Rental Deposit Not Returned Even After 4 Weeks! Help!

Lordrainyday

Hi all,

I am a newbie here.

I was renting a property previously and moved from there to a new one a month back. The rental deposit was with DPS and the real estate agent asked me to request for repayment from DPS to start the process of giving back the rent, which I did promptly.

Please note that the inventory check was done and the check list was sent to me out of which two things were agreed upon - scuff marks on the wall and a hole in the wall that needs to be filled (which I could have done with a filler but in the rush of moving did not).

Now:
1. As soon as I did this, I informed the agent that this was actioned.

2. Did not hear from them for 2 weeks, which I thought is usual time time for them to set their process rolling.

3. I emailed and called them after two weeks, the excuse I got was that they haven't gotten in a contractor to give a quote for the repair of the wall. The scuff marks were apparently ignored as normal wear and tear.

4. I left it for a week and contacted the agent and the next excuse was that the current tenant in the property was ill and they could not get the contractor in.

5. On the 4th week, I called them again and they said the tenant was fine but the contractor has gone in but not given the quote yet, which will take another week!

Another thing with the real estate agent is that they take 3 days to respond to an email and when I call they say the person incharge of this case isn't there and only she can discuss this further.

Is this normal? I am worried that if the quote has not come yet and if there is a dispute on the amount to be withheld, this will take even more longer! Am I paranoid about the deposit and should just wait till they come around to giving it back or is there anything I can do to get them to move quicker?

Any and all help appreciated!

Praveen

G_M

Lordrainyday wrote: »

Hi all,


I was renting a property previously and moved from there to a new one a month back. The rental deposit was with DPS and the real estate agent asked me to request for repayment from DPS to start the process of giving back the rent, which I did promptly.

Are you sure dps have your deposit request?

Has the LL responded to dps- perhaps by raising a dispute? If not, chase dps as they should have released your deposit by now.

If the LL has raised a dispute, the again, dps should be aware of this and you need to follow the dispute resolution process.

Lordrainyday

Hi G_M ,

thanks for the response. DPS have confirmed that to release the money they need LL's approval. LL and real estate agent say that once they get the quote from contractor, they will let me know the deduction and if am happy with it, they will instruct DPS to release the rest of the money.

I am more than happy for them to do this as I know to fill a hole on the wall the size of a nail will not cost much, but the whole process has taken so painfully long and I feel they just don't give a damn about my time spent or the civility of returning the deposit.

I should have added in my first post, LL and agent were not at all helpful when there was a huge mould build up in the flat, which was the main reason for me to move. They did not even offer to repair or clean it.

Also, their non-response continued even today as I called them four times and at all times the lady responsible for the case is not available!

G_M

If you feel they are taking too long, use the single claim process. That gives them a time limit to respond and if they fail to respond, the deposit is released.

tbs624

Go onto the DPS website and look up the Ts and Cs of the scheme (under "documents")- check out s20 onwards re the single claim process. Stop emailing and phoning - deal with the LA/LL in writing, with copies kept.

Do you have contact information for the LL so that you can contact him/her direct? You should be able to obtain the address via the Land Registry ( 4 quid fee)