Deposit not in a protection scheme

x_malibubabe

Hi guys. First things first I'm out of the country ATM so may not be able to reply until I can get a wifi connection somewhere, I'm not one to post then disappear. I've also posted this on another forum but thought MSE would know more about it.

My problem is that I don't think my landlord has put my deposit in a scheme. I moved in my house in January (took over a tenant who left, it's a July to July student let) and paid my landlord 540 deposit (month and a half rent as asked for) into my landladies bank account. As far as I'm aware her and her husband have the company and have at least 20 houses (there are more, they have the entire street that I live on and I've seen their to let sign on others in the area), they are the landlords of all the properties and not just someone who other landlords go through.

Ive never had any problems with them as landlords, maintenance gets done when requested and everything, but my boyfriend noted the fact that i paid it straight into her bank account (looked like her personal one, not sure if it's a business account) means that it might not be in a protection scheme. I emailed her about a receipt for the deposit to prove I'd paid it and it took a month to send me that, it literally just says 'deposit for <name> at <address> paid in full £540' and mentions nothing about a protection scheme. I've emailed her to see if it is in one and can she send me proof as google tells me that both my landlord and myself are supposed to sign this deposit protection certificate or something and I've neither seen nor signed anything but the joint agreement for the house with the other 3 people i live with.

I'm not expecting a reply from my landlady as she only normally answers her phone/email when it's something that will benefit her like paying the deposit, if not she's so hard to get hold of.

I'm pretty sure my deposit isn't protected as I've checked it with the 3 schemes and they returned nothing, but what can i do if she doesn't get back to me? What can I do if it's not protected? Reading up it seems that she may have to pay me 3x the deposit which I'm hoping is the case lol! Im not renewing the contract so moving out in July but I cant afford to take her to court or anything to get it back if need be. Do I stand anywhere at this moment in time or does it have to be after the tenancy has ended in July?

N79

How many other people live in this house (ie what is the total rent for all Ts each month)?

G_M

N79 wrote: »

How many other people live in this house (ie what is the total rent for all Ts each month)?

And do you have individual tenancy agreements or a single 'Joint and several' tenancy which names you all?

Assuming the deposit should be protected (you're in Eng/Wales; the total annual rent does not exceed £100K) then you should WRITE (forget email, get formal) to the LL at the address on the tenancy, asking for the deposit to be registered wihin 7 days and for you to be advised immediately thereafter on the sceheme details.

Refer to Part 6 of the Housing Act 2004.

x_malibubabe

The only document regarding the house that I've seen is what i think is a joint tenancy agreement with 4 signatures on it. Our rents are different for different size rooms, en suites and stuff but the lowest is 338 and highest 359 a month (mines highest). Eta: total rent is 1400 a month so under the 100k threshold

The only form of contact I have for the landlady/company is an email address so posting things wouldnt get me anywhere.

princeofpounds

Relax. There are only three schemes. Ring them and ask.

If not send the letter as instructed.

By law a landlord has to provide you with an address in england and wales for service of legal notices etc or rent is not due. If she won't provide you with one, it is one of the few occasions where you can legally withold rent (although keep it in a side account as it will be due as soon as the address is provided).

Of course, if you start enforcing your rights you might find your tenancy ends at the end of the fixed period, but that's life.

x_malibubabe

I'm moving out at the end of the tenancy anyway so that doesn't make a difference. I've checked all 3 schemes and it's not registered and I've contacted the landlady with no answer.

abby1234519

I think its common for student landlords.

Mine did something where he gave us a 13 month contract and the "13th month" is our deposit.

No idea where we stand with this, he will give us the deposit back however I know that as he is a very very decent guy. But the 13th month thing is werd

princeofpounds

Mine did something where he gave us a 13 month contract and the "13th month" is our deposit.

You can't get around it this way. Any excess rent payments over one period in advance that are refundable would be considered a deposit in all but name by the court.

x_malibubabe

Totally forgot I'd posted this thread :undecided

I had an email reply from my landlady saying that it is with MyDeposits and that she'll drop it off 'next week' - this was about 3 weeks ago, and she has been round because she left a list (it was clearly put on the kitchen side, not posted so someone had been in) of things to do before we move out like clean and sort the bills etc. I contacted MyDeposits and they've got no recollection of our address so LL has lied.

The list she left us has ridiculously stupid things on it, like make sure skirting boards and door handles are clean as well as the normal stuff, the way I read it is that she's looking for an excuse not to give us our deposit back.

Their statement on their website makes me laugh: "We have been specialising in student letting for over 25 years and endeavour to maintain a good relationship with our tenants." - doesn't seem that way to me!

I don't really want to bring things up with her at this point as I'm moving out in 6 weeks anyway and don't want things to be frosty between us. What should I do about seeking legal advice, do it now or wait until after I have moved out?

BitterAndTwisted

Reminding you of the things you need to clean just proves that the landlord is used to dealing with students who haven't lived away from home before and wouldn't know a properly cleaned property if they saw one. Well, not unless their Mummys had done it for them. Things like skirting-boards and door handles aren't "ridiculously stupid things" but they can be overlooked by the inexperienced. I've known what are supposed to be grown and competent adults who don't seem to appreciate that baths need to be cleaned every time after they've been used. I wouldn't read into her instructions that it's sign that the LL is determined to retain your deposit.

As long as you have proof that you've paid it like a paying-in slip and your contract makes mention of it, there's no reason why you shouldn't get it back IF there's no damage and no dirt when you do the hand-over. That's what I'd be concentrating my effort on right now rather than fretting about things that haven't come to pass yet.

x_malibubabe

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Reminding you of the things you need to clean just proves that the landlord is used to dealing with students who haven't lived away from home before and wouldn't know a properly cleaned property if they saw one. Well, not unless their Mummys had done it for them. Things like skirting-boards and door handles aren't "ridiculously stupid things" but they can be overlooked by the inexperienced. I've known what are supposed to be grown and competent adults who don't seem to appreciate that baths need to be cleaned every time after they've been used. I wouldn't read into her instructions that it's sign that the LL is determined to retain your deposit.

As long as you have proof that you've paid it like a paying-in slip and your contract makes mention of it, there's no reason why you shouldn't get it back IF there's no damage and no dirt when you do the hand-over. That's what I'd be concentrating my effort on right now rather than fretting about things that haven't come to pass yet.

The house needs a professional clean which they keep promising but still hasn't happened. It's beyond being cleaned by stuff you can buy in the shops. We are clean people and do keep the house as clean and tidy as we can. The garden is covered in dog poo from a previous tennant which the LL said they'd clean and it's covered in overgrown trees so we can't use it as it's shaded all day even though it gets the sun on it all afternoon. Going by the legalities what I've read online, the fact they haven't protected the deposit means they don't have a leg to stand on when it comes to holding the deposit back as they didn't comply with the law.

I just can't trust the LL anymore especially as they keep promising things that don't happen AND they've lied about protecting the deposit. Why should I trust that I will get the deposit back even if the hosue was spotless?