Letting agent acting as though they did not receive my inventory

G_M

IAmTheWinner wrote: »

Also I saw at (sorry can't post links, replace commas with dots) www,thelawforum,co,uk/hidden-fees-letting-agent-are-they-legal

"...recent case law now says you cannot bring a claim as a tenant if your tenancy has ended."

Perhaps I am taking that out of context, but that's a bit scary?!

...So it worries me the longer I do nothing about this situation. I stand to lose a substantial amount of money off this deposit.

Yes, you're taking this out of context. The case law you refer to applies to the penalty a landlord/agent can be charged of 3 times the deposit for failing to protect a deposit in an approved scheme. It does NOT apply to the deposit itself, or your ability to take court action to reclaim it.

Is your deposit protected? Which scheme?

Without know what you have signed it is impossible to advise you, other than to get on record, in writing, backed up by photos (and a witness?), your own record of the state of the property on check-in.

serious_saver

IanIan wrote: »

If the statement of condition & inventory cannot be produced, the Agent will not be able to make a claim against you if the Agent thinks the condition of the property is worse than when the tenancy started. So stop worrying! In similar situations, I know of folk who have simply not paid the final month's rent, to ensure the sum held on deposit was minimised and the Agent couldn't make spurious demands on the deposit held.

It's not a good idea to do this. if you withhold the last months rent you can be pursued through the courts.

OP - Is you deposit protected? If it is you should be fine. When it comes to the end of your tenancy you can go to arbitration. Just keep a record of all your correspondence/ complaints and submit it to your deposit protection scheme. Judging by what you've said it will likely go on your favour. Without an inventory it's a case of your word against theirs and you will have evidence to show you've tried to get clarification from the Letting Agent.

prudryden

milliebear00001 wrote: »

The OP states the inventory was done by a representative of the agent's 'partner company' - hardly independent.

We need to know exactly what you signed OP.

I saw that and that is why I said "If independent". I'm not sure what is meant by a "partner company". Is one a subsidiary of the other? Are they both members of the same group of companies? Are the shareholders the same? OP - What information did you see that would indicate the relationship?

prudryden

Your signature probably only confirmed that you were present at the inventory and that the clerk actually did an inventory of the condition. You wouldn't have approved anything at that time.