Deposit Woes

chanz4

Ask the council if hes registered multiple occupancy dwelling

Guest101

mrginge wrote: »

Or it could equally be argued that 1 months notice was agreed, depending on what information the LL has that the OP has either forgotten or omitted. Frankly, you don't know, so to 'doubt the LL would have much of a case' is a little presumptive.



And why do you doubt this? Got some inside info? Or are you just assuming that, because the OP has a problem, the LL is instantly some kind of spiv who's flouting any regulation he wants?

Perhaps being slightly more objective would be beneficial?

Because any sensible landlord declaring their income to hmrc and concerned about their own protection would have a written lodgers agreement. I'm sure the landlord would argue that it was a months notice, the problem is burden of proof. Solely on the information provided there is no proof.

And similarly any good landlord who is declaring their income would want documentation providing proof of the income to hmrc.

I think you have jumped to conclusion here not me

Kynthia

chanz4 wrote: »

Ask the council if hes registered multiple occupancy dwelling

What makes you suggest this as I don't think there's much indication the property needs to be licensed?

OP, you are a lodger (excluded occupier) with a verbal contract to pay rent in exchange for renting the room. Your deposit does not need to be protected therefore if you disagree with any deductions or the landlord withholding it you need to take it to small claims court. So you are saying that you have no paper contract and nothing was said about what notice you would be required to give? It's a judgement call then as without an agreement your notice had to be reasonable. The landlord could argue that a month is reasonable as you pay monthly, but you could argue that a week was reasonable because you were forced to move by his sale of the property and new places wanting a lodger weren't prepared to wait a month for you (unlike if you were looking to be a tenant). If reason doesn't work then try a 'letter before action' being firm but professional. Then if that doesn't work you need to decide whether it's worth taking it to court and seeing who a judge agrees with.

moromir

dancingfairy wrote:

First one: In terms of the deposit, was it protected? If it was then you should try and claim it back asap. If not then you will have to take the landlord to court. This is pretty easy to do and costs about 50 pounds I think. You can apply online.

With regards to the second one what are the problems?
Is the deposit protected?
Do you have a contract?
Does the landlord live in the property?
Have you applied for any benefits you may be entitled to such as housing benefit etc?
If you tell us a bit more we may be able to help further.
df

From what the OP has said, they are a lodger and therefore there is no need to protect the deposit so this is irrelevent.

thequant

moromir wrote: »

From what the OP has said, they are a lodger and therefore there is no need to protect the deposit so this is irrelevent.

I wish people would be careful when posting advice on these topics, when it comes to properties where the LL lives on the property the rules are hazy and always changing. So applying standard tenancy laws is totally incorrect. Which is why I qualified that my advice maybe out of date.


The main issues with these kinds of problem, is that the LL lives on the premises so his rights to the abode also need to be protected which makes legislating in this area extremely tricky.

DRP

Guest101 wrote: »

Because any sensible landlord declaring their income to hmrc and concerned about their own protection would have a written lodgers agreement. I'm sure the landlord would argue that it was a months notice, the problem is burden of proof. Solely on the information provided there is no proof.

And similarly any good landlord who is declaring their income would want documentation providing proof of the income to hmrc.

I think you have jumped to conclusion here not me

I think op has jumped the gun by moving out. Clearly the LL has told her it will be months before completion. However, both sides seem to have a communication problem... texting gets you nowhere in these situations, especially when (presumably) as a lodger they live in the same property!

If I was in op's. Shoes, I would be making veiled threats to involve the tax man and would also be thinking about a 'letter before action' after SPEAKING to the LL.

Obviously back up any conversations with written confirmation...