AST Deposit / Tenancy Agreement Help

Mwesty

Hi

My wife and I moved rented a property late 2009. We've been renting the same place ever since. I moved out last September as I moved down to Kent and I asked the landlord to draw up a new contract but just in my wife's name.

It now turns out that the initial deposit of £700 we put down in 2009 is not held in any of the 3 schemes. I'm of the understanding that I can claim for this money back + a penalty.

My wife now wants to move down to Kent with me but she is locked into this agreement until the end of September. The agreement looks like a photocopy from 2004 printed out online and is littered with crossing outs. A witness signature is on there although we have no idea who they are because they wasn't here when it was signed by my wife.

Is there anything we can do to end the agreement. We would happily just not pay the last months rent and allow the landlord to keep the deposit if the agreement is ended.

Would appreciate some advice please.

Guest101

Well penalty is upto 3x the deposit, so would cover the rent in effect.

This all needs to be done via agreement, written and signed by everyone involved.

Speak to your LL

G_M

Please clarify:

Mwesty wrote: »

Hi

My wife and I moved rented a property late 2009.
the original tenancy was for what fixed term (if any)? What happened when it ended?
We've been renting the same place ever since. I moved out last September as I moved down to Kent and I asked the landlord to draw up a new contract but just in my wife's name.
You asked when? Last September?
Did the landlord draw up a new contract as requested? For what period?
If yes, what happened regarding the original deposit for the original tenancy?

It now turns out that the initial deposit of £700 we put down in 2009 is not held in any of the 3 schemes. I'm of the understanding that I can claim for this money back + a penalty.
Since (I think....) that deposit has ended, I assume that deposit was returned?
Having said that, the penalty can still be claimed.

My wife now wants to move down to Kent with me but she is locked into this agreement until the end of September.
Did she pay a new deposit? Was this on registered in a scheme?
The agreement looks like a photocopy from 2004 printed out online and is littered with crossing outs.
crossing outs initialed? By LL? By tenant? Are these alterations significant?
Agreement signed? By LL? Tenant?
A witness signature is on there although we have no idea who they are because they wasn't here when it was signed by my wife.
witnesses are not required so this is irrelevant

Is there anything we can do to end the agreement.
Yes. Ask the landlord for an Early Surrender.
We would happily just not pay the last months rent and allow the landlord to keep the deposit if the agreement is ended.

Would appreciate some advice please.

* tenant wishes to end the agreement 3? 4? months early?
* landlord can agree, and can request whatever compensation he wishes. Tenant can then agree this compenastaion, negotiate a different compensation, or maintain the tenancy till sept
* Witholding the last months rent is breach of contract. The deposit is not held for that purpose.
* if the current tenant paid a deposit which was not registered, the tenant can claim a penalty of up to 3 times the deposit
* if the previous joint tenants also paid a deposit which was not registered, they too can claim a penalty of up to 3 times the deposit (though if that deposit has now been returned they are likely to be awarded a lesser amount)

See also

* Deposits: payment, protection and return

Mwesty

To clarify on those points.

Original agreement was for 12 months with me + wife. We have been signing a new 12 month contract every year.

We asked the landlord back in Sept last year (at the time it was on a rolling contract as a new 12 month was not signed) for an agreement just in my wife's name as I was moving away. A 12 month contract. Nothing was mentioned about the original deposit paid back in 2009 - I just assumed this would be transferred across and act as my wifes deposit. On my wife's agreement it says the deposit held was for 2 x the monthly rent which would make it £1400. My wife hasn't paid any kind of 'additional' deposit though.

No new deposit was paid but see above for what was stated in her agreement.

It also mentions about fixtures / funiture etc on the agreement. Wife never signed any kind of inventory list though.

Crossing's out are not initialed. (See below)

Mwesty

Not sure that it matters, but the landlords address is not on the agreement either.

Guest101

Is there an address for the purpose if serving notice?

G_M

So there are two tenancies
1) joint tenancy in two names
2) single tenancy in one name

The deposit for T1 (£700) was never registered, so a penalty could be claimed.

I suspect the landlord has effectively transferred the T1 deposit to T2, although the agreement for T2 states a deposit of £1400. However, whether the deposit for T2 is £700 or £1400, it is not registered, so a penalty could be claimed (the court would have to determine how much the T2 deposit was in order to calculate the penalty).

The lack of inventory at the start of T2 means the LL will struggle to prove the condition of the property at the start of T2, so will have trouble justifying and claims for loss/damage etc

Mwesty

No Guest101, there's no address at all. We found the property through Gumtree 6 years ago so there's not a letting agents address either.

Thanks for the response G_M.

Do you mean we can bring 2 claims against the LL? Even though it's only 1 deposit..?

I want to write a letter asking the landlord to void the agreement, allow my wife to not pay the rent on 7th june and she moves out on 6th july. So the landlord just keeps the deposit for that months rent and allows her to walk free early for his negligence. Is this advisable or should we be going to court?

Guest101

If you have no address. Stop paying rent. Then when contacted, tell them you need an address.

Can't remember the Act ( bet G_M does ), but it's perfectly legal. Keep the rent to reimburse the LL once you have the address.

Mwesty

I've wrote a letter for the LL.

Does this look correct, and is there any changes needed?


I refer to my deposit of £670, which was paid to you on xx December 2009. I understand that this has not been protected with any of the three government authorised tenancy deposit schemes, in breach of the tenancy deposit regulations. The regulations provide for my deposit to be protected within 30 days after it was paid to you and for the information prescribed by the regulations to be served on me also within 30 days.
In view of your breach of the tenancy deposit regulations, I am now entitled to go to court for an order that the deposit be refunded to me, and an order that you pay me a sum of money not less than the amount of the deposit and not more than three times the amount of the deposit (Housing Act 2004 section 214(3) and (4)).

The current tenancy agreement with xx expires on 7th October 2015. In light of the current situation, I am proposing that my wife vacates the property on the 6th July 2015 with the tenancy agreement null and void. Given the deposit is withheld, I propose the rent due on the 7th June 2015 is NOT payable.
If this is not agreeable, I will be making an application to go to court, I will be providing a copy of this letter to the Judge and asking him to exercise his discretion to award me the £670 deposit and full penalty of three times the deposit sum (£2010).


I would hope that you agree to the overleaf proposition given your negligence and the tenants we have been over the years. We have never missed a payment and looked after your property as though it was our own. When decorating or minor repairs have been required, we haven’t chased you but rather paid out of our own expense.

I’m happy to allow viewings of potential tenants at agreed hours with xx during the last 7 days of the tenure (29th June – 6th July).

Please respond in writing within 7 days to {rented property address}.`

Yours faithfully

mrginge

Rather than starting off by threatening court action, why not just ask the landlord first?