Is an unprotected depsoit a breach of contract??

smudgebiscuit

Letters that i sent to landlord were also sent to estate agent. Deposit schemes have no record of our deposit and am awaiting a letter from all 3 to prove this. As for texts, i know they probably not legally admissable but it's just a bit of proof as to what was going on instead of it all being verbal down the phone. All we really want now is to be able to move out at the end of the contract & get our deposit back...

tbs624

You need to deal with the deposit issue now , whilst you are still tenants at the property. Write to the LL now ( via the LA) Head it clearly " Letter Before Action" state the property address, tenancy dates, amount of deposit, to whom it was actually paid and what date.

State: "We have phoned you/texted/emailed/written about the non registration of our tenancy deposit on (relevant dates) the responses from you/the LA on those occasions were: (a), (b)" and so on.

We have now had it confirmed by each of three deposit schemes that our tenancy deposit is not registered with any of them. We are aware that such registration is a legal obligations for LLs under the provisions of the Housing Act 2004 and a straightforward task which can be completed online by a LL in a matter of minutes. We look forward to hearing from you that this has been done, albeit belatedly, and to receiving the Scheme's "prescribed information" from you.

If this is not carried out by you within the next 5 working days, we will pursue a claim forthwith via the County Court, which will include a claim for our court fees" At the bottom of your letter "type cc: xxxtown Council Tenancy Relations Officer (private sector tenancies)" and make sure you send a copy of the letter there, plus retain a copy for your own records.

Note OP that it is only the DPS which is free - this one requires the LL to hand over the actual deposit monies, but TDS and mydeposits charge the LL a fee as they are insurance based and the LL/LA retains the deposit for the duration of the tenancy.

If you are signed up to one tenancy agreement with joint and several liability then the deposit should be registered as one: if individual contracts then the deposits for each of you should be registered separately by the LL.