Landlord won't return deposit

tc1992

I lived in a flat for 9 years and moved out on the 27th of last month.
The flat was originally let through an agency, and then a couple of years into the tenancy the landlord stopped using them so any dealings with him were through his assistant.

i do not have any of the original paperwork. His assistant came round to expect the property and said that he was happy with the state of it. He is a good person and let me know that i would probably expect problems getting the deposit back (which is one month's rent).

The only direct contact info the landlord has given me over the years is his email I have his name, obviously. I have emailed him twice to try and sort this out and, no suprise, have not had a reply

Is there anything i can realistically do in order to get my money back? In all the time i was there no one inspected the property, or did any safety checks with the electricity (which i believe he is required to by law). I am just adding this last bit on the off chance it could be used against him if he continues tor refuse to pay.

Thankyou for any help!

NVRAM

9 years, surely wear and tear alone will be a fair whack.
As long as nothign is damaged and you fully cleaned/tidied everytthing to a standard you would be happy to move into I think thats fine. That and the assistant did say he was happy with the condition?

How has the LL been? Addressed issues when they came up or just ignored everything? Gas inspections been done?

The important part... Is your deposit with a deposit protection scheme?

Normally a suggestion would be just to withold the last months rent, obviously can't be done now.

I'd be asking for the LL's full details from the assistant tbh, failing this a recorded letter to the Assistants address.

benjus

Where are you? (England/Wales, Scotland or NI)

Were you still on a tenancy agreement signed 9 years ago, or have you signed new agreements since then? When was the most recent one?

If the deposit is protected in a deposit protection scheme, simply claim it back from them.

If the deposit is not protected but should have been, you could potentially sue the landlord for a penalty of 3x the deposit for failing to protect it. This is an expensive and involved procedure (unless your local court will let you submit it on the Small Claims track - apparently some do) but useful as to mention to encourage him to return the deposit.

If the deposit is not protected and did not have to be protected (I may be wrong here, but AFAIK if you're still on a 9 year old tenancy agreement, this would not fall under deposit protection rules) then you can sue the landlord on the small claims track for return of the deposit.

After a 9 year tenancy the LL would struggle to justify any deductions for the usual things like paintwork, carpets etc

tc1992

Hi

thanks both for the replies.
I'm in England.

I originally signed the tenancy with a legit company, Sanderson James,. They are still in the same place. When the situation changed all i remember is receivng a letter from them informing me of the change and that all the conditions were the same.

Would it be likely that a legit, well known local letting agency would be using a deposit protections service? Should i contact them?

As to the LL. Neither he nor his agent stepped foot in the property in probably 7 years. The only thing he was good at was sending odd job man for small repairs. There was no gas at the property, but he never did a safety inspection of the electrics. Yes, the assistant did say he was happy with the condition. He also let it be know to me that the LL was getting in serious financial problems with his other businesses, and that he would make it as hard as possible to get my money.

i'm hoping a solicitors letter could help, but i've never used one before, and i need to weigh up the costs of this route versus the reality of having my deposit returned

Pixie5740

It sounds like your tenancy pre-dates the deposit protection regulations unless you signed a new agreement every 12 months or something.

You don't need a solicitor, just take them to the small claims court yourself.

dancingfairy

You could pay a solicitor to word a strong letter for you (but you could equally write one yourself) . As you have been there for such a long time I think you may have missed out on the new law concerning deposit protection.
Do you have any proof that the deposit was protected? Do you have the letter the agency sent you? Would the agency be prepared to help you by confirming a deposit was taken?
I don't think you have a case against the agents as it is ultimately the landlords responsibility to protect the deposit.
What proof do you have regarding the stat of the property when you moved in and when you moved out? You don't need to prove anything regarding cleanliness/damage etc but obviously if you have any evidence to back up your claim then it won't hurt.
I think the fee for filing a claim is around 45 pounds (and you can do it online). If you win (which you should if you can prove there was a deposit to start with) then you will need to think about enforcing judgement if the landlord doesn't pay up. If he doesn't pay up then he will have a CCJ. Bailiffs or other enforcement options will cost more money. You can also consider putting a charge for your money against the house but you will only get this money back then when the house is old (which could be many years).
If you go to court and win you may get your money but the landlord will at least get a ccj, but after that I probably personally would not spend any more money on it unless I knew where the landlord lived and/or that he had an expensive asset(s) such as a car as otherwise you would just be throwing good money after bad. Obviously it is up to you though how far to pursue it.
df

tc1992

Hi

thanks this is very useful. I believe i missed the deposit protection scheme. But maybe the original letting agency were party to some sort of scheme, which is why i'll get in touch with them to see if they have any info from the time i started letting.

I am hoping (and his agent said this should work) that a letter from a solicitor or a small claims court might kick his !!!! into returning his deposit, especially as i believe he is getting into some quite serious issues with money otherwise, which is probably going to end up with him going to court.

The question is whether it is worth the money / effort, the deposit is £350.
My problem is i don't have any paperwork. I have not seen the contract at mine in years. I did have the Inventory / Itinerary of what was in the house until quite recently but i has disapeared after the house move.

quidsy

Honestly, for 350 quid I wouldn't bother especially after having a 9 year tenecy & not having any deductions from deposit. I'd say walk away but I suppose it depends on how much 350 quid means to you.

Annabee

But why should the landlord get to keep it? It's effectively stealing.

Not sure what you mean about 'not having any deductions from the deposit'. If the LL doesn't give it back then it's all one big deduction, isn't it!

quidsy

350 quid in 9 years is not a huge amount, I paid 200 for carpet cleaning & miscl repairs in my last place & I was there for 2 years.

My point is, how much will the op spend trying to get 350 back.?

Annabee

I see what you mean, I suppose you could look at it that way. If you divide £350 up by 9 years it's not that significant, so you could be philosophical about it.

But the OP is morally entitled to their deposit back and if I were them I would still try to get it, especially since the LL's agent said they were happy with the state of the place. But yes, OP should check out how much it will cost them to retrieve the £350 and see if its worthwhile.

Just don't like LLs getting away with stuff like this!