landlord not put deposit in a holding scheme

Dorset_Cake

A friend of mine recently gave notice on their tenancy over the phone, as they can no longer afford the rent, to which they were told to do in writting by the landlord. she seeked out advice as she knew the landlord hadnt protected her deposit back when they first moved in just over 2 yrs ago so seeked out advice. a letter was sent to the landlord demanding three times the amount plus deposit for not depositing it, then a few days later she left out her wriitten notice for landlord as she didnt want to be there for inspection. since then she got a letter back with an apology from the landlord and offering her a full deposit back on departure or if she prefered for it to be put immediantly into a deposit scheme but he needed to know asap as it needed to be in the account for at least 28 days for it to be released on time of handover. but she decided to get another letter sent demanding the full amount of compensation. Help please as shes not sure what she should do next if the landlord sends another letter offering a negociation. should she accept or just keep pursueing until they pay or just take them to court. i know she isnt intending to paint after smoking in the house or tidy the garden as she has already found somewhere to go. will this go against her & deposit? but surely not when the landlord is at fault for not protecting money.

martinsurrey

both are in the wrong.

Just because the LL didn’t protect doesn’t mean she’s not liable for damages.

If she goes after the deposit (and compensation) through the courts, he can go through the courts for the damage to the property; the only winners will be lawyers.

I think she would be wise to walk away with her full deposit and be happy.

and the LL should be happy to give it.

by the way its not the choice of the tenant to demand the level of compensation, only the courts can do that, and as the land lord has been reasonable (but still wrong) and offered a full refund of the deposit and an apology even though there is damage, the court would more than likely not give her the full 3 times compensation.

Dorset_Cake

Thank you for your reply, what you have said is what ive been saying to her, as to be fair it just sounds like she is just out for the money for nothing, but then i think she is tied in with a no win no fee company who are running with pursueing the landlord. she even told me herself that the landlord has always been reasonable as she has been late with her rent a few times too and never complied with them asking for the rent to be paid by direct debit and carried on paying by cash into the bank and they never complained.

dbb802

My rent isn't in a deposit scheme, my landlord doesn't know I know, but if I leave, I will get two months notice, so basically, I wont pay for the period from when my landlord serves me notice, getting back my month in advance and deposit.

And I've not damaged my property, it'll be left in a better condition than when I arrived, plus my landlord has a new washing machine and oven courtesy of me, so I don't think he'll be bothered.

But having been done before, I'm dubious of paying up in full and receiving deposit back on the day I leave.

budgetdiyer

Only a court can award compensation to your friend, and its not a simple small claims court case, the court fees are big and solicitor fees would be big too.

IMO since the landlord has offered the deposit back (ie is'nt trying to benefit from not protecting it) the judge is unlikely to look favourably on a tenant taking it to court.

I wonder if her no win no fee solicitor would actually take the case to court for her?

Dorset_Cake

Thank you for your responses, it helps to hear other opinions and advice. don't know much about no win no fee and how they work but my guess would be i doubt they would want to take the court route as they are not likely to gain as much money then as they would if the landlord just paid up.

PlutoinCapricorn

Is this anything to do with the tenants deposit claim line, that has been discussed on another thread?

Werdnal

As above, the 3x claim for non-protection is actually1-3x the deposit value and only applied at the discretion of the judge after applying through the courts. It is not an automatic right, tenant cannot demand it and landlord offering to return the deposit is usually enough to settle the tenant's grievance.

Landlord can still pursue the tenant for costs of damages, repairs and losses in the property, if not through the deposit itself, then afterwards through a court claim - this can apply for upt to 6 years after the end of the tenancy, so tenant may run and hide, but if LL is persistant and can track them down, they can file a claim much later! Does your friend want to risk court claims showing up on their credit record in future? Could affect future mortgage applications, rental properties etc - is it worth it?

As you replied on the earlier "tenant's deposit claimline" thread, am I assuming your friend has fallen foul of the drivel their website spouts about claiming back the 3x penalty and tried to cash in?

Dorset_Cake

yes i think it is that company

alta

As said above, your friend should accept the landlords offer of her deposit. Just get out and not loose anything, especially if she has another property to go to. Dont be greedy, a judge may not award her anything if the landlord protects the deposit, even after all this length of time, and he may then chase the tenant for the damages through court.
Accept the money and move on, remember next time to make sure you get details of the deposit scheme the next landlord puts it into.