Deposit problems

joanne16979

hi, i'm hoping someone can give me some advice.
i rented a house while waiting for my new house to be finished and signed a 12 month tenancy with an agent. The agents only found the tenant and the property was managed by the landlord. No check in inventory done. Deposit protected.

in the 10th month of the tenancy i informed the landlord that i would not be renewing the tenancy agreement as my new house was ready. He the landlord was ok with thisand said he would be sorry to see us go.
A few days later the landlord asked if i could leave any sooner than the end of the tenancy to which i said i would check with our builders and let him know.
A few days later he called me again asking if i could leave any earlier and i told him that i could move out by the 15th april which would be 1 month earliers than the end of tenancy (rent due 16th of each month) He agreed this with me and no futher contact was made by him.
The propert was fully cleaned and left in a lot better condition than when we received it.
No checkout was organised by landlord or agent so i took my own photographes to prove condition then returned the keys to the landlords address.

Yesterday the agent called me stating that the landlord wants to deduct money for rent from the deposit. He wants payment for rent untill the 30th april so an extra 15 days rent from the date we moved out. This works out to £325.
I explained all of the above to the agent and that the landlord had agreed for us to move out early so no payment for reant was due and she said she would contact him to confirm.
Today i called the agent to check what was happening and she said that the landord knew nothing about us moving out early and doesnot remember any conversations about it and wants payment of rent from 15th april to 30th april.
New tenants move into his house on the 1st may.

Nothing has been logged with the dps yet and it still shows as waiting for landlords/agents responce.

Can anyone please tell me where i stand or offer any advice on what to do next?

thanks in advance for any help.

martinsurrey

joanne16979 wrote: »

hi, i'm hoping someone can give me some advice.
i rented a house while waiting for my new house to be finished and signed a 12 month tenancy with an agent. The agents only found the tenant and the property was managed by the landlord. No check in inventory done. Deposit protected.

in the 10th month of the tenancy i informed the landlord that i would not be renewing the tenancy agreement as my new house was ready. He the landlord was ok with thisand said he would be sorry to see us go.
A few days later the landlord asked if i could leave any sooner than the end of the tenancy to which i said i would check with our builders and let him know.
A few days later he called me again asking if i could leave any earlier and i told him that i could move out by the 15th april which would be 1 month earliers than the end of tenancy (rent due 16th of each month) He agreed this with me and no futher contact was made by him.
The propert was fully cleaned and left in a lot better condition than when we received it.
No checkout was organised by landlord or agent so i took my own photographes to prove condition then returned the keys to the landlords address.

Yesterday the agent called me stating that the landlord wants to deduct money for rent from the deposit. He wants payment for rent untill the 30th april so an extra 15 days rent from the date we moved out. This works out to £325.
I explained all of the above to the agent and that the landlord had agreed for us to move out early so no payment for reant was due and she said she would contact him to confirm.
Today i called the agent to check what was happening and she said that the landord knew nothing about us moving out early and doesnot remember any conversations about it and wants payment of rent from 15th april to 30th april.
New tenants move into his house on the 1st may.

Nothing has been logged with the dps yet and it still shows as waiting for landlords/agents responce.

Can anyone please tell me where i stand or offer any advice on what to do next?

thanks in advance for any help.

Tell them that either the land lord remembers the conversation and you pay rent until 15th April, or he doesn’t and it’s your house until 15 May and the land lord has no right to re let the property before that date, that you want your keys back and that any further entry unauthorised by you will be considered harassment and tresspass.

they'll soon realise that they have no choice but to release you.

BitterAndTwisted

If you didn't get anything in writing from your landlord about agreeing to end the tenancy early then you haven't got a leg to stand on.

martinsurrey

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

If you didn't get anything in writing from your landlord about agreeing to end the tenancy early then you haven't got a leg to stand on.

But likewise, if the landlord hasn’t got anything in writing, he hasn’t got a leg to stand on for the new tenant to move in on 1st May.

Either the tenancy ends on 15th may or 15th April.

So either a full month’s rent is due, and the new tenants can sue him for breach of contract as they can’t move in on 1st, or no rent is due and the OP is right.

dodger1

martinsurrey wrote: »

But likewise, if the landlord hasn’t got anything in writing, he hasn’t got a leg to stand on for the new tenant to move in on 1st May.

Either the tenancy ends on 15th may or 15th April.

So either a full month’s rent is due, and the new tenants can sue him for breach of contract as they can’t move in on 1st, or no rent is due and the OP is right.

Agreed, however this highlights the problem of not having things in writing, a problem we read about on this forum almost daily.

martinsurrey

dodger1 wrote: »

Agreed, however this highlights the problem of not having things in writing, a problem we read about on this forum almost daily.

and thats something we all agree on!

G_M

The difficulty is that you did not get the Early Surrender agreed in writing. ANY contractual change should be written to avoid this sort of 'you said' / 'No I didn't' dispute.

However, martin is right too - if the Early Surrender was NOT agreed, and rent is due till 15th May, then clearly:
* you should be given access till 15th May
* the LL/agent should not enter without your consent
* the property should not be re-let

So either the LL returns the property to you as above or he aknowledges the Early Surrender and does not charge rent.

he cannot do both.

joanne16979

Thank you all for your fast replies and the very helpful information provided.

joanne16979

Thanks to everyone that replied, my landlord has now agreed to refund all of the deposit. Thanks for all your help.

Blackpool_Saver

so this joker actually wanted you AND the new tenants to be paying him ?