Letting company in receivership

jeffbadger

My girlfriend and I have just bought our first house and have moved out of our old rented flat. We left the flat in tip-top condition and have been waiting to get our deposit back. We have now discovered that the letting company has gone into receivership and, as our deposit was held in their current account rather than a customer account, they cannot pay us our cash. Their administrators say we are unlikely to ge the money and, if we do, it will not be for at least 6 months and possibly 18. Have banked on getting this cash with solicitors fees etc - is there anything I can do to get the money?

RabbitMad

Was your contract with the letting agent or the landlord? If it was the later you ask them for the money back.

jeffbadger

The contract was with the company who owned the building who also acted as the agent, there was no third party it is the landlord who has gone bust. During the time we lived there the building was sold to another company who now own it but, apparently, they didn't take the deposits, they remained with the original company.

poppy10_2

You will be just one of a long list of creditors to the company, you will be behind many people in the queue to get your money back I'm afraid.

The new tenancy deposit scheme was set up to avoid this sort of thing happening in the future.

poppy10_2

Actually, you say the original company was bought by another company - has that gone bust too? If not you may be able to claim from them as they will have taken on the letting agency's debts and liabilities as well as their assets.

jeffbadger

That's what I'd wondered but the administrators for the original company say we can't get anything from the new company - does this sound right?

dolce_vita

In my experience, I would say you've got very little chance of getting in back

Notlob

Who were you paying rent to?

Notlob

RabbitMad

Here are my fellings:Your deposit is legally "held" by the landlord (LL). It is the LL's resposibility to pay you back the deposit. It sounds like in your case the letting agent (LA) and LL were one and the same. If the building was sold while you were in occupation your tenancy agreement should have passed to the new LL. Therefore it is the new LL who owes you the deposit. If they didn't collect it from the company they bought that's there tough but I think you should be going after them.

pcwilkins

When the building changed hands, what happened to your tenancy agreement? Did you start paying rent to the new owners or carry on paying rent to the old ones?

Peter

Alan_M_2

When the new company bought the old company, they would have taken on responsibility of the lettings and deposits.

When did this sale take place?

Did you have written confirmation of the sale?

If you did, you take up the matter with the current owner, not the past owner. (or at least the owner of the property on the day you vacated.)
Don't put up with "It's not our problem nonsense" If they owned the building, they owe you your deposit back.

This crap makes me sick, it's always the little guy that gets shafted.