giving the tenant his deposit back

7777777

my tenant needs to move out quickly for genuine reasons,,, im happy to return there deposit in full,, how ever there deposit is with the deposit protection scheme,,,the tenant needs the deposit to secure the new house,,, as he paid me cash and i then deposited this,, his there any reason why i should not give him his money back my self and then claim it back from the deposit protection scheme or even leave it in and just change the name when my new tennat gives me there deposit??,, i emailed this to the DPS,, But im awaiting there reply,, so thought it would be quicker to ask here

RAS

Please do not even think of doing this.

He is not entitled to get the deposit back until after he has left the property and you have done the check out.

If you pay him cash, he can still try and reclaim the deposit from DPS.

You sound like a complete newbie. have you joined a LL association?

And do you have a written document indicating that he has agreed to early surrender? Otherwise you cannot remarket the property and he can claim eviction.

7777777

ive had no problems with the tennat,, hes happy with the property but as its now taking him 3 hours a day th get to work on buses he as seen a new flat with in walking distance of work,, that combined with the expense of the travel,, hes always paid but is now struggling,, which makes me belive we should let him go,, plus i have people interested in the property which appears to be popular,,, as hes caused me no problem i think its morally right not to make him any problems,, any thoughts

Manchee

Any thoughts... well yeah... what if you give him his deposit back in cash before he moves, you go in after he vacates and everything is trashed or you find broken stuff. You go to claim his deposit back to cover damages (which is now coming out of your pocket as you've already given him it back) and find out that the deposit protection service won't release all/any back to you as it has to be released to the tenant who's name it was registered in.

ETA: you did a full, detailed check in inventory with the tenant right?

[Deleted User]

7777777 wrote: »

as hes caused me no problem i think its morally right not to make him any problems,, any thoughts

Absolutely the right attitude to have, however there should be a limit on how accommodating you are and the line needs be drawn at the point where you put yourself in a bad spot. Do everything within reason to help your tenant but do not compromise your position.

A protected deposit is not your money, it is the tenants money and no matter what you tell the deposit protection service they will not make it your money. If your tenant leaves and you have no genuine reason to make deductions (damage, unpaid rent) the deposit protection service will return the deposit to your tenant, which means you are trusting your tenant to take money from you in cash and then at a later date repay that cash to you. Would you give a cash loan to a stranger that you don't know much about, other than where they used to live? That's what you would be doing.

If you return the deposit before the tenancy has ended you are also compromising your position as the landlord, if the tenant accidentally causes some damage or damage surfaces that you do not know about you will have to pay out of pocket for it. Even the most reasonable tenants forget about minor damage (to them) that can be costly to you.

starbarboy

There is nothing immoral about not giving them back their deposit until they leave - it is standard practice. You are running a business not a charity! As such you need to ensure that you are protecting your own interests appropriately.

Stephen

benjus

You mentioned DPS. From https://www.depositprotection.com/help/browse/custodial/agent-landlord/repayments:

Should I pay the tenant back directly and then claim the deposit back from The DPS?

No. It is a requirement of the Terms and Conditions that the Joint Repayment process is followed. We therefore require that both the tenant and the landlord/agent provide their respective repayment IDs to authorise the repayment of the deposit

7777777

Yes some sensible advice there DPS not got back to me yet,,, not had to pay back a tenant yet, so not certain of the procedure with deposit,,,any one give me a simple idea how it works and its time scale IE i give permission to release deposit tennat access DPS,,he receives deposit 2 days later?????????? ive just realised im being to helpful ,, ive nothing to gain if he stays or go

sandsni

Did you try the DPS website? I used a different scheme but the information available online on it says the deposit will be returned within 5 days once the LL and T agree. Your scheme may have similar information available online.

G_M

As everyone has said.

What did you take a deposit for iun the first place? Why bother?

Clue: because you are a responsible, sensible landlord acting in a professional manner.

By all means act efficiently when the tenant leaves, and tell him this is your intention. You can inspect the day the tenancy ends and get the deposit released same day (all being well).

Tenant therefore just needs a short term loan to pay the deposit on his new tenancy.

Takeaway_Addict

Its admirable what you are doing but if it was the other way around you'd be getting the 'you're a business line so act like one' So I will say it now

'You're a business so act like one, reduce your risk to liabilities and as such do not return the deposit in the way you suggested'

FWIW when I left my rental place money was back in my account in less than 10 days.