Ast

Trebor01

Hi, I have a very odd situation with a very controlling ex tenant.

The ex tenant wanted to leave the arrangement we had in place early as they wished to buy a house. I was fine with this, and said that once suitable tenants could be found, I would release them from the tenancy. This has indeed happened, and I have new tenants moving in today, however, my ex tenant is demanding her deposit back, although she has caused a lot of damage which I have had to pay thousands to correct over the weekend. As she knows this, she is effectively trying to blackmail me, and has said if I don't release the deposit she will claim the property is still hers to rent as the AST has not yet ended, and claim I have taken on a new tenant whilst she is still in her AST. I have confirmation she agreed to leave and wanted to leave by the agent, she has removed all of her furniture, she attended the check out process, she handed in the keys, and has requested her deposit back. Plus I have emails form her stating she wanted to leave and when.

How do I stand legally, as I need to contest the deposit but don't want the new tenants to have any hassle. The deposit is quite large £5000 so its no small matter, and I only want sound legal advise, not opinions please.

Many thanks.

jjlandlord

You will only get opinions on a public forum. You need a knowledgeable solicitor for legal advice.

That being said, you look very much in the clear.

mrginge

I take it the deposit is protected and you provided the required details within 30 days?

dimbo61

DID you have an Inventory done? Which she signed when she moved in?
Photos? or Better Still a video done by an Independent Inventory Company?
How long did she live in the property and Why £5000?
London with rent of £4000 a month!

theartfullodger

The only thing to do with a bully is to stand up to them.

Thank her for her kind suggestion but decline (explain the time-scales of going through the deposit scheme procedures don't allow the money to be released straight away: Also explain she remains liable, at least a month at a time, for rent ongoing if she doesn;t agree a "deed of surrender" (you do have one ready for her to sign eh?? Otherwise you are both exposed legally..).

Inform new guys that sorry but there's a problem (clearly you've not signed/finalised the tenancy nor handed over keys - PLEASE don;t say otherwise...).

Sit back calmly & see what happens,

If she continues to play hard-ball take her to court.

Cheers!

PS After she moves out - even if she holds onto the place - as she no longer occupies the place it is not (cannot be, may no be, is not legally possible to be..) an AST. So eviction process is specialised & not S21 and/or S8.

G_M

Just to confirm:
* the property is empty of her belongings?
* she returned the key?
* you agreed (in writing I hope!?????) an Early Surrender with a clear date?

Then in my view the tenancy has ended.

If she fails to vacate (or comes back in claiming still a tenant) you can charge her double rent ([FONT=&quot]Distress For Rent Act 1747 S18[/FONT] )

Alternatively you could sue for damages (ie any costs incurred as a result of not being able to fulfill the new tenancy eg the new tenants' hotel costs)

But if she is out, with no key, simply
a) do not let her in again
b) warn the new tenants so they do not let her in
c) do not return the deposit

Might be an idea to change the locks in case she kept a key.

Additionally - what is the tenancy position prior to the agreement to Early Surrender?
* Fixed Term? Ending when?
* Periodic?

Because clearly if she argues successfully (or you decide to accept) that her tenancy is ongoing, then she is liable for rent, council tax, bills etc until it ends. This might be months (depending on the Qs above) when she'll have all those costs as well as the costs of her new home........

Trebor01

Yes the deposit is with the DPS and is protected. It has only been 1 week since this occurred (6 days).

Trebor01

Yes an inventory was completed by an independent agency and the check out completed by the same company, and yes this has all items photo graphed. Yes London prices!!

Trebor01

Thank you for this, the Distress For Rent Act is interesting, and new to me, but I think this would indeed apply if she persists. I have confirmation from the letting agent that she wanted to move early and agreed the date 31/01/2014 (I was doing her a favour by allowing this), she has moved out all of her belongings, she has handed back the keys, she has requested her deposit back (why would you do this if tenancy not finished), and I did send her a formal acknowledgment letter that to allow the tenancy to end early on her request plus she attended the check out process. She had promised to pay the letting fee in return for me allowing the her early release, but she then said this must come from the deposit, but now wants all of the deposit back !!!

Having reviewed the DPS process, and if I don't rush into requesting the exposit back (which I won't), she will need to also show she is continuing to pay the rent (in 3 days time), and I suspect she won't do that either. This I am hoping is yet another point to show she had relinquished her tenancy, but even if this is not enough, she would then need to pursue a 'Single Claim' process via the DPS, and this process can only be pursued to allow the DPS to release the deposit after the tenancy has ended or by court order. So again I am hopeful that if this route is pursued, the very fact that a 'Single Claim' was made by my 'ex-tenant (from hell)', she has indeed advised that the tenancy has ended.

Her tenancy was an AST due to complete end Sept 2014.

Trebor01

One other point to now take into account re her intent, is that she has a postal re-direction on the property address, so all seems pretty clear to me.

thesaint

Trebor01 wrote: »

One other point to now take into account re her intent, is that she has a postal re-direction on the property address, so all seems pretty clear to me.

You wouldn't have proof of that.