Complicated ending of our tenancy...

clark24

Ok so we moved into our current rental property almost 11 months ago.

It's a standard type of house with a normal tenancy and only the 4 members of my family live in it.

Now for various reasons we wish to move out after our year is up..

Reasons are:

1) We want to move somewhere more rural

2) We want somewhere cheaper (have discovered we are paying way more rent than we should be, our mistake, we moved 400 miles and stupidly didn't do enough research into 'normal' rents for this area but loved this house)

3) We have had enough, and by that I mean I am bl**dy sick and tired of our landladys family/friends snooping about, and roping the neighbours into helping them. I swear we can't fart in this house without it getting back to her! They park up infront of our garage (which is accessed by a public yet private road, essentially if you don't live here or have a delivery etc you have no reason to drive up it) anyway they park there and saunter about round the outskirts of the house. I was out the other day sweeping leaves and one of them told me to move the green bin as it was 'unsightly' but it was next to the shed and can only be seen if you are on the damn property!! And I was using it to put the leaves in, because I had been told it was unsightly to leave them on the lawn, again only seen if you are on my property.

4) Due to feeling like an exhibit in a zoo/performing animal we have never felt like this is home. We can't sit out in the garden without having someone random person appear and tell us that they are all making sure we don't do anything that our landlady or her family would not be happy with, oh and a list of their perceived gripes against us (for example due to working full time and having young children I only have time to mow the lawn once a week and consequently it gets a bit long at times in the warmer months). Also we are forbidden from hanging pictures, decorating (and by god does it need it!!) so the house is just weirdly informal. No photos of family on the (frankly shabby) walls and trust me there is only so much dark brown wallpaper anyone can stand.

Anyway we want to move to a house that can be our home sometime soon, but there are a couple of issues

1) To the best of our knowledge our deposit was never protected. We live in Scotland btw. I rang all the deposit places and they've never heard of it, we never got any details that it was either and asking the landlady just resulted in a flurry of unwelcome attention from her posse of nosey parkers and no answer about where it was, just rudeness.

2) We know that she will not want to give it back, we have not done anything to deserve not getting it back but this family are all about the money and they won't give up fifteen hundred pounds without a fight.

3) Because of this we know they will give us a bad reference, we didn't bow and scrape to the people they sent to spy on us, we didn't ask how high when they told us to jump, we refused to let them inspect the inside of the house every 4 weeks and when they kept trying we had to be firm and refuse entrance without due cause and 2 days notice (which neither was ever given).

So how do we get our deposit back, how do we get the good reference we deserve and how the hell were we ever so stupid as to get ourselves into this mess!!

G_M

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?)

edit: Just seen you are in Scotland. The above is Eng.

scotland I believe has no deposit registration yet.

But similar issues: what is the length of your SAT? When does it end?

Give notice. Move out. Write requesting deposit. Go to Sheriff's court if it is witheld.

clark24

I thought Scotland did have it? From what I've read our deposit should have been registered by 13th November 2012...

Tenancy is 1 year, then rolling month to month and it ends middle of June.

I guess we will be getting acquainted with the Sheriffs court soon then

jamie11

If your original agreement is for 12 months then you can move out on or before the end of the contract without giving further notice to your landlord. (It is polite to let them know)

So find your new place and stick your fingers up to them. Don't go a second over the last day though.

Habitari

From 2nd October 2012, any new security deposits taken from the tenant must be lodged within 30 working days of the tenancy commencing.

tbs624

G_M wrote: »

scotland I believe has no deposit registration yet.
.

Came into force in Scotland in July 2012 and N Ireland now covered too.

OP - get written confirmation from each of the schemes: Letting Protection Scotland, Safe Deposits Scotland, My Deposits Scotland.

If your landlord hasn't registered your deposit, then you can apply to the Sheriff Court and the landlord can be ordered to pay you up to 3x the amount of the deposit. You have up to 3 months after tenancy end to do this. If you apply to the Court during your tenancy, the Court can also require the landlord to comply with the deposit regs.

jamie11

Habitari wrote: »

From 2nd October 2012, any new security deposits taken from the tenant must be lodged within 30 working days of the tenancy commencing.

If you are correct in saying that the deposit was never protected you should note the following in these circumstances:

There's the rub, this deposit was taken before October 2012.

Habitari

jamie11 wrote: »

There's the rub, this deposit was taken before October 2012.

Thank you Jamie, I missed this!

dimbo61

SORRY you are living in scotland so english law regarding renting does not apply
Thanks tbs624 :-)
I am sure that as the Landlady sends her family and friends round on a very regular occasion and pays no attention to your right to privacy if you tell her you are moving you will have visits from letting agents, trades people and new tenants wanting to look round.
They will not return the deposit when you leave so get ready and have your letters for the LL and the court.( HOPE I AM WRONG )
Write asking for your deposit to be returned ASAP and point out that it should have been put in the deposit scheme ( she may not know the law)
Take lots of dated photos when you move out and make sure the property is clean, read the meters and contact the utilities so get your final bills.
redirect the mail for 12 months and GOOD LUCK

Yorkie1

I have a vague recollection that a Scottish tenant has to give notice to leave at the end of a fixed term of a tenancy - but am not sure whether this is a) correct, and if so b) what that notice period is. As G_M says, his links above relate to England / Wales.

Hopefully one of the Scottish LLs will be along at some point to confirm whether my memory is failing (it might well be, but better safe than sorry!).

RAS

I too think that Scottish tenants have to give notice in line with the terms set out in their contract. Whether that changed at the same time as the new laws on deposits, I do not know.