Returning deposit early

justlooking2012

This is a weird one and I would appreciate some advice.

My sister has been renting a 2 bedroom flat privately for nearly two years.

Various issues with the flat the main one being mould in the hallway, living room and one bedroom. This has to be washed down with bleach and even then it does not solve the problem.

Landlord had the windows changed but that has not solved the problem.

The landlord is very slack in doing anything and he just plays for time, a few days ago I contacted environmental health who advised to write a recorded letter giving him ten days to resolve all issues with the flat and if not they will visit, this has been sent.
Landlords answer is always if your not happy then I will evict you and you can find somwhere else.

She does not have a current tenancy agreement as her last one ran out two months ago and he kept saying he will bring one but never does.

Anyway I have a bit of money myself and had told him that if he does not remedy the situation as he should I will pay for legal advice for her etc, this afternoon she had a text asking her for her bank details so he can refund her deposit?
What is his thinking behind this, I know there is a plan behind it but I cannot figure it out?

Any help gratefully received

G_M

Is her deposit registered in a scheme? Which one?

By law, if this is England/Wales, the depsoit MUST be registered..

If it is not there are various penalties on the landlord AND (I suspect relevant here) no S21 Notice would be valid. A S21 is the first step towards a landlord gaining possession of the property (eviction).

The only way a LL can issue a valid S21 if the deposit has not been registered, is to return it.

OK. assuming the LL either HAS registered the deposit, OR returns it, can he evict and how?..

Since the original Fixed Term contract appears to have expired, the tenant now has a Statutory Periodic Tenancy ('rolling' or 'monthly'). Assuming rent is paid monthly, the LL can serve a S21 Notice giving 2 months notice, which must end with a tenancy period, and can then apply to the courts for a possession order.

Since the T is causing the LL grief (no LL likes Env Health interfering!), this is probobly what will happen.

More detail here:

Ending/Renewing an AST (what happens when the Fixed Term ends?)(What is a Periodic Tenancy?)(How can a LL remove a tenant?)(How can a tenant end a tenancy?)

justlooking2012

Hi GM,
thanks for that post mate it makes a lot of sense, funnily enough she had something come through two days ago telling her where her deposit was held which is weird as it took them two years to send it

justlooking2012

Could you also let me know without reading it all as I do not have the time at the moment, how long it will take minimum if she really wanted to dig her heels in.

I have actually paid someone to fix her boiler when it broke down before and he would not even send someone out so to be perfectly frank I want to cause him as much grief as he has her, he has always had his rent on time as I pay it direct from my chequebook and send it at least two weeks before due date and it is always cashed a few days before its due.
THANKS again

G_M

justlooking2012 wrote: »

Hi GM,
...., funnily enough she had something come through two days ago telling her where her deposit was held which is weird as it took them two years to send it

which country?
what date did tenancy start?
is deposit registered?
which scheme?
what date was it registered?
has she received the 'prescribed information'?
what date did she receive this?

Could you also let me know without reading it all as I do not have the time at the moment, how long it will take minimum if she really wanted to dig her heels in

.
impossible to answer without knowing the answers to the above questions.

I have actually paid someone to fix her boiler when it broke down before

very unwaise - you /she could be held liable for any faults/problems now.

justlooking2012

G_M wrote: »

which country?
what date did tenancy start? 25 March 2011, another six months signed for on 25 March 2012
is deposit registered? it was but we never knew who with
which scheme? deposits.co.uk
what date was it registered? 25 March 2012 and ended on 9 January which was the first time we had heard from them
has she received the 'prescribed information'? Not sure what that is
what date did she receive this? We only ever heard from them when we received a letter yesterday

.
impossible to answer without knowing the answers to the above questions.
very unwaise - you /she could be held liable for any faults/problems now.

Landlord has sent the full deposit back to her account tonight despite her saying we did not want this, he sent a text saying he would be out of the country for two months and to deal with his solicitor followed by his name and number.

G_M

G_M wrote: »

which country? ?????
what date did tenancy start? 25 March 2011, another six months signed for on 25 March 2012
is deposit registered? it was but we never knew who with
which scheme? deposits.co.uk how do you know? see your answer above!
what date was it registered? 25 March 2012 how do you know?and ended on 9 January which was the first time we had heard from them
has she received the 'prescribed information'? Not sure what that is see this example here
what date did she receive this? We only ever heard from them when we received a letter yesterday

.

Landlord has sent the full deposit back to her account tonight despite her saying we did not want this,:rotfl:why shouldn't he? You can't stop him giving you back your money! he sent a text saying he would be out of the country for two months and to deal with his solicitor followed by his name and number.

Since he has now returned your deposit, it does not matter whether or not it was originally registered/prescribed inf provided.

He can now issue a S21 if he wishes.

justlooking2012

Thanks for all your help with this, I actually rang my uncles solicitor(they golf together so know him quite well) and he confirmed exactly what you have said. We can issue a section 214 claim as he never notified her of where the deposit was kept.
Also a letter is on the way to tell him he must commence work within ten days, this will then give the environmental health people the powers they need to do what they have to.
People reading this may think why doesnt she just move but he has been getting paid on time all the time despite the state of the flat. One thing I was told is that the cheques could be delayed as the landlord will have no way of knowing where she is moving to, but to be honest im not to sure about this.
Thank you again for your help

justlooking2012

Just noticed your responses in the red bold lol, sorry.

The country is England.
I meant that we never knew who the deposit was kept with until the envelope dropped through our door on Thursday telling us that the protection period had ended on 9/01/2013. Before this she had never heard from them and to be honest its not something she had worried about.

thelem

justlooking2012 wrote: »

what date did tenancy start? 25 March 2011, another six months signed for on 25 March 2012
what date was it registered? 25 March 2012 and ended on 9 January which was the first time we had heard from them

Where was the deposit registered between 25th March 2011 and 24th March 2012? If it was not registered then the landlord could be liable to pay compensentation of up to three times the deposit. He may also have repaid the deposit to avoid potential problems with eviction notices (section 21).

anselld

G_M wrote: »

Since he has now returned your deposit, it does not matter whether or not it was originally registered/prescribed inf provided.

He can now issue a S21 if he wishes.

... and OP could still sue for 3x deposit if they wish!