Deposit back after months arreas cleared

superstud

Hi all,
I moved in to a house in november last year on a 6 month AST (due up May 1st). The LL said the alarm engineers need to re program or something and they will be out, never happend despite chasing up.

The fridge door has not been fixed despite me reporting it to letting agent over 2 months ago, I'm in two months arreas as these things havent been fixed / attended to.

1. What are my legal options if I pay one months rent now?
Total rent due would then still be 2 months (to keep under 3 months arreas)

2. Would I legally be entitled to my DPS protected deposit back?

ShALLaX

I think you're in a weak position as you are not entitled to withhold rent.

superstud

even though he has not repaired the things stated I'm sure there must be a clause in AST something like 'LL will fix intergrated appliance in a timely maner when notified' ???

hawk30

It's your AST. How can we know what clauses are in it?

Racml34

You cannot withhold rent because they have not carried out those repairs. A landlord is entitled to keep any deposit to cover rent arrears providing the deposit does not exceed the total amount of rent owed. Have you put your concerns to the landlord in writing giving him an opportunity to respond?

Kynthia

You are legally required to pay your rent. You will not get your deposit back if you owe that amount or more in rent. You will not get a good reference and you are likely to be evicted now that the fixed term has ended.

[Deleted User]

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/housing_e/housing_renting_a_home_e/getting_repairs_done_while_renting.htm

Can I withhold rent from my landlord because of repair problems?

You don't have the right to withhold rent and you shouldn't do this to try to force your landlord to do repairs. Withholding rent could mean that your landlord takes legal action against you for rent arrears and you could lose your home.

In certain circumstances, you can arrange for repairs to be done yourself and use the rent money to pay for the work. This is not recommended as you have to carefully follow a certain procedure to do this. The law in this area is complicated so it is important to get advice.

It's never a good idea to just stop paying your rent, you should consult an experienced adviser without delay, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau.

Pay your rent. Now.

Blackpool_Saver

Quite honestly these repairs are tame, can't you get them fixed yourself. If you owned a house you would have to. I am a tenant by the way.