Rental Deposit Problem

cazmal1

Hi - I hope there are knowledgeable people out there who can advise me.

My son recently had to move out of his rented house as the divorce settlement awarded the house to the landlord's ex wife.I helped him to move the last of his things out on a Friday afternoon and we then cleaned the house and both left. He was due to meet the following day with the landlord for final inspection.
When they met at the property they could not gain access as the ex wife had broken in and changed the locks. My son's tenancy agreement did not expire until midnight on that day. They did gain access the following day for the inspection which was all in order apart from some missing cooker parts. They were in the dishwasher when we left on Friday but not there on Sunday.
The landlord is now wanting to withhold part of his deposit because the ex wife took these cooker parts away (presumably to prevent landlord from taking cooker?). The landlord says it is my son's negligence that they are missing (he left the property empty on the last day?!) and he should get them back from the ex wife or have insurance against such theft from the property. The landlord has already admitted in an email that the ex wife has taken these parts.

My son can little afford to lose any of his deposit let alone for something that is not his fault. He did contact the police when it happened but was told it is a civil matter and not down to them. He seems to be caught up in a bitter divorce dispute.
Should he just let the deposit service deal with it or is there another avenue he should go down? (The letting agent appears to be sitting on the fence with this one)

Any help gratefully received.

Thanks for reading all of this!

pyueck

cazmal1 wrote: »

Hi - I hope there are knowledgeable people out there who can advise me.

My son recently had to move out of his rented house as the divorce settlement awarded the house to the ex wife.I helped him to move the last of his things out on a Friday afternoon and we then cleaned the house and both left. He was due to meet the following day with the landlord for final inspection.
When they met at the property they could not gain access as the ex wife had broken in and changed the locks. My son's tenancy agreement did not expire until midnight on that day. They did gain access the following day for the inspection which was all in order apart from some missing cooker parts. They were in the dishwasher when we left on Friday but not there on Sunday.
The landlord is now wanting to withhold part of his deposit because the ex wife took these cooker parts away (presumably to prevent landlord from taking cooker?). The landlord says it is my son's negligence that they are missing (he left the property empty on the last day?!) and he should get them back from the ex wife or have insurance against such theft from the property. The landlord has already admitted in an email that the ex wife has taken these parts.

My son can little afford to lose any of his deposit let alone for something that is not his fault. He did contact the police when it happened but was told it is a civil matter and not down to them. He seems to be caught up in a bitter divorce dispute.
Should he just let the deposit service deal with it or is there another avenue he should go down? (The letting agent appears to be sitting on the fence with this one)

Any help gratefully received.

Thanks for reading all of this!

Assuming this is a joint tenancy they are both liable and this is an issue to be discussed between your son and his ex. The landlord cannot be expected to decide which party took what, and in any case it doesn't matter as both are jointly liable.

Pixie5740

I'm a bit confused. Is it your son who has just got divorced and his ex-wife was awarded occupancy of the rental property? In which case why did she have to break into her own home?

Or is it the landlord who has got divorced and his ex-wife was awarded the property as part of the divorce settlement?

cazmal1

Sorry I didn't make it clear - ex wife of the landlord.

pyueck

This is an unlawful eviction and your son can claim damages from the landlord. The transfer of ownership of a property does not end a lease.

cazmal1

The lease was thankfully near to the end of it's term and the inspection was set for the last day of his tenancy as per his agreement

baldelectrician

Your son had a right to the property when the landlords ex wife broke in and changed the locks, thus making an illegal eviction


I would point this out and kindly ask for the deposit back.
Was the deposit in a scheme?

cazmal1

Yes, deposit was in a scheme.

Thanks everyone for your comments. I hadn't considered the possibility of an illegal eviction.