Landlord problems and our deposit protection

Guest101

poppysarah wrote: »

So that invalidates the small claims route?

Yes.

However since my post it has been shown that some, and it's not many do far, small claims routes are allowing non protection cases. So you should check. Most of the time it will not be though.

whalster

Firstly , the OP never said when they mad in in 2007, the securing f the deposit in 2012 would suggest it bing after April 2007 however if you moved in before and have mad onto a periodic tenancy ie not re sign day all then your landlord would not have had to protect the deposit . I have five or six tenants in this situation..

The deposit protection scheme has been an ever shifting sand even without the super strike case yet to be resolved .

Secondly the certificate does not need to be signed by both parties so long as there is written or e,mail acknowledgement that they have read received and understood the certificate and more recently certificate and prescribed information.

Guest101

whalster wrote: »

Firstly , the OP never said when they mad in in 2007, the securing f the deposit in 2012 would suggest it bing after April 2007 however if you moved in before and have mad onto a periodic tenancy ie not re sign day all then your landlord would not have had to protect the deposit . I have five or six tenants in this situation..

The deposit protection scheme has been an ever shifting sand even without the super strike case yet to be resolved .

Secondly the certificate does not need to be signed by both parties so long as there is written or e,mail acknowledgement that they have read received and understood the certificate and more recently certificate and prescribed information.

I'm pretty sure that all deposits need to now be protected regardless when they were paid, however in open to being corrected.

molerat

A precis of the regs from http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/tenancy_deposits/tenancy_deposit_protection_schemes

For tenancy deposits paid to a landlord or agent on or after 6 April 2012, within 30 days of receiving it they must:

• protect your deposit with a Government-backed scheme
• provide you with certain information.

For tenancy deposits paid to a landlord or agent between 6 April 2007 and 5 April 2012, they must:

• protect your deposit with a Government-backed scheme by 6 May 2012
• provide you with certain information by 6 May 2012.

If you paid a deposit for a tenancy that started before 6 April 2007 and your tenancy agreement hasn't been renewed since, different rules apply for unprotected deposits. However, if your tenancy agreement has been renewed since April 2007, your landlord must protect your deposit with a Government-backed scheme.

SO the LL may be in the clear on that score.

Huntlee

I moved in to the property in July 2007, 3 months AFTER the legislation came into force.

I received an offer via letter yesterday regarding moving out on 7th Feb, to which he has asked me to reply by 6th Jan. Detailed on it was £180 costs for his Solicitor to prepare the Section 21 notice and £320.99 for "tampering" with the heating - need to clarify what he means by this. I believe he cannot charge me his solicitor fees I also believe he would have a job proving what we did with the heating as we haven't done anything.

I have written back yesterday to say we are getting legal advice on 8th/9th Jan, so he has put a letter through my door today withdrawing his offer from yesterday.

Thanks for the advice so far guys. Any more advice gratefully received.

Huntlee

whalster wrote: »

Secondly the certificate does not need to be signed by both parties so long as there is written or e,mail acknowledgement that they have read received and understood the certificate and more recently certificate and prescribed information.

I have acknowledged receipt of the certificate on 10th December.

G_M

1) the deposit should have been protected within 30 days of receipt
2) because it was not, you can sue for the 3 times penalty
3) you will probobly not get the full penalty as the deposit IS now protected, so the court will award a lesser penalty
4) the reason it should not go via the Small Claims Track is that it is a penalty, not a claim for loss
5) however some courts permit the Small Claims Track - ask the local court officials
6) the S21 Notice is invalid as thedeposit was not protected in time
7) if you leave by the end of Jan, you will still owe rent unless either you have the LL's agreement, OR you have given the correct notice (see link below).
8) Since you appear to have not given proper notice, but be trying to negotiate the LL's agreement to an Early Surrender, yes, he can choose to charge you whatever he wishes(eg solicitors fees). You can either agree to pay, or refuse... and not get his agreement to Early Surrender
9) you could use the threat of a claim for the 3 times penalty to counter any deduction from your deposit, or indeed to 'persuade' him to agree to Early Surrender.


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?)

Huntlee

G_M wrote: »

1)
6) the S21 Notice is invalid as thedeposit was not protected in time

8) Since you appear to have not given proper notice, but be trying to negotiate the LL's agreement to an Early Surrender, yes, he can choose to charge you whatever he wishes(eg solicitors fees). You can either agree to pay, or refuse... and not get his agreement to Early Surrender

6) Should I inform the landlord that the notice is invalid, or wait until he tries to enforce it in court?

8) Should the solicitors fees for drawing up the Section 21 notice be payable by us? It was not our decision to draw up the notice and we had no say in how it was done. We both feel there was no reason for a solicitor to be involved.

Guest101

No dont say anything.

I'd say no, it's a cost he chose to incur. Does your tenancy say anything about it?

Madmel

I'm no expert, but why should you have to pay for something which is invalid? As the deposit was protected late, surely you have to have it returned in full BEFORE the S21 can be issued. It was your LL's choice to involve the solicitor, therefore I think they should pay.

As guest101 says, I would keep quiet and wait for them to make the next move.