bit more advice re depoit/ awol LL please

Worriedmummy

Hi Guys,

As some of you that have read my posts will be aware I have recently movedout of a house where the LL has gone awol. I've not been able to contact herfor over a year and the DPS have been trying to contact her since April.

I was paying my rent to receivers for the last year, but they have confirmedthey can’t do anything about my deposit as they are not the LL.

The DPS seem to be doing everything they can to not release my deposit to meincluding saying that I have told them the wrong receivers – when it seems theyhave got the details of the wrong ‘Grace Property’ off companies house and arenow trying to contact the wrong liquidators...

I'm now phoning the DPS on a daily basis as they take 4 days to answer thereemails, but you cant actually speak to anyone that deals with special caseslike this.

Today I have been told that there is now a further delay because I haveasked the complaints team to treat it as a complaint, but I have also been told(and this is what I want to ask you guys about) that if they can't get hold ofmy landlady the will keep my deposit indefinitely unless they can get a thirdparty to act on her behalf and release funds. They said this is due tolegislation?? But I always thought it was the other way around and that they releasedthe funds if the LL didn’t answer after a certain time?

Can anyone help me with what legislation they mean and if they are right?Can they really keep my deposit forever just because my x landlady won'tanswer? If they can't then what is the time they are supposed the give the LLbefore they release to the tenant?

I'm sorry to be a pain everyone but I'm getting really frustrated now. It’sgetting to the point where I’m going to have tp contact my solicitor which willprobably cost more than the £700 deposit!

A bit more about my situ can be found here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/53712157#Comment_53712157

BitterAndTwisted

I would have thought that if the Official Receiver is now the owner of the property then they have acquired all of the responsibilities as landlord, so it would be up to them to authorise the return of your money to you.

It's my understanding that should the landlord not respond to the request of the return of your money in a certain time-frame, then it would automatically be returned to you.

That's the position I would be taking in any case. Perhaps something vital has been lost in the translation in your communication with the DPS? Are you absolutely certain that they fully understand the whole situation from start to finish? In your next communication with them I think you should set out the full history, assuming that the person or persons reading your communication knows nothing about your prior contact with them.

ETA: When I last worked in property management I was at a management company assigned by the Official Receiver for a number of BTL lenders and they were the party who dealt with all of rent, repair and deposit issues. Do you know which property management company is it who were dealing with the property you rented? Do you know which BTL lender it was?

Worriedmummy

Thanks for getting back to me bitterandtwisted.

The receiver in this case isn’t the owner and the repossession for whateverreason didn’t happen. I guess it’s because the receiver I have been paying myrent to (PWC) is collecting on behalf of USB home loans where as we alsoreceived a possession notice from eversheds acting on behalf of the bank of Scotland- so I guess the repossession got complicated as there is more than one lendertrying to claim. We decided to move oncewe got the possession notice from Eversheds as they implied that they were makeus leave within 28 days after the possession hearing – which I now know is nonsense...but we are very happy with our new home, so it’s not all bad.

PWC were only ever granted a court order to collect the rent. The landladyis still responsible for maintenance (even though she didn’t do any) anddeposits etc.

I really have tried to be a clear as possible with the DPS and all correspondenceis in an email chain which I have now told them politely to make sure they readbefore responding to me.

I'm not aware that a management company was assigned sorry - im pretty sureone wasn’t assigned as pricewaterhousecoopers have always confirmed that it’sstill the landlady’s responsibility.

This was never through any form of letting agency. The landlady purchased a substantialamount of properties (I believe around 100) from westbury homes, so she classedherself as a business (Grace & Co Properties) and had staff, but not whatI'd call a letting agent as she owned (via a BTL Mortgage) the houses. To confirm my tenancy agreement was with herand not her business which I believe is now dissolved – staff gone etc.

G_M

1) Whoever you pay rent to must either be your landlord, or your landlord's agent. Either way - they should return your deposit. (unless you are sinmply handing cash over to joe bloggs who is not entitled to it!).

2) Under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 whoever you pay rent to must, if you write and ask, give you the landlord's name/address

3) If you request the return of your deposit from DPS via the single claim process, DPS should attempt to contact the LL and if the LL does not respond, they should return your deposit. Note the example shown is for a landlord claiming via SCP, but a tenant can do so as well.

Worriedmummy

Thanks G_M - if that example is the same for tenants then they should have returned my deposit after 14 days .. which has been and gone.

I was supplied with a court order telling me to pay PWC, so I wasn't just paying anyone.. I have also got the landladies last known address, which is the same address PWC and DPS have and I have written to her more than once, plus emailed, tried to telephone etc....

Worriedmummy

Just to add sorry its at least 14 days since the DPS tried to contact the landlady ... but I haven't actually completed the single claim form, I did request the form, but when I told the DPS my situation they suspended my account and said not to complete the form. Plus shelter advised that its pretty unfair that they request the form to be signed by a solicitor as it would mean more costs.

Worriedmummy

another update...

DPS have now unsuspended my account and are now sending me a single claim form which will need to be signed by a solicitor - I presume then they will give the landlady yet another 14 days! ... why they didn’t just advise me to fill this out in the first instance is beyond me!
I've been to see my solicitor and they have said that it will only cost about £7 so not too bad.

Looking at their website I don’t even think after the 14 days will be the end of it … apparently the case will then be referred to the DPS’ Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service.... I can see this going on for months!

They have also confirmed that they do not uphold my complaint as they treat cases on a case by case basis. They also still think that I have told them the wrong receivers and are still trying to get a response from receivers I’ve never even heard of and who confirmed to me on the phone that the Grace Property on their books is a different Grace Property. They also completely ignored the part of my complaint which was asking why one of their colleagues on the phone told me that they would hold my deposit forever if they couldn’t get hold of the landlady!