Landlord wont return deposit

xlucyx_2

Hi In November 2007 I rented a property from a private landlord. I had to pay my deposit monthly and being a single mum of 2 at the time found this extremely hard to do each month, my first was made by replacing the lino in the kitchen for £100 as it was tatty and ripped and we kept catching our toes on it. I rang to ask for it to be replaced and asked if he wanted me to do it which he totally agreed to, I sent him the reciept as proof. My second amount was £150 cash when he came to check the property with a servayer who was pricing the property for him, he asked me to go upstairs for a chat away from him, I gave him the cash and he asked me to get rid of our family pet dog (which I did a week later) or loose the roof over our head. I then sent a £50 cheque each month for the next 7 months totalling a full £600 deposit. I constantly had to ring him about things around the property most of which were never done until too late, such as the dripping pipe behind the washing machine wasn't fixed until it exploded. The living room window hinge bent due to a hot summer and couldn't be shut, it took him 18 months to fit it when I had a health visitor visit. There was mould on the bathroom wall which had to constantly be washed due to the rain coming through the light socket and lifting up the bathroom lino around the edges, I was fobbed off with the excuse because its a flat roof extension. When I moved in there was a broken fridge (the gas had burst), the cooker was very worn and didn't cook properly. I told him about all of these problems, but I think he just saw me as a moaner. I only ever made the property better by putting up curtain poles which I left for the next tenant. When I left the property I gave him the 4 weeks notice, but when I asked for the deposit I was refused. A person from the housing unit at the council said it was because he said there was damage, but the inspector he sent just said it was wear and tear. He never viewed it himself as the last time I saw him was when he came with the surveyer back in March/April 2008. I moved out December 2010.

xlucyx_2

I just don't know what to do now. Please can somebody point me in the right direction

Jeffrey_Shaw

Does L actually hold your deposit, though? It might instead have been protected, under one of three different schemes.

jhxmt

Jeffrey_Shaw wrote: »

Does L actually hold your deposit, though? It might instead have been protected, under one of three different schemes.

Agreed.

Do/did you actually have a tenancy agreement? A contract signed by both yourself and your landlord? If so, do you still have a copy of it? That should inform you of where your deposit was protected (if at all).

I must say I've never heard of a deposit being paid monthly - is this a common occurrence that I've just missed out on? Rent I can understand (obviously), but I always thought the whole point of a deposit was to get it up front and hold it against any damages!