Agent refuses to return deposit

sbloxxy

I'm hoping someone can help me with this slightly odd case: my son rented a flat in Southgate, London and all negotiations, signing of rental agreements etc were carried out via an estate agent. At that time he also paid first months rent, admin fees and the deposit direct to the agent.
Halfway through the tenancy, the flat was sold to a new landlord who simply continued taking rent etc. No new rental agreement was signed.
Anyway, moving on and the tenancy ended and my son moved out. He asked the agent for his deposit back and they are now saying that they gave it to the original landlord and that they now have no idea of his where-abouts. Very simply they are not really interested in helping. We told them that the deposit was paid to them and we would like it back: again no joy.

The question is, who is actually responsible for the return of the deposit in this case? Its £400, an amount my son can ill afford to lose. Checking the various Tenancy Deposit schemes, it would appear that neither the original landlord nor the agent paid the money into any of them.
Can anyone offer any advice?

Werdnal

If the property was sold mid tenancy, then the new LL takes on all responsibilities for the tenancy, including protecting the deposit. If the LL did not protect it, he is in breach of the tenancy regulations and you can demand the whole amount back, and claim compensation through the courts of up to 3x the deposit value.

In this instance, write to the (new/current) LL, requesting the deposit amount in full, and pointing our that they have failed in their obligation to ensure the deposit was protected, and issue new prescribed information from the scheme used. Regardless of where the actual deposit amount is now - agent (telling porkies), old landlord (pocketed it) or new LL (forgot to secure it), the new LL is ultimately responsible for returning it to the tenant, so they need to cough up the amount to your son.

The LL is always responsible for the safe return of the deposit, even if there is an agent in the middle - agents have been known to go bust and deposit disappear along the way, but even in these circumstances, LL must repay (less agreed deductions of course). However, under the revised deposit regulations which came in earlier this year, if the tenant has proof the deposit was not protected, the LL does not even have a right to make deductions - the whole deposit amount should be returned.