the 3x deposit back as well.

BitterAndTwisted

p_joker: have you written to your ex-landlord about the non-protection of your deposit and the deductions they are trying to make? Was there an inventory at the start of your tenancy?

Do you need some help from us to try and recover your deposit?

Wee_Willy_Harris

p_joker wrote: »

sorry but your an idiot, my landlords didn't put our deposit in a protection scheme and they thought we were stupid enough not to know about it, give them their deposit back in full or they may take you to court and try and get back 3 times the amount, It really annoys me that SOME landlords really don't have a clue, happy enough to take the money every month but do little in return - its the law to put the money in a scheme and has been since 2007! its annoying that they have broken your tv and couldn't clean a toilet and bath they sound like pigs but you have learnt a lesson now, put money in a scheme and take pictures at the start and get them to sign an Inventory next time, I have been renting since 2006 when I got married and I am fed up of being messed about by dodgy landlords and now the law is on our side at last but we are still getting messed about.

In fairness, the TDPS was included in the 2004 act rather than being an amendment to the more definitive 1988 Act. As many tenants are ignorant of it as landlords and there is an implied mechanism for the tenant to advise the LL. The OP isn't the first and certainly won't be the last to miss this legislation.

Enfieldian

OP, have you given the deposit back yet?

If not, why not?

DVardysShadow

Wee_Willy_Harris wrote: »

To clarify, the three times deposit is a penalty, so the deposit would also still need to be dealt with. It's potentially FOUR times the deposit.

lynzpower wrote: »

Just to clarify- that is 3x the deposit PLUS the original deposit. - so in total 4x the deposit.

Not the case, the deposit never belonged to the Landlord, it always belonged to the Tenant. So it goes without saying that the deposit must be returned. I was merely referring to the landlord's potential losses. The Landlord would only be taken for 3x deposit.

Returning the deposit should be left as a nasty surprise for anyone who forgets that the deposit belongs to the tenant.

lynzpower

Yes, quite you are quite right there.

However if the LL has stashed it in "his own account" as the OP has done, (and many LLs in the past have seen Ts deposits as "my money") then the amount returned to Tenant is 4x

p_joker

Wee_Willy_Harris wrote: »

In fairness, the TDPS was included in the 2004 act rather than being an amendment to the more definitive 1988 Act. As many tenants are ignorant of it as landlords and there is an implied mechanism for the tenant to advise the LL. The OP isn't the first and certainly won't be the last to miss this legislation.

being a LL is a kind of business in my opinion and so should be done properly, I don't think there is any excuse for a LL to say they didn't know that the deposit had to be put in a protection scheme to quote my landlord when asked what scheme ours was in "sorry we didn't put it in one, we were new to it and didn't know" if their happy enough to take my hard earned cash then they should look after it.

Wee_Willy_Harris

p_joker wrote: »

being a LL is a kind of business in my opinion and so should be done properly, I don't think there is any excuse for a LL to say they didn't know that the deposit had to be put in a protection scheme to quote my landlord when asked what scheme ours was in "sorry we didn't put it in one, we were new to it and didn't know" if their happy enough to take my hard earned cash then they should look after it.

And the same argument could be applied to the many tenants who are also unaware of the TDPS. It's a shame that the landlords registration idea was never progressed.