Landlord witholding Deposit - rent arrears by one tenant

clutton_2

As a LL i am fairly sure that the judge will rule in the LLs favour here. If all 5 names are on the tenancy agreement, and each has signed, (albeit on a separate sheet) i think a joint AST has been created.

Joint liability is inherent in implied terms of contract under Landlord and TEnant legislation, even if there is no specific mention of joint liability in the AST.

I would think your LLs clause as follows """"where either party is two or more people, their obligations under this agreement are joint and individual" would suffice for a court to rule that you all are responsible for the rent.


Why should a LL be out of pocket simply because tenants cannot communicate adequately with each other , or do not take full responsibility for finding out if their rent is in credit or arrears ?

I think a judge may ask why the LL did not inform the tenants earlier than he did, but rent is due on the due date and your rent is clearly heavily in arrears. It is the legal responsibility of the tenant to pay rent. It is not the legal responsibility of the landlord to chase them up. It is assumed tenants have some modicum of self-determination.

Rawhide_2

Thanks for adding the perspective from a Landlord. The defaulting tenant had their 2nd year tenancy renwed in July 2010, at which point the defaulter was already £1360 in debt. Hopefully the arbitrator at mydeposits will see this as misguided / reckless / negligent.

Having reliably paid their rent on time for 24 months the other tenants are understandably not in agreement to cover the debts that the landlord allowed to accumulate over an 18 month duration.

DVardysShadow

Rawhide wrote: »

Thanks for adding the perspective from a Landlord. The defaulting tenant had their 2nd year tenancy renwed in July 2010, at which point the defaulter was already £1360 in debt. Hopefully the arbitrator at mydeposits will see this as misguided / reckless / negligent.

I think the word I would use is deceptive, in respect of taking a renewal from the other tenants

And I think I would use that word to make the case to the adjudicator that the Landlord should not be reimbursed his losses due to this tenant after the date of renewal. This may not fly in terms of being fully supported by the law, but it is would be natural justice, which might strike a chord.

G_M

Rawhide wrote: »

Thanks for adding the perspective from a Landlord. The defaulting tenant had their 2nd year tenancy renwed in July 2010, at which point the defaulter was already £1360 in debt. Hopefully the arbitrator at mydeposits will see this as misguided / reckless / negligent.

Having reliably paid their rent on time for 24 months the other tenants are understandably not in agreement to cover the debts that the landlord allowed to accumulate over an 18 month duration.

Sadly you continue to reject the reality of the contract.

"The defaulting tenant" in legal terms, means the 5 named individuals on the tenancy agreement. All five are in arrears.

The tenancy agreement presumably names a rent payable for the property. The fact that in practice you chose to pay 1/5th each is simply an informal arrangement between the 5 of you.

The full rent is due in return for occupnacy of the property.

By failiing as a group to pay the monthly rent your LL is out of pocket, and is entitled to take legal steps to recover his money, either from the deposit, and/or with legal action against any one or more of the 5 or the guarantors.

Let us know how you get on with the arbitrator at mydeposits, but your dispute should really be with the 5th member of your group, not the LL.

clutton_2

""but your dispute should really be with the 5th member of your group, not the LL. " - spot on .....

but that would spoil the fun of landlord-bashing wouldn't it ?