deposit heldback - am i entitled to interest?

rox85

hi, i moved from my rented property on 28/05/07, and also changed my lettings company.

we were on housing benefit and when we handed back they keys and pick up our deposit we were told that we owed them money so we were not getting the deposit back.

they told us the council had missed 2 payments, which we disputed since day 1. basically the council had overpaid the property agent on another account, the next payment the council were due to make was ours so it was witheld by the council although deemed paid on our account. this is apparently the way it works between councils and letting agents.

anyway got a confirmation letter from my local council today, which proves the property agent was in the wrong, and they have been unlawfully holding our money.

the question being -
am i entitled to claim interest on this money they have been witholding from us?
and if so at what rate?

many thanks for any help

olly300

nope.

Next....

Generali

olly300 wrote: »

nope.

Shelter disagrees with you. On what basis do you say "Nope"?

Content applies to England

What can I claim for?

You can claim for:

• all or part of the deposit
• interest on the amount owed
• the court fees you had to pay to start your claim

Interest can be claimed from the date your deposit should have been returned until the date you start your claim, and then at a daily rate. Interest is calculated at 8%. If you want to claim interest, you have to say so on your claim form.

Link

olly300 wrote: »

Next....

Patronising and unhelpful.

clutton_2

whether the council pay your housing benefit directly to the landlord or not, you , the tenant, are legally responsible for payment of the rent - it is you that signed the agreement to rent. If the council have made incorrect payments to your landlord, it is up to you to sort it out as legally it is entirely your responsibility. IF your landlord hhas not received the correct amount of rent, as stipulated in the AST, then it is up to you to reimburse him and sort out any issues with the council later on. If you do not reimburse him - i suggest he is legally entitled to retain the deposit against unpaid rent - that is what a deposit is for.

CB1979_2

@ generali - isn't that only if you take it to court though?

ie you can claim back the 8% interest set out by the county court act 84 (i may have just totally made that up, but it's used for reclaiming bank charges interest as well)

but i would try and say to them they owe you interest @ 5% since the end of may (baring in mind this is only gonna be about £2!) otherwise you'll take the to small claims court where they'll have to pay your court fees & 8% interest.

clutton_2

its up to the judge in small claims as to whether he allows interest.

CB1979_2

to be honest i'd just get your cash back, how much is your deposit?

£5-600??

you are only talking about £2-3 per month! lol

pcwilkins

It sounds like you will be fortunate to get the the deposit back, let alone any interest!

Peter

thesaint

The OP is not entitled to any interest payable unless this was stated in the tenancy agreement.

The interest that has been quoted only applies to after a court judgement has been applied, and from the day of the judgement.
The time between vacating the property and going to court would attract no interest.

pcwilkins

That appears to contradict the advice from shelter:

Shelter wrote:

Interest can be claimed from the date your deposit should have been returned until the date you start your claim

I guess it would depend on how they work out "the date your deposit should have been returned". Usually this would be stated on the agreement --- 14 days after handing back the keys, perhaps.

Peter

rosysparkle

Yes, but you can only claim the interest after you have gone to court. You can then apply the interest calculation from the date you should have had the deposit.

If you don't have to go to court, no interest is payable unless it's expressly stated in the tenancy agreement.